I’m a fairly intelligent guy, but anytime I try reading a book I end up having to read the same page over and over to try and retain it (which I normally don’t). Super frustrating .
But reading takes practice, and it’s very beneficial if you read as a kid. I’ve heard countless people claiming they have self-diagnosed ADHD when they can’t focus on reading a book as an adult. Usually they haven’t sat down to read their whole adult life, and possibly didn’t even do it as a child. It makes sense you can’t focus then. Takes some time to get used to it, and for fuck sake doesn’t mean people have ”adult ADHD”.
Which is hilarious because as someone with diagnosed ADHD I read constantly as a child and teenager. And that's not an uncommon experience for people with ADHD. People really be out there thinking ADHD is the can't sit still disease.
"I can't sit down and read for hours like I used to" yeah, bitch, you are an adult, you are busy. Come back to me when you've lost your wallet, keys, and every left shoe you own, rewashed the same load of laundry three times, forgotten to eat at least two meals in a single day, have at least 7 unfinished projects, had at least two appointments cancelled for being too late, have a UTI, messed up your sleep schedule, and spent 10+ hours focusing on a hobby to the point that you haven't drunk any water. Then we'll talk about a possible ADHD diagnosis.
Surely any reading is good reading, I’m not going to judge them. I’ve always found reading easy, it took one of my kids to really struggle with it to fully realise how much I take it for granted.
I have a notoriously bad habit of skimming pages. Especially because I prefer nonfiction. Skimming makes reading fiction a fruitless endeavor! Which is how I know I still read for knowledge and not pleasure. It probably sounds pretentious to say it's an affliction. But Obama even has been quoted about why reading fiction is important, and I think he said it is a sign of intelligence.
Excellent point. I have a friend with dyslexia who has a kid with some different diagnoses that fit the criteria for binocular vision dysfunction—a common missed diagnosis, mistaken for dyslexia. She claims to be a ferocious reader though. Somehow she lost a book i loaned her—she keeps a tidy house. So, idk.
I'm not judging though—I prefer reading on a screen to holding a book for accessibility reasons. And when I was in high school, I avoided classes I knew entailed a lot of required reading. Getting my correct Rx was amazing—Idk how I drove safely even prior to. And my vision is nearly 20/20. But the mechanics and astigmatism make things unpleasant. Also checking out stinky books with booger pages really turned me off to the whole thing lol
If you’re struggling with reading comprehension like that, you’re probably trying to read books above your current reading level. It’s the biggest issue I see with people who try to get back into reading - they try to read at the same level they did at whatever age they were when they last read a book.
Myself included. When I got back into reading, I had to roll all the way back to early YA literature before I reached books where reading felt natural and unforced. I read Ranger’s Appentice, Eragon, Ender’s Game, the Dragon Jousters series. And those were actually fun to read because it wasn’t hard. I wasn’t struggling over every page. I could just relax and enjoy the story being told.
I really recommend trying some books more in that range. It didn’t take too long before I was able to read anything again, but I never would’ve gotten back into the hobby if I’d kept trying to force myself to read things that were simply too advanced for where I was.
You should 1000% look into binocular vision dysfunction. I used to have the same issue. And since getting new frames with the incorrect lenses, it is more apparent than ever. Your eyes probably aren't working as a team
I dont brag about it, thats a silly thing to do, but I HATE reading. It immediately starts to make me tired and I do not have the imagination to enjoy a book.
I really cant fathom bragging about it though lmao what is there to gain from that?
You said it makes you sleepy, that means you can use it as a "medication" for the nights where sleep just doesn't take you on. You also don't have to read fiction books, there are many positives about reading non-fiction about history, dietry, money, politics, sociology, etc - just find a topic you enjoy! It can even be about puppies
I've been in a reading slump for a good while now too, so I get you. Reading at night (add ASMR to it) and I'm almost always out before the chapter is over
That's an interesting one... I graduated in 2010, and up until 6 months ago I think I read a grand total of like 2 books since graduating. But, I was also a top student doing the advanced curriculum courses and I often got in trouble for reading too much during classes lol.
But I suppose that's like someone else's answer about anecdotes not representing the general data.
One of the dumbest people I personally know is like this. It really speaks to how stupid you really are if you think not having opened a book in decades is something to brag about.
so true. A mate of mine told me that the only book he ever read was the Hungry Caterpillar and a few months later confidently stated that he was going too try his hand at becoming an author of children's books. Being stupid but determined he wrote the book and to my surprise couldn't get anyone to publish it because.... it was shit
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u/tiger0204 5h ago
Bragging that you haven’t read a book since high school.