Ha ha..you and I have very peculiar issues. I find reading not that difficult. I got 8.5 in Academic in 2009 and also 8.5 this time when I took on 28th Oct 2017.hmm....Hopefully you ll get this time because I know the pain of being stuck at .5 or so. MCQ,s in the 3rd section are really the most difficult in IELTS Listening. I got 8.5 both times in listening. I am having problem with the reading. First time it was 5.5, which improved to 6.5 in September.