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gonna recommend audiobooks. being able to "read" while you do other (mindless) stuff was huge for me. dishes, driving, etc all become a little less dull when accompanied by story time
that said, i would suggest starting with fiction or something light to get you into the habit before jumping in to dense theory
Reading out loud or under my breath often helps my retain focus long enough to get stuck to a book. I know it's working once I stop reading out loud because I want to keep reading faster.
The key trick is to create a habit. What I recommend doing is picking a specific time and place for reading every day. It doesn't have to be much. Even if you just read a few pages, that helps start forming the habit. As long as you're setting a realistic goal and you actually accomplish it each day, then you'll feel good about it. This will make you want to keep doing it. Eventually it just becomes second nature where you end up going to your reading spot and doing some reading.
I also recommend starting with books where you find the style of writing engaging. For me it makes a huge difference. Some books I can read really fast, and others I struggle to finish. If you start a book that you're not enjoying, don't feel bad about abandoning it. Having positive reinforcement is important into creating a habit successfully. If you start feeling like it's a chore, then you're more likely to abandon it.
I was in an extremely similar situation. As a child I was quite a voracious reader, but over time I lost the skill to the point where, similar to you, I found reading anything for an extended time difficult. Luckily my partner is in a literary profession so I had a supportive resource I could lean on when I made the commitment to try to get back into it.
A difficulty I faced was that I tend to gravitate towards high fantasy, science fiction, and Classical/Renaissance philosophy for my reading choices and they are all huge commitments in terms of time and focus. A huge help for me was to make sure that I had a physical paper book to read. It helped to have a physical reminder to look at on the table in front of me. It helped to make it feel like I was making more measurable progress by being able to turn every completed page. It helped to be able to see my bookmark move a bit further into the book every day and feel like I was making real progress.
I chose the first Dune book as my first book as it had short chapters and I could easily commit to reading a single chapter every day. I wish I could say that there is a one size fits all answer, but the reality is that everyone is different. I'm also easily distracted, but you've got to find what works for you and just do it. It gets easier the more you do it, but you have to force yourself to get over the initial hump.
Start with young adult fiction! You wouldn't go to the gym and immediately rack up to your old max, lift lighter first. I went thru a reading desert for like 5 years after leaving school, I tried banging my head against political theory and falling off over and over and over until I decided to read The Hate U Give. I blew through it, it got me into the habit of sitting down and reading words on a page, and I've been reading at least a book a month since.
When I was little I used to read all the time in class and before bed. Around 7th grade I pretty much stopped. I barely read any of the school books and didn’t read at night. Eventually my friend gave me ‘Perfume’ and forced myself to read it, and it was pretty good. In the summer before ninth grade I had to read the summer homework, and I hated it but it was readable. I also listened to some Micheal Parenti audiobooks. They were great. I honestly liked some of the ninth grade stuff. It was easy, though it being for school made it harder. The books were ‘The Hunger Games,’ ‘The Fault in Our Stars,’, and ‘Fahrenheit 451.’ I read a ton of books, primarily before bed the following summer. ‘Half-Earth Socialism,’ ‘Fully Automated Luxury Communism,’ and ‘Socialism or Extinction’ were really engaging reads. The last is the best but also highest level. Now I’ve been a little tired of reading, though I’m finally spending time meditating which helps me focus when I have the time to read. It’s also just easier to scroll. I know, I’m young, but here’s some advice:
Articles, Comics, audiobooks, and Fiction can be a lot easier to engage with, tell me if you want recommendations. Try reading before bed. Try meditation. Try to find space free from distractions (leave your phone elsewhere). Pull out a book when you’re tired and would rather scroll. Habits are more important than willpower. I get distracted by my thoughts all the time when I’m reading, try to get them out in a journal and or letting go of them in mediation.
Its a long process that requires effort. You first have to regain your attention span, so you have to detox from social media. Start limiting screen time, and eventually work towards removing social media from your phone at least.
For book reading start reading 5 minutes a day before sleeping or after waking up, an e-reader helps a lot.
It might work better to just cut all unnecessary tech for a month and then build your use back up in ways that purely benefit you, rather than being dragged in by habit. (A digital minimalist declutter)
Building on this, something that helps a lot is taking walks without your phone. Reflecting on the stuff that happened to you that day, or the book you are reading helps a lot mentally.
I second this either reading physical books or using an ereader is really important. When you read on a phone or a computer you're constantly exposed to distractions making it hard to focus.
Physical books and e-readers (with e-ink and non-backlit screens) are also much easier on the eyes than phone or computer screens which means you can read for longer periods of time which helps with immersion.
Oh yeah for sure, it's a whole different experience.
I feel like an angsty boomer when I get mad at tech companies siphoning off our attention with no regulation or pushback. No one generally seems to give a shit. I have started to really hate my phone over the past few years. One day I am gonna switch over to one of those dumbphones. While a cool piece of technology, smartphones have had a net negative effect on my life I feel.
I've been resentful of this for years because I see it in myself. One thing I did a while back that led a huge quality of life improvement was to just keep my phone in do not disturb mode as the default. The only thing I get notified of are actual phone calls which happen once in a blue moon. This way I can engage with the phone when I feel like it, instead of it constantly bugging me.
Have you ever had the feeling of "phantom vibrations"? The only what I can feel free of the burden of my phone is when I know for sure that it has been switched off (or as you mentioned in a do not disturb setting but I have not taken advantage of it yet). Don't wanna get too dramatic but it feels really bad.
Oh yeah, that has happened to me before. It makes you realize just how attached to your phone you end up becoming.
It's impossible unfortunately, once you put down your first book you become physically incapable of picking up another book.
I wish my mom didn't waste it on One Fish Two Fish when I was young so that I could at least read something cool.
I usually put on some soft music in the background. It helps me concentrate on the text and sets my mind to a reading mode
Have a specific place to read, a comfy, quiet place but not too comfy as you might fall asleep. You are not allowed to quickly check your phone while reading! Read something you want to read rather than something you feel you ought to read. You could try to set a target, say 10 pages per reading session and increase this by a page or two each day. You could try a pomodoro timer... 25 minutes reading, 5 minute break. Reading is great for traveling, say when you are sat on a train.
Leave a book next to your remote to remind yourself that you could read instead of watching something on TV.
You could try audiobooks to get you back into reading, they are absorbing and could help to improve concentration.
But I think the main thing is to read stuff you will enjoy. If you are not enjoying a book, read something else. I used to always finish books and now I am much more ruthless about dumping books if they are no good.
Tracking your reading progress with something like https://bookwyrm.social/ and perhaps chat with other readers on the platform.
I hope you get back into reading, I love reading so much!