Your top tips on how to get back into reading (after phone addiction)

I'm very much in the same boat.
Can anyone recommend some good old-fashioned adventure stories for adults please? I'm a bit old for Enid Blyton Adventure Series

This was me a couple of years ago after 'not having time' to read with 3 kids, but somehow having time for mindless phone scrolling.
I started using th kindle app on my phone, but would recommend turning off your notifications (do not disturb) while doing so.
What helped me most was joining a book club, it was a struggle to get the books read the first 6 months or so, but now I manage to read the book club book, plus at least one other of my choosing in between. Also a kindle paperwhite, so much nicer to read on than a phone, and you can put your phone in a drawer while you read as with a real book.

Read easy books with interesting ideas. Matt Haigh is great for this. Almost insultingly simply written but bloody brilliant imagination. I loved The Midnight Library - it makes you think so deeply about what you value in life, and yet a seven year old could read it.

good Ideas from pp.
i try to do my research about what books i think i will enjoy: this doesn’t always pay off and I’m not always right, instead of ploughing on with Pachinko I’ve ditched it. I try and read at least one chapter at a time and that seems to work.

Maybe try what I used to do when I had to plod through long books at university?

Make a cup of tea, sit down and decide you're reading, say, twenty pages before you stop. A manageable amount. Then have a break. But it's the concentrating to get started that's hard, and once you're underway you can always decide to read a bit more.

And absolutely find a gripping page turner as that will really help. Crime or thrillers are good for this.

Also stuff like GoodReads challenges don’t work for me as I find the pressure too much! I like using GoodReads to keep track of what I have read but not as a way of motivating me to read more. My annual target is always 12 which for me personally is a very low number, and as a result I don’t feel pressured by the target. I have read 40 books in 2022.

Seek out whatever you fancy reading that isn’t your phone. Smutty romances, stuff you loved as a teenager, every chart thriller you can lay your hands on. No judgement, no snobbery, just whatever has a proven track record of getting you hooked. Bonus if chapters are short because you can set yourself the challenge of just one chapter a day, but if you’re interested, chances are you’ll read more than that.

Plan your time to read the chapter and if possible, put your phone somewhere out of reach. Repeat until it feels more habitual and picking up your phone feels less so. Also consider whether there are audiobooks you might like to try. I actually wouldn’t advise using the kindle app on your phone and reading that way - you are way too close to the source of your distraction! (I am definitely like you in terms of addicted to my phone. I love reading on my actual kindle but never ever read on my phone!)

Just persevere really. I know what you mean about the phone. For me it’s my iPad but same result. Makes for a really short attention span.

I find when I just make myself read I do get into it again. I did a book challenge on Good Reads this year and have actually read 50 books. Find books you like and just keep at it.

I downloaded the BorrowBox app and get books from the council library because you only have the books on loan for so many days it makes me want to read them before they have gone from the app.

Most read using the Kindle app on my phone.

Buy the kindle and audible version of whatever you want to read, then read til your eyes get tired and switch to audible to listen. The apps keep track of your place in the text.

Brilliant.

I’ve not overcome this but I started with the Richard Osman books which are great and easy to read and get into.