22 year old male, struggling to study compsci and daily doomscroller. I can't name a single book I can remember that I have read in its entirety at all. The closest I've ever gotten is halfway through Post Office by Charles Bukowski or Ring by Koji Suzuki but both times I have become bored or disinterested or engaged with other things I was doing.
Speaking of, I have wasted about 17 of my years playing video games (which I'm still bad at) and as a result, I have poor attention skills (I also potentially have ADHD but I'm not sure) and struggle with being motivated with long term gratification which makes things that I want to do like start reading or trying to actually engage with reading seem intimidating.
I'm afraid I'll try buying and reading a book that I'll misinterpret or misunderstand what is happening or what the author is trying to convey. I enjoy films but I have the same problem where I feel like a moron because I just watch the movie play out and can pick up on the vibe or tail-ends of themes or ideas the author is trying to convey, but realize I interpreted the film incorrectly after looking at reviews or essays online.
This is perpetuated even further for reading though since I am missing so much essential reading (like classics or famous books like Catcher in the Rye etc), especially at 22, and have missed time I could've spent developing those learning skills that other people have. I just feel like an uneducated idiot that scraped through high-school and is scraping by with the lowest passing grades in college too.
Also I know this is somewhat common but sometimes when reading, it feels like when you're reading the description of a Microsoft product, I read entire paragraphs and it feels like it goes in one ear and goes out the other, I can't understand it and maybe that makes me not care to read further.
by metaldreamsleep
2 Comments
Maybe you can try short stories about themes you like, then if you like it you can seek similar short stories or novels. Some are really short and well written at the same time
Before turning to the classics, find something easier / more accessible to get started with, something more captivating that’ll keep your attention.
If you like films, for example, you could pick the book that was adapted into a movie you’ve already seen and liked. Has the added benefit of giving you two views of the same work and could therefore help you promote your understanding of it.
Or if you want a spoiler free ending, pick a book that’s being made into a movie you think you’ll want to see.
***Project Hail Mary* by Andy Weir (2021)** is one that gets recommended a lot to “newcomers”. It’s got good pace, it’s thought-provoking and it keeps you wanting more. The movie is coming out mid-March, so there’s that carrot to be finished and then go to the cinema.
But yeah, reading is reading and it’s a skill that gets better the more you do it. So start with something that makes you think you’ll keep at it, even if it isn’t what you think you should have read or be reading.