Have you tried reading a book that sounded interesting for fun and not just because you were forced to in school?
this post was submitted on 07 Jun 2026
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Seems to me you prefer texts that have a fact-presenting or conversational tone rather than a narrative. Nothing wrong with that.
Audio book or comics there are plenty of non super heroe comics. Maybe non story book like science or history.
I was about 21 when I became good at reading. It does not what read you as long you enjoy it.
Have you tried short stories? Take a look here: !shortstories@literature.cafe
If you want to find a good physical book, just head to your local library and spend some time wandering around, trying different books. It's OK to skim through books.
Try an audiobook
I really struggle with books that sound like a narration and much prefer them when I feel like they’re in the room telling me the story. I’ve found it much easier to find this in young adult fiction compared to adult novels.
Some examples of books that hooked me right away as a kid and I read in a month or less:
- Holes
- Hatchet
- The Call of the Wild
- My Side of the Mountain
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians
- Artemis Fowl
May be because of a short attention span.
Or maybe you need the constant feedback that an AI chat simulates.
What sort of genres have you tried? You mention 1984, but that's a very specific book only very specific people would like. There's so many kinds of books and genres out there, there might be something that does grab your attention.
One of the biggest problems with modern reading is that nobody ever has an hour to kill.
As raw entertainment, reading can't compete with screens.
My tip is to ban your phone from the bathroom. Shitting is just about the only time you're sitting still with nothing obvious to occupy your mind. In this situation a shampoo label is interesting.
That’s why I read on my phone. I can quickly pick up a book where I left off, wherever I happen to be.
funny you say that. i never take my phone to the bathroom
Trust the comment. This might be the only time you can actually read. Even 10 minutes a day is better than nothing.
Those are more like conversations than actually reading a book. They're also very short with immediate payoff. Sounds like some unbalanced brain chemistry around delayed gratification - do you have problems with that in other parts of your life? If so it could be ADHD.
Try audiobooks or comic books/graphic novels. I do like reading but sometimes it takes me some push to get back into it. You need to read the book equivalent of a fun comedy movie not the book equivalent of Citizen Kane (I hated that movie btw).
What I do is I'll read a short fun book first to build the reading habit, then I'll transition to the boring/dense book I actually want to get through.
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Are you aphantasic (unable to form mental images of things based on descriptions)?
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Have you tried audiobooks?
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Have you tried reading books of movies you’ve already seen (so you don’t have to keep track of characters and plot, and can focus on the elements unique to prose)?
no,i can form images in my mind easily.
i didn't try audiobooks.
yes i tried reading books of movies,i finished the book back then after a lot of reading and didn't like the book.
I strongly recommend getting into audiobooks. They are a good gateway into books. If audiobooks are a bit too much still try long term podcasts, they could be good gateways into audiobooks in turn.
Audiobooks are amazing
John Green claims he has aphantasia. He's a writer.
Aphantasia is bullshit.
Ehhh it's not bullshit but it's more of a fun fact than a disability. I think we all have the same brain muscles to imagine things visually or have an inner voice narrating everything, etc. but some people just don't know how to flex it. Similar to how some people can wiggle their ears and eyebrows and others can't.
- I don’t like baseball.
- I also don't like avocado, but i love guacamole.
- I dont like beer, but i drink plenty of alcohol.
Why dont you like reading?
Because you dont, you are the final authority on what you enjoy, and there is no other explanation needed or required.
Your phone is a better distraction machine than a book. The idea that most people who read, or who read in the past, were reading for the noble pursuit of being more knowledgeable or cultured is a myth. Most people read because it was the best form of entertainment available. In the time before electronics, you had no tv, no radio. Your options for entertainment were books, the newspaper, or going to the pub to drink and listen to somebody plunk on a banjo. Or, yaknow, talk to people.
As soon as radio became a thing, lots of people started filling their time listening to music or serials or the news. Then tv came and drew more people away. Then the internet. Then the internet in your pocket. Then Tiktok. Every step in this process has been an improvement at tickling the parts of the human brain which desire novelty, drama, humor, and general stimulation. You are not especially "bad at reading" - while general literacy has gone up in the last 100 years, the quality of literacy among the literat has gone down.
Now, I think that reading books is good. Especially in this day and age, I think that being able to whip out a real, physical book and read it is a great way to expand your world, improve your attention span, and relax without distractions. But at the same time, I don't think that you should jump right into reading the Great Books. If your metric is "I must be enthralled by 1984 or else I am bad at reading", then you are not in for a good time. Often The Classics^TM^ are simply not that enjoyable to read. They were written in another time when people spoke in weird ways. They were written for an audience that had a different cultural context than you. And we keep lauding them not because they are the best books for the averge reader today, but because they broke new ground in their time (see: Seinfeld isnt funny).
And, to be frank, most of the people who these books were written for had much longer attention spans than modern people - hell, read Ovid in the original Latin - sentences will run on for three pages. I think 1984 is a good book that can be enjoyable to read for the modern reader. But you need to build up your capacity for book reading to enjoy it. Similar to how you need to build your running capacity up before you will really enjoy running with a friend in the park. So if you want to be a better reader, I suggest starting with things that are easier. Things that will be fun and easy to read. Things that were written not to be a "great book", but simply to be a fun, rompy adventure, or a steamy romance, or a wish-fulfillment fantasy. Read harry potter or the hunger games or the girl with the dragon tattoo. Young adult fiction is great for this, because it tends to be written just for sake of being fun enough to get kids to read. Or you could also try reading some fun short stories - something to build the habit of just sitting down for 10 minutes and opening a book to read just for fun. Or you could read a book club, and have other people create a bit of social pressure to actually pick up the book and read it, with the reward that you get to discuss what you read with friends afterwards.
Most likely it's because you haven't found the types of books you like, or at least the writing style you like to read. Modern writing is much more condensed than it was even 20 or 30 years ago.
What's your favorite genre of movie or show?
i like comedy movies. i been watching rush hour movies one after another,i will finish the last one rush hour 3 soon.
I'm a slow reader and have trouble sitting down with a book, though I will if the book is good enough. For folks like me, I'd recomend starting off with an audio book. You'll get the story and it might get you interested enough to eventually pick up a book. It's a good transition from movies or tv into reading. I know multiple people, along with myself, who've gotten into reading by starting with audio books.
As far as books go, you might like one of these:
- Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
I recommend this book to everyone! If you like video games and humor, this is the book for you. It's a fantasy / sci-fi about a guy forced into a type of game with a sidekick (who I wont talk about due to spoilers). It's fantastic. Quick paced and very funny. Highly recommend this in audio book format.
- The Heist by Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg
FBI agent and con man forced to work together, buddy action style. Similar to Rush Hour in tone and silliness.
- The Intern’s Handbook by Shane Kuhn
An assassin beomes an intern in an office. It's dark, but funny, especially if you work in an office type setting.
- Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen
Detective and con woman team up. It's funny and fast, and kind of weird.
66 here. I’ve read one book since I graduated in 1978. I’ve been retired for 11 years now and doing well. Books are like anything else. Either you’re into them or you’re not! It means nothing! You’re good.
Now I'm curious, which book was that 😁 ?
Lee Iacocca believe it or not!
Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca was an American author, engineer, and executive who developed the Ford Mustang, ...
Ha ha excellent!
Cheers!
I also have this problem, but for me it's an ADHD stimulation thing. On a screen, you can take breaks between reading large passages by switching between tasks
With books, thats a lot harder to do. The thing that fixed it for me was switching to audiobooks. That means now I can "read" while driving, or doing the dishes, or cooking.
It's the same for me honestly. Reading fiction isn't enjoyable for me most of the time, though reading nonfiction (ie learning about the world) absolutely is.
I remember this being somewhat different in my childhood, and my hypothesis is that the fact we got somewhat uninteresting fiction reading assignments in school killed my interest in it.
It's not screens vs books because I have tried reading fiction on my phone or tablet too, no difference.
Not everyone enjoys the same things and that's ok. I'd rather rip out my own fingernails than spend any time with "ai chat" shrug
Maybe you didn't find the genre that clicks with you.
1984 is an objectively depressing story and not really interesting for the love story or other things. It's political.
Reading is great when you have hours to kill and want just more dense information or description. You also sort of need to enjoy using your imagination I guess.
Maybe you're interested in a biography of a musician or movie director, maybe you're into history, maybe you like crime and horror stuff.
But also, there are SO MANY bad books out there. Don't worry about it. I haven't read a book in years, because I am not really interesting in topics at that level at the moment and I don't think many authors really capture things well. You need a real good book recommendation.
And also, maybe you just don't like reading books.
Also, translated books can be a lot worse, read in native language if possible. Authors can put a lot of... style and taste into their language and that's lost in translation sometimes.
Different people like different things. Even despite my super busy life I still read a lot. It allows me to slow down a bit.
Try different types of books. I'm currently reading a lot of litrpg which is a fun genre related to fantasy.