Comment by 🚀 stack
Re: "Does anyone have general tips to get back into reading…"
If reading itself doesn't provide enough endorphins, maybe reading is not a good fit for now. I go in waves, and sometimes don't read much or at all for long periods. It's not a competitive sport, and stress can make it not enjoyable for me. I like to have stretches of time so I can immerse and enjoy
2025-08-02 · 9 months ago
9 Later Comments ↓
👻 bl0rt · 2025-08-04 at 04:38:
Last time I was in the habit it started with reading before bed. I got a kindle with the backlight turned way down to read in the dark so I could pass out while reading. It's a really comfy habit, and if you're trying to learn something from the book you end up thinking about it while you're asleep sometimes. It's not for everybody though, and sometimes you end up having to read the same thing twice
🚀 stack · 2025-08-04 at 12:55:
I think my reading habit was broken by purchasing an e-reader. At first I was excited about having a few hundred books on it, and traveling with it for a few months with it seemed like I was finally in the future...
But then it started annoying me -- i could not easily jump back to see something, and switching books -- I always enjoyed reading two or three books at the same time -- was really cumbersome. I felt handicapped, hands tied behind my back.
And having 700 books that I did not personally select turned out to be yet another burden. Almost a job, sorting through them, mostly books I did not want. Unlike physical books, where you can leaf through them and read a few random paragraphs....
And finally, I hate pdf manuals. With printed manuals I will use a dozen bookmarks and sticky notes, and have them worn to open exactly where I want. No such luck with e-readers.
I lost interest in my Kobe, and have no idea what happened to it. But my reading habit was destroyed in the process.,.
🌧️ candycanearter [OP, ✍️] · 2025-08-05 at 22:14:
@bl0rt i may try that?
🌬️ Aeolus · 2025-08-28 at 17:14:
What worked for me is reading a physical book while listening to the audiobook at the same time. It didn't take more than a page or two before I would get bored and frustrated by how slow the audio was and turn it off. Essentially, I used my own poor attention against itself.
🚀 stack · 2025-08-28 at 17:31:
@Aeolus, many audiobook players can alter reading speed. Many audiobooks are read by horrible readers, and I can't listen to a lot of them due to weird accents or affectations of speach.
But yeah, I find it hard to read, listen, or do anything these days. After 3 rounds of COVID and 4 vaccinations, my brain is totally blown.
🌬️ Aeolus · 2025-08-28 at 20:14:
@stack Oh yeah, I wasn't saying to do it with everything you read. That's not feasible. It's just a crutch to get back into reading. Like I said, I shut the audio off within a page or two. By the time I finished the first book I tried it on, I didn't need to do it anymore. So you don't need to deal with weird accents or whatever. All you need is a single audiobook you do enjoy. I am not the type to adjust audio speed on videos and such, I would find it aesthetically displeasing to get audio anywhere near my actual reading speed, but I can see how my strategy wouldn't work for people who do that.
👾 jecxjo · 2025-09-01 at 00:45:
@Aeolus I am the same way with slow audio. when i do audio books i typically run them at 3x. 2x feels like normal talking speed but slower than i read so i speed it up.
🚀 stack · 2025-09-01 at 02:02:
I accidentally turned on a weird skip silence feature upon installing my audiobook player and it made it incredibly awful. Took me a few days to realize why everything sounded like crap
☯️ shia [mod] · Nov 21 at 05:18:
Just stare at a wall, for increasing amounts of time, and your attention will improve. But it hard to do. I don't think there is any shortcuts.
Original Post
Does anyone have general tips to get back into reading instead of using my phone? I've tried willpowering it but it never works..