I'm so fecking crap at reading [sad]

[ahatlikeprincessmarina]

I've just done one of those 'how many books have you read' challenge lists, and found out I'd only read 26 out of the 300 on the list. But even worse than that, I went back and recounted all the titles I had started but given up on, and it was a further 32 out of the 300. More than the number I had actually finished!

I don't know why I so often find books so dull and can't get through them. Maybe I tend to read books I feel I 'should' read rather than ones I really want to, I don't know. But don't really know how to find the ones that keep me gripped. I really feel I need to persevere but when I only get to read 2 or 3 pages a night before falling asleep with the book on my face, I don't know how I can turn this around.

It makes me feel I've got no attention span and am not able to apply myself to anything. Any helpful tips??

Reading should be enjoyable. Life is far too short to have angst over this sort of thing. I've read Dickens and been bored stiff. I'm just about to start rereading the Harry Potter series for the like millionth time. Do I care? Do I jack. It makes me happy and that's all that matters

Absolutely agree with Kindle (good nn btw :o)

Reading should be fun, not a chore. Read what you fancy and bin the stupid lists, probably compiled by someone who has nothing better to do than make people feel guilty for not having read a shit load of classics. Life's too short to care. Pick an interesting bestseller and enjoy it :)

I agree I shouldn't try and read books I feel I 'should' any more! But the thing is, even when I pick up something I like the look of/the sound of the blurb on the back/someone else has recommended, I so often start it then just grind to a halt. It makes me think I'm not really interested in anything . I just can't be bothered with the vast majority of what I read and don't have the time to weed out all the dross for the one book in fifty I actually enjoy. Sorry if that sounds defeatist.

To try and be positive, books I've read and loved which might possibly allow people to recommend similar are:

•all the Bill Bryson travel ones
• The Secret History –Donna Tartt (amazing but I didn't love the Goldfinch that much (though I did get all the way through it) and stalled a few pages into The Little Friend)
• Whit –Iain Banks (blaah to most of his others, though - HATED The Wasp Factory!)
• The Testament of Gideon Mack –James Robertson (bloody brilliant)
• Behind the Scenes at the Museum –Kate Atkinson (didn't get on with her others, though)
• severalAlan Warner books
• most Dervla Murphy travel books
• some Anne Tyler but really dislike some others!

I think one of the problems is liking one book by an author, trying another by the same author and it just not living up to expectations. Huh.

Any recommendations along the above lines?!?

Are you on Goodreads? If not, then joining there will also help you find interesting books.

Maybe you would like books in short chapters or small sections? If so, perhaps Bridget Jones's diary, or the Diary of Adrian Mole series by Sue Townsend. For humour, you might like David Sedaris (I think he's very good), the Tent The Bucket and Me by Emma Kennedy.

It's hard recommending books - you might hate these or be really bored by them (I won't be offended though :o)

I used to be on Goodreads I think, Split, but I seem to remember getting so much intrusive pop-up stuff from them in the middle of my screen when I was trying to do other stuff that I got the rage with them in the end. I suppose it's just some setting or other that can be switched off, though, and that I should try again. Thanks.

I'm a bit like that and then when I find a book I love, I try to find similar others (which often aren't) but give up 100 pages in, in disappointment. I'm a high functioning Aspie so, find it difficult to read in a noisy environment (by noisy, I mean the tv in/people chatting).

Just a thought 😊

I really feel I need to persevere but when I only get to read 2 or 3 pages a night before falling asleep with the book on my face, I don't know how I can turn this around.
I have this problem too! It ruins even the most enjoyable books when I can only read a couple of pages a night - I lose track of plot and characters, and just never get into the flow of the book. The next time you have a book that really appeals, figure out how you can find slightly longer chunks of time and it might help you to enjoy your reading.
Agree with previous posters, read for YOU and ignore the lists. And when life is really too hectic for a good book, give yourself a break and return to reading when you are looking forward to it again.