Have you ‘learned’ to enjoy reading again?

[UnwantedGain]

How did you do it, if you did? I’m really trying and have been reading most nights this year. I just can’t get into any of the books I’m reading.
I’ve tried lots of different genres. They’re all ones I would normally enjoy.
Am I doomed? Or can I ever enjoy reading again?
I’m mid 40’s, dc are all school age and sleeping through the night, just for reference.

Have you tried poetry? That broke my latest reading slump.

I re-read old favourites. I'm currently reading through Georgette Heyer and Agatha Christies, and enjoying them.

I couldn't read after a bereavement. I went from a prolific reader to totally unable to take anything in, just when I needed escapism.

I'm getting it back though... good advice on here was to re read favourites so losing track of the plot wasn't so much of a problem. I also read books where each chapter is a 'mini' story. James Herriot and Gervais Phinn were good.

I realised my distraction was my phone. So I started putting phone away and committing to 30 minutes reading which soon crept up. I realised my brain was craving the instant satisfaction of hyper scrolling through multiple apps and couldn't enjoy the slower pace of the book

I've returned to "reading" by listening to audio books while I walk. Would that work for you? I'm hoping to progress to actual reading at some point

Oh @1940s I think you may have hit my nail on the head.
I’ve Also been contemplating getting rid of my nowtv subscription and getting audible instead. Combining it with walking would be amazing.

My degree was in Eng Lit and I was so heartily sick of studying after graduating that I could barely look at a book.

It was old favourites and some new easy-reads that managed to get me going again. Sometimes when I get too antsy I can't read either.

Oh to be beside a pool with a book.

oh absolutely! it comes and goes.

i would say - like looking for a partner- dont worry about it, one day a book will come along that you really like the sound of...

whats your favourite genre/style/tone- let us try to match make you...

I like thrillers, fantasy, horror, science fiction
It just depends on my mood. I don’t like historical, political or long family saga types.
I’ve enjoyed Gone Girl, Girl on the Train type of books. Stephen King, JD Robb, Alexander McCall Smith are some of my favourite authors.
I wish I knew what I would enjoy right now. Nothing really appeals. I don’t like re-reading books either.

Have you tried to go out of your normal comfort zone?

I got fed up with most chick-light romance novels and regency romances 10 years ago. I now read thrillers, gay romance, romantic suspense and just got back into histoic fiction as long as it is not related to the Tudors.

It totally depends on my mood, if I am stressed I go for favourites and even skip chapters and just love the feel of familiar characters. If I am on holiday or really. have time I get my teeth into long family sagas or bloodthirsty thrillers.

hmm, then I recommend Daisy Jones and the six because stylistically its simple enough to ween you back (?) but is also a bit different and fun.

you might like 'if i cant have you' by charlotte levin- its interesting/a kind of psychological hriller - or the hunting party? not my usual thing but a good modern whodunnit.

I experienced this after I bought an iPad. Having that completely changed my attention span. I didn't read for about 5 years!! It did come back once I found something I really wanted to read and I just read a couple of pages if that's all I felt like. It took a while to really focus and engage with the characters and remember who they actually were. If you really want to you will. I was late to the podcast party but love this resource. I've learnt so much. I find audible books hard as so far I haven't experienced a voice I've enjoyed listening to chapter after chapter. Even people I've really liked on telly have grated on my nerves and put my teeth on edge!! I also have listened to a variety of plays on BBC Sounds. I appreciate it might not he everyone's cup of tea but it has really improved my concentration levels and its great to listen to something whilst doing chores/cooking.

I agree about putting away your phone! I do it by leaving my phone downstairs overnight and going up to bed half an hour early to read in bed before I go to sleep.

I've been having the same problem, it frustrates me. Really miss the good old days of getting totally lost in a book.

Poetry has helped a lot, but still looking for the right novel.

I just read "castaways " by Lucy clarke. I couldn't put it down...valentina by s e lynes.try them both unput downable!

Thank you for the suggestions @Helmetbymidnight. I’ll have a look at those.
I can’t imagine getting lost in a book again. It just seems like another chore at the moment.

i read on kindle and i abandon loads after the samples. but the ones i do stick with, i love.

Thanks for this thread, OP. I’m a graduate and teacher of English and I feel like such a bloody hypocrite at the moment encouraging my students to read when I’m not. I haven’t really read properly at my usual rate and enjoyment since DC2 was born, and he’s nearly three.

I’ve just bought Hamnet and I’m hoping it is going to end my drought.

agree with trying something different as a palate cleanser.
My go-to genre is normally gothic fiction and period pieces, middlebrow I guess. After a reading dry spell I am thoroughly enjoying Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie which is really snappy and modern.

This is me as well! Scrolling on phone in preference....
Two young children, one nearly four months, could read whilst breastfeeding but don't!
I need to go to bed early too without phone.
I have Hamnet as well. And the new Elena Ferrante one (which somehow seems too intense when I've had a reading drought?). Both of those books I've had since they came out and in hardback!
Need to start!

@1940s

I realised my distraction was my phone. So I started putting phone away and committing to 30 minutes reading which soon crept up. I realised my brain was craving the instant satisfaction of hyper scrolling through multiple apps and couldn't enjoy the slower pace of the book

Pretty much the same for me!

When I do get a GOOD book I can't put it down though.

I ordered some books during lockdown that I had read a million years ago, but felt I should read as an adult. But I'm not doing well reading them! I force myself to read some but find it hard to 'take it in' as they're not gripping 🙄 snd by the time I go back to them I've forgotten what I'd read. (Brain fog is a real worry!)

A book subscription! Well, more than one . They have really got me back into reading and made me more adventurous

I realised my distraction was my phone.

Same here. I have to consciously put the phone aside, or I just waste the time I would have spent reading. However I would also say having the phone option makes me less tolerant of bad books than I used to be. If I find myself reaching for the phone instead of a particular book, I pick a different book instead.

I like thrillers, fantasy, horror, science fiction

Have you read any Clive Barker? Weaveworld is a good one to start with. My concentration (always piss-poor anyway) has really declined since hitting meno but I'm pleased to be half-way through one of his books now. Had been a few years since I'd picked a book up.