It’s Friday once again and after not posting this meme for a bit, I’m back with another Let’s Talk Bookish post! This week we discuss literary palate cleansers and trust me, I need them every once in a while!

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books starting in August 2019, and was then cohosted by Dani @ Literary Lion from May 2020 to March 2022. Since April 2022, this meme is hosted by , Aria @ Book Nook Bits and since February 2025, Dini @ DiniPandaReads is the co-host. Let’s Talk Bookish is a meme where participants discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and share their love by visiting each other’s posts.

Prompts: Do you ever feel like you need a reading reset? Maybe you’ve been reading dense literary fiction, or are in a reading slump. Are there certain books you read to help reset? Do you ever take a break from reading? Do you find yourself needing those literary palate cleansers at certain times of year?

I definitely feel like I need palate cleansers every once in a while. You can call it a reading reset, a change of genre or whatever you feel like. I often need some kind of reset when reading series or a particular genre back-to-back. I hardly read series back-to-back as I just can’t do it, I’ll get bored and might hit a reading slump. The same happens when I read a specific genre back-to-back for a while. For instance, after reading a lot of fantasy, I need to read contemporary or historical fiction for a change. I think such reading resets are important to both broaden your horizon and avoid a reading slump.

The books I usually pick when I’m in such a mood and need a literary palate cleanser, are depending on the genre that causes this need. I often go back from fantasy to contemporary or vice versa. Sometimes, I need a more challenging book after a few “simpler” books, to challenge my brain for a bit. It also happens that I need to get back to rereading an old favourite, but this occurs less often. As a bilingual reader, switching up languages is also part of the deal. Sometimes I need to read a book in Dutch after reading a lot in English, or the other way around. I don’t take an intentional break from reading, I just slump. When this happens, I read and try to enjoy the books I pick up.

When looking at when I need such palate cleansers, I can’t pinpoint a set time of year. I notice I tend to pick up more contemporary in spring and summer, against more fantasy in autumn and winter. However, the darker months are also notorious for my annual reading slump, so it should be better to do this the other way around. However, I’m a mood reader and when I’m close to a reading slump, many romances et cetera don’t work that well for me. So, I let my mood dictate when I need such a palate cleanser!

What about you? Do you need literary palate cleansers every now and then? What counts as such to you? Are there certain times of year you need those palate cleansers?