I used to love reading as a kid. I used to be a real bookworm.
Stopped reading completely for about 10 years due to depression and mental health issues.
I tried motivating myself to read again by watching booktube and bookish influences and reading book related discussions. The issue was that I got under immense pressure to read and created a huge tbr. I developed a habit where I didn't actually want to READ a book. I wanted to HAVE READ IT. Basically, my goal wasn't to enjoy it. My goal, for some reason was finishing the book and going to the next one.
This way, my reading experience became very stressful and it felt like another chore.
Then I watched a video by "Tristan and the classics" where he explained exactly this pathological mindset and how wrong it is! He suggested only reading 10 pages a day but actually enjoy and savour it. Since I accepted this approach, my reading experience and enjoyment of reading and actually remembering what I read has improved drastically.
I often actually read more than 10 pages, but I consider it a bonus. Something I don't have to do if I don't want to. I've changed my goal from "finish the book" to "enjoy the book". The difference for me is vast.
Just sharing my story if there's anyone else out there struggling with the same stress from reading as I used to suffer from.
by veve87