August 2025
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    Lately, reading doesn't entertain me like it used to. It takes me forever to choose my next read, and I often end up DNF-ing it after a few pages, either because I don't feel like reading that book in that moment or I find it too boring.
    I feel like that might be due to having too many options available.
    Then, when I do find a book I like and commit to reading, it's really hard for me to get fully immersed. I’ll read a chapter and then go look at my phone or do something else. I also often find myself zoning out and thinking about something else.

    I tried to just not read for a while, but I can't do that either. I have to have a book I'm reading, even if I only read a chapter or a page a day. I can go a few days without reading if I have other stuff going on.

    Also, I've noticed that I sometimes think, “What's the point of reading this book? What do I get from it?” Usually, I don't have an answer.

    Did I outgrow reading? Do I need to find different genres or types of books than I usually read? Is it just my attention span?

    by Snoo-24289

    10 Comments

    1. I feel you! I think part of it is definitely if you’re sticking to mainly one genre. I’ve realized my reading has gone down and it’s because all I read is romance and so many romance stories are similar 😂 definitely branch out if you can! Or use a ready log where you can rate the books you’ve read and what genres they were in and find any patterns

    2. Sometimes I read a very good book, one that’s head and shoulder above the mean. Books after that just don’t compare to it and annoy me and usually I have to stop reading for a while to reset my expectations.

      You can also get burned out on reading. Between the lines of your post I read a lot of stipulations you set yourself on why you read and those weigh you down eventually. You should read, because you enjoy reading. You don’t have to finish books you don’t want to – even if you DNF 20 in a row. You also don’t have to gain anything from reading a book.

    3. Ornery-Sheepherder74 on

      How would you have answered “What’s the point of reading this book? What do I get from it?” during the time when you really enjoyed reading and weren’t feeling this way?

    4. gravitydefiant on

      With all my hobbies, I find that my interest ebbs and flows. Sometimes I’m really into it; other times I’m not. I’ve learned to just let it happen. Spend your time on something else for now. In a few weeks or months you’ll probably hear about some great book and be desperate to read it, and your love for reading will be back, just like that.

    5. DragonShad0w on

      I enjoy the act of reading, but I’ve been disappointed by almost all of the books I’ve read this year that I’m starting to wonder if I should continue :/ and sometimes I’ll enjoy it in the beginning but then halfway in the story something happens that makes me not like the book so much, but I’ll still feel the need to finish it so then it becomes a chore

    6. This was happening to me too—I was a voracious reader when I was younger, and then sometime in my 20s, I totally fell off and was reading one book a year at most. Diving back into Stephen King (aka reading what I enjoy, think is good, and WANT to read, rather than what other people say I should read or make me feel like I should read) was the first part of overcoming that; deleting all regular social media, esp time suckers like Instagram, was the second part. I’m still not reading at the pace or volume that I was when I was younger, but I’m feeling my attention span beginning to recover and am actually looking forward to sitting down to read, now.

    7. If you haven’t done so, I think it’s really helpful to learn about how literature works. It really adds depth to the reading experience.

    8. AngelWasteland on

      I had this for about a year and a half when I started college. I was exhausted from reading scientific journals all day and just couldn’t sit through a book and feel relaxed the way I used to.

      For me, what helped was switching from reading mostly YA fantasy and YA contemporary to getting into adult romance novels and thriller/mysteries.

      I think it depends on what you want out of reading. I read to escape from real life and give my brain a break in fluffy romances or teens solving murder mysteries. Figure out what you want from reading and see what genre or writing style helps you with that.

    9. squintsbeefledore on

      I recommend War and Peace. You’ll feel good about reading it, it’s way easier to read than people act, it’s truly just an amazing book that reignited my passion for reading.

    10. Squiddlywinks on

      Kinda sounds like your attention span is just cooked.

      I was the same way for a bit, but an attention span is a skill to be developed like any other so I worked on it and I’m doing much better now.

      Also might be ADHD, which I also have, it can make it difficult to feel a sense of joy at accomplishing a long project.

      Lastly, never feel.bad about dnfing a book. Some books just aren’t for some people, and that’s okay.

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