Hello! I am pretty new to reading. I know how to read but I just don't read/consume long form media and as a result I really struggle with my attention. I want to learn how absorb knowledge and to truly learn again.
I'm looking for books that might help this process. I've really been struggling with my mental health as of late in regards to the war on intelligence and short form media rotting my brain. I'm at a low point and I'm looking for a way out.
If any of you have had similar experiences or been in an intellectual rut, please reach out and empart some advice on how to escape it.
I'm looking for any books that would help in this regard.
Thanks!
by alexsoap_
3 Comments
What kinds of movies or tv shows or short form content do you like? The best way to get into reading is to find something you’re actually interested in!
There are two ways to answer this question in my opinion. The first is actual books on the topic of improving at reading and focusing in the digital age. I do have some books I’ve enjoyed on this including How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler (guide to gaining knowledge from nonfiction books) and Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf (neuroscience of reading). This author also has a book on my TBR called Reader Come Home specifically about reading in the digital age, but I cannot personally recommend this yet although I did enjoy her other book.
However, with that said, reading about how to get better at reading is not the best way to get better at reading. Just read something you love! For me, the books that pull me out of a slump are easier-to-read mysteries and thrillers with great twists. For you, it may be something completely different. However, I’ll go ahead and list some of my top books that sucked me in and made me love reading again for a while, because maybe they could help you too: Big Little Lies by Lianne Moriarty, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Beartown by Fredrik Backman, No Exit by Taylor Adams, and The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson.
If non-fiction is more your speed, but you want something that pulls you into reading without being too much of a struggle, some of my favorites have been Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, Word by Word by Kory Stamper, I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy, and Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen.
Overall, if you want to just start reading from scratch, I recommend starting with something that grabs your interest and holds it as much as possible, which likely won’t be the most intellectually intense books on your list. Then, once you’ve built the habit and gotten used to focusing on books for a while, tackle some of the more intimidating books you’re excited about. Reading anything is better for your brain that reading nothing, and is definitely better than doom scrolling. If you have more specific interests or ideas that you know are exciting to you, I can try to recommend books for those too.
I’d ease into things with with some graphic novels and work your way up to long form stuff. You can do a search for ‘educational’ or ‘non-fiction’ graphic novels and find plenty of stuff for all types of sciences and historical stuff and such~ enough to narrow it down to a genre you could engage in.
There’s an infinite amount of ways to learn through books. I think as well for some time you can spend time just learning things, not necessarily things to hang on to or master but just to practice learning. 100 ways to play solitaire or 100 different word games, 100 knots with parachord, 100 types of edible mushrooms or medicinal herbs, 100 minerals and rocks.
As for long-form books, there are plenty that are fewer than 150 pages. I think HG Wells’ Time Machine is like 80 pages. I also read a book called Exegesis by Astro Teller that was I think 200 pages but the formatting was all through emails so most of the pages were empty, and it was a nice casual interesting story about sentient AI. There’s also tons of fantasy / scifi short story collections that you can consume in small bits, like 15, 20, 30 pages per story, so much less intimidating and you can take your time getting through the book.
Though perhaps the most important thing is weening off the short-form phone media. I’m in the process of this myself. I’ll set my phone across the room before bed and lay with a book or a notepad to write, try to wait and hour after I wake up before opening a phone app, next week 2 hours, next week three hours, until I can safely commit to a self-scheduled time to spend on the phone and then something else engaging or relaxing scheduled after as a cooldown.
It takes time and effort. It’s not going to change overnight, but every day you wake up you can do things just a little differently until you and your brain have a fresh experience thanks to one another. You have internal resources that are ever infinite and waiting to be utilized, you’re not lacking or missing anything to be able to grow. You got this!