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

[stirling]

Would be very very much appreciated. At the moment I'm ready to microwave my phone.

Been through a dark few years. Interestingly, coincides with heavy smart phone usage. Books are now persistently difficult to 'get into'.

Anyone overcome this? Thank you

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

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 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.

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.

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!)

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.

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.

Really great suggestions on here. Many thanks everyone! Just reading the replies has got me motivated!

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.

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.

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.

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

I ended up finding books which were about to be shown as a film/tv series and trying to ‘beat’ the release date so I could watch it once I’d finished reading it. I seem to be reading maybe trashier books than I used to but it’s got me reading again.

-make time for reading e.g. half an hour in the morning rather than when you get into bed

• don't read on any device that connects to the internet!
• take a book with you everywhere so you can read at the bus stop rather than getting out your phone
• join a readalong on mumsnet. I read War and Peace this year - a chapter a day is very doable.

Remind yourself that smart phone use is bad for your mental health! I feel the same but I still slip up a lot. Try reducing or cutting it out with the help of an app.

I read stuff after I've seen the film if I'm going through a phase where I'm really struggling to concentrate. It helps that I already know the characters, key plot points and ending so if I lose focus I might miss a bit of description or something but nothing major.

Phones and the Internet can really suck you in eh?? I'm a reader not a huge amount of books a year by any stretch but I would say 1 or 2 a month but I go through stages of not picking a book up for weeks and then getting annoyed at myself because I've not finished the book. Once I get started I'm fine.

I agree with previous comments of putting your phone in another room, taking a book anywhere where you can read a few pages rather than scrolling through social media etc. I have a regular once a week appointment straight from work. The place is just around the corner from work and I have 20/25 minutes between finishing work and my appointment so I've started taking my book or listening to an episode of a podcast.

It is sometimes hard but just allocate a number of pages or a chapter as a daily target.

Kindle and Amazon Prime, which gives you thousands of books for free. I've tried loads of books I'd never usually buy because they were free on my Kindle.

I also got one for my 8yo daughter and we sit together and read for 30-40mins every night at her bedtime. I do it to set an example to her but actually really enjoy the time too.

@GeorgeorRuth for a real page turner you could try American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins, or the Chronicles of St Mary's time travelling series by Jodi Taylor are good fun. Just One Damned Thing After Another is the first one.

Buying a kindle (not app as you’re then on your phone) was a game changer for me. It does nothing but books so you’re not tempted to go down the rabbit hole of social media or whatever sucks you in. I love it, and you can change the typeface and size, look up words, bookmark, and even get recommendations for other books

Promise yourself you will read 20 pages a day, it's a realistic amount and will help you get back into reading.

I joined a book club for this very reason. I thought it might force me to read again.

But no. I had to resort to getting audible and listening to it whilst doing other stuff. No concentration at all.

Thank you 😊

@stirling

I was a former avid reader with a Netflix and internet addiction.
I actually set myself a timed task of 1 hour per day, and I used a reading app. It didn't take too long for me to have a breakthrough and I ended up reading 200 books that year (largely due to COVID and lockdowns)

Start with easy, plot driven stuff that makes you just want to squeeze in another chapter. American Dirt is a great suggestion, or Three Hours, or Magpie Lane. Once you're back in the habit of regular reading then it's far easier to get stuck into just about anything.

This is really interesting. I have noticed that as an ex-avid book reader, I now have the attention span of a gnat. Often wondered whether it's linked to persistent scrolling and reading most things in tiny snippets. So sick of being on my phone!