books How do you avid readers do it?

[Haruhi-chan 487]

I just want to know how people can read without any problem. I've always had the hardest time getting into books that interest me. I just can't seem to read a book or finish it. It drives me nuts, so that's why I was wondering how all of you avid readers are able to read without any distractions and stuff. D:

 

HOW!?

[Standard User 2,127]

Well, my family has always made reading a big deal. My sister is the biggest bookworm you'll ever meet. I used to read all the time, but now I'm on the internet more. I still read a ton of fanfiction, I suppose...

 

I dunno, I've just always loved books. I have a very active imagination, so it's easy to picture the book in my head. Kind of like a movie, only you get to pick the visuals to a degree and it moves at your own pace.

[TopQuark 409]

Well first, you need to be reading something that you actually have interest in. It's always a grind to read something that bores you.

 

Next, you need to roughly know your reading level. If you never did a lot of reading at a younger age, it will be more difficult to get through more advanced texts.

 

It helps to know what mood and setting you like to read in. Try reading when you are feeling sad, happy, frustrated, bored, etc., and in different places with different attributes, like noise level, light level, colour saturation, and distracting decorations.

 

Go to the library and sample a lot of genres/themes. Read as much as you are comfortable with each one, and gauge your reaction. Try fiction, non-fiction, adventure, fantasy, basically everything and see what is easyest for you. Even try things you think you might not like.

 

Finally, just keep doing it. Treat it like exercise or dieting. If you just persevere, you will improve, whether it's in vocabulary, endurance, or plain enjoyment.

 

Hope this helps, as I know how frustrating it can be to just not want to read something.

[Guest]

I like reading, but I don't do it enough. I do however not like how we live in a society now that more or less makes reading a bit elitist. People who read a lot (not all obviously) have a tendency to act a bit pretentious about the fact that they read. Like I think a lot of us have run into people who will derail us for seeing a movie about something and insist how the book is "so much better" and we are not viewing it "the way it was meant to be viewed". Many people these days do kind of use reading to appear as though they're more intelligent than others sadly.

[Haruhi-chan 487]

Well first, you need to be reading something that you actually have interest in. It's always a grind to read something that bores you.

 

Next, you need to roughly know your reading level. If you never did a lot of reading at a younger age, it will be more difficult to get through more advanced texts.

 

It helps to know what mood and setting you like to read in. Try reading when you are feeling sad, happy, frustrated, bored, etc., and in different places with different attributes, like noise level, light level, colour saturation, and distracting decorations.

 

Go to the library and sample a lot of genres/themes. Read as much as you are comfortable with each one, and gauge your reaction. Try fiction, non-fiction, adventure, fantasy, basically everything and see what is easyest for you. Even try things you think you might not like.

 

Finally, just keep doing it. Treat it like exercise or dieting. If you just persevere, you will improve, whether it's in vocabulary, endurance, or plain enjoyment.

 

Hope this helps, as I know how frustrating it can be to just not want to read something.

I think my problem is my reading comprehension. While, I can read really well... I often have a harder time processing what I'm reading at times. I already pretty much know what I like for genres and such. I can read pretty much anything that has to do with disabilities/mental health to fantasy/sci-fi stuff. I got through a couple books in the past without any problem, but... I don't know. Maybe I'm just pushing myself to read too much or something.

 

Reading library books is actually harder for me. They only give you a certain amount of time to get through a book, and I've always been the type to pace myself. It also doesn't help that I have autism and ADHD as well. X_x Anyway, I actually knew how to read before I even began talking (I didn't speak until about four or five) or at least before I reached Kindergarten. Something like that. O_o I don't know how it was possible, but that's what my parents told me. *shrug*

 

What I'm trying to say is... it's not so much the genre/mood/setting/whatever I struggle with. I don't really know what it is. I mean, if I have music and a book that interests me, I should be able to read without any problem. Ugh. Maybe it's just me.

[Christmasy Britty 2,553]

idk its kinda hard to explain i guess many factors can be in effect here for me at least. I got into books at young age that were magical and interesting like Harry Potter and Goosebumps and at the time I was bullied a lot so i felt like no one really wanted to be my friend so I was very lonely. The books that I read eventually became my closest friends creating strong bonds with said stories as well as many others. I've read over hundreds of books and have expanded to books that are considered grown up and literature and through each work I escape into their mind and world and become closer to those individuals. I know what its like to be Frodo traveling across Middle Earth. What it's like to be Sherlock Holmes solving a case and what it's like to be the boy who lived. While reading is not for everyone that's the main reason why I got into reading so much

[TopQuark 409]

You could try taking a break every few pages to reflect on what you just read. Just put the book down and ask yourself, "What did I just read?", and think about the information you just went over. In the case of a narrative, if you can't remember what happend in the story, go back and reread a bit. If it's non-fiction, go back and look at any facts you couldn't remember. Of course, lack of retention isn't necessarily your fault; it could just be a bad book.

 

If your problem has anything to do with your mental conditions, then I doubt I know how to help. I no neuropsycologist.

[guest243535531ty43 219]

I would recommend reading a book entitled "How to Read a Book" by Mortimer Adler. 

Edited August 15, 2016 by estoc