Im obviously literate, but I havnt read a book in years. I dont know what it is. As a kid I would speedrun books, and in my teenage years I eventually stopped. Over time it became harder and harder to focus on reading. Much of the time I will read a sentence and have to re read it over and over again because I just did not understand it. A lot of the time I will be like “What the f did I just read??” Like I genuinely cant process it. I want to start reading and developing better habits but my attention span is horrible. Do I need to start from scratch and read Dr Seuss to work my way up? Lol I just dont know.
Sorry if this isnt the right subreddit for this.
by Spiritual_Message725
11 Comments
Try audiobooks to start out and get into the story. Then you can switch to ebooks/physical books. If you keep a book on your phone you can read in little snippets throughout your day instead of doom scrolling and that way you can’t get board.
Yeah, that’s a fine idea. Or start with newspapers, or simple stuff. You’re reading what I write here, so you can read YA. Try Hunger Games.
You trained yourself into this, you can train yourself back to reading. Put the phone in another room, sit down with a book and a water bottle, and read until it’s empty. Then take a break.
Also, knock off the pot.
Genuine question… do you smoke weed? I’m only asking because this used to be a problem for me back when I did.
To armchair diagnose: ADHD meds and starting simple. Nobody here can offer advice that will help you if you literally can’t get past the first sentence.
i’m similar and i listen to audiobooks while following along with the actual book so it keeps me on track, or i will read the same page ten times.
It’s the phones/computer time. Seriously. Take a week long break from screens and reading will start to make sense again.
Try graphic novels if reading too many words on a page starts to get boring for you. There are also audiobooks and short stories. Sometimes if you don’t understand the book or sentence, it could be a genre thing. Maybe find a book that’s “easy to digest” and ease in first.
A page or a chapter a day is still reading. Better some than none 🙂
Casual browser of r/books so take everything I say with a grain of salt. I’m getting back into reading because I’m tired of looking at my phone, and like you, my attention span is shot, but I’m reading alot on my phone now to avoid social media(until I can afford an ereader), and I’m just reading easy junky kind of reads, some dystopian (hunger games, 1984..), random romance, and mostly smut haha. All that to say, just easy, and easy to get into reads, nothing to deep, or flowery language just yet, I’m. Actually reading so much more than I have in years because it doesn’t feel like a slough to get through a book anymore.
As others have said try a different format. I usually read some comic books to get me back in reading when I hit a slump like that
grow ur attention span by consuming more longer form content like podcasts or audio books. then when you read, I’d say don’t try to read fast, just enjoy what you’re reading no matter how slow you go.
Audiobooks have been a god send. My ADHD has gotten progressively worse as I’ve gotten older. And audiobooks allow me to be doing someone with my hands. So I usually listen while I’m at work doing my side jobs.