How do I read regularly again?

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You are acting like we know some sort of secret. Just start reading little by little.
 
Find something entertaining that's fairly easy to read, as a start. Maybe some classics like Lord of the Rings, or god forbid, Harry Potter. The latter got millions of children to read, so it should be alright as long as you don't start using it as some kind of deep allegory or declaring real people "the real life X", like every retarded twatter checkmark ever.

There's also the Good Soldier Svejk, and there's something about Robert Merle's style and topics that click with me, but I don't know how good their English translations are, assuming you're a 'bong or a 'burger.
 
Can't remember the last time I read a book from start to finish until my friend gave me his GOT books. I'm on the fourth one now. Just find something you actually are interested in
 
I did the reading while pooping thing and its pretty useful.

Thanks everyone for your helpful advice, comedic quips, and most importantly, honest inputs.
（ノ*´∀`*)ノ*✲ﾟ*｡⋆ :heart-full:
 
1. Pick up a book
2. Open it
3. Read
4. If you dont like it, put book down. Go back to 1
 
Read anything, something, first before you start worrying about reading the "right" books.

Tbh I was in the same boat a few years ago. Started reading sci fi and short stories and shit just to get back in the habit.


Your attention system or reward system or whatever is fucked. Need to retrain your attention span and willpower.

It's like exercising. Can't climb a mountain if you're a fat fuck, can't read Calvino if you're a slave to your limbic system
 
Happened to me recently. I hadn't sat down and read a book in so long, at least not for my own pleasure. Then on a whim I decided to re-read The Lord of the Rings, not having read it all the way through in years. I committed myself to reading at least a chapter a day; it's a hefty text and I didn't want to spend the rest of the year getting through it.

And it worked. I finished the book after about a month and now I've gotten back into reading for my own pleasure. All you gotta do is pick something you're either interested or something you like and just commit to it. That last part's the most important. Don't just brush it off. If you have some free time and you want to get invested in something good, read. It's better than staring at a screen all day looking at stuff but ultimately absorbing nothing.
 
I either buy Audible books or use a text to speech program for digital books and listen to them for long walks or commutes. Some narrators really spice up average books, one series was average "man hiding from his past" reluctantly becomes hero then saviour of two worlds over four books became pretty compelling because audible used one of their most versatile talents.

It's "Orion Colony", they're the book equivalent of an above average Netflix series you can predict from start to end but sometimes you need that.
Contrary to my idiot shitposting here I like hard science fiction and military/alternate history types of stories.
Audible has a netflix style membership where you can listen to anything in their "plus" catalog. There's a ton of biographies of bands that'll be more fulfilling than shitty clickbait YouTube videos. You can mix them with gaming. I play shooters and sports games alot better listening to science tedtbooks for some reason. Some kind of zen you achieve learning about theoretical astronomy and things. Try it.
 
@5ever a crab - My advice is to set a very modest daily reading goal -- say, one page per day. After this has become habitual -- when you no longer have to put forth any effort to find the time to sit down and read your page per day -- then ramp it up to five pages. When that's become automatic, and no longer requires effort, bump it up to 10 pages per day.

One page per day might seem absurdly little, but if you're reading zero pages per day, it's a step up.

If you have a friend who can check in with you from time to time and ask how you're doing on your reading goal, that can also help.
The Fool said:
Read Empress Theresa.
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This would be a great suggestion if OP's goal was to be turned off of reading forever.
Justtocheck said:
He wants to do something else. But he FEELS HE SHOULD be reading. Probably one of those youtube pricks that talks about reading as books as if it was that big of a deal. Fucking self important assholes. So the real question that I would like OP to ask himself is why force himself to do something he doesn't want to do?
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Maybe OP can sense that they're wasting their life with mere entertainment. Maybe OP is disturbed to find that their brain has been rewired by constant exposure to electronic entertainment that's deliberately designed to be addictive. We'd all be illiterate and living in our own shit if we never forced ourselves to do things we don't want to do.
 
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I agree with the suggestion about audiobooks. When you need to go somewhere or do boring things, instead of listening to music - find a book, grab your headphones and start listening. And some book can become so catchy that you will want to read it in a "classic" way ;)
 
The Shadow said:
It helps finding something you're interested in to read about. My comfort food as reading goes is F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack books.
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Wilson is an absolutely fantastic writer.

I was amused to see that there appear to be people who actually believe in the reality of his mythos out there.
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If your reading habits are so bad that you're coming here for advice, consider Adderall XR.

Actual tips:

- Not all books are created equally; find out what genres you enjoy and learn from and what you can't sit through. I have made peace with the fact that I am never going to read Dune.
- Find out what medium makes it easiest. Some people like audiobooks, some like reading online, some like physical books. Thriftbooks is a great place to get physical books 4 cheap.
- Don't consider it a chore, or something you "have" to do. I've known very smart people who just find it hard to get into most books, but have other hobbies like music, art, math, etc. Do it because you want to. Romanticize the activity in your head.

Kurt Vonnegut is an easy and down-to-earth author to get into.
 
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