i've been trying 2 get back in2 reading actual books for the longest time, but it's kinda hard to make it "stick," if that makes sense. this is especially problematic for me as an english major because i need to actually read books to improve as a writer. i used to really like reading, too, so it sucks that it has been feeling like a chore to do for the longest time now (_ _|||) i just really wanna be able to get back into it and stop feeling like i've been stagnating, and there's a lot of books i've been meaning to read for a long time. does any1 have any tips for how to get myself back into reading actual books???
Hi, I read roughly up to 80-100+ novels/literary mediums per year, largely full length novels by average.
I think given how you described things, there's a few productive approaches to re-ingesting prose and the like on a more regular basis.
Audiobooks are a good way to approach the idleness side of things (during a work shift, driving in the car, taking a walk), especially since it doesn't limit you to what your hands and eyes have to occupy. There's actually quite a lot of studies showing that with the proper attention to it, audiobooks stimulate the brain in a near identical way to actually reading. Give or take.
RE-READING!! This is can be pretty huge. What made you fall in love with it to begin with? Give an old favorite a dusting, read it over, you'll like feel that resurgence for words on a page.
Other mediums. Western comics? Manga? Graphic Novels? Light novels? Novella? Anthologies? Take a look at exploring what else the pen on paper has to offer, all of these things are really strong varieties to the literary medium, and EXCELLENT catalysts for storytelling.
For me, on the occasions that I do have a break from my ritual reading habits because life and emotion, I often will spend time finding the right series or title to siren me back into the literal need for it based on what my current circumstances are or what the heart is throbbing for. This is what reading is for. It's the very essence of human expression; Thus, if it's something you are feeling, then it's likely something someone else has felt before, and found a method to immortalize that expression on page, and that is a beautiful thing worth exploring. Ask your friends for recommendations! Book clubs? Find a community for it?
Think of what might bridge you into finding the right materials for your specific tastes! Perhaps you don't like something you tried reading, that's okay, because it will help refine your taste into finding what you DO like best.
A HUGE part of this is also habit building, try to develop a more day to day or few days a week space where that itch to read has a way to be satisfied...you've got the want for it, so think about what kind of ways you could more regularly expose your brain to that sense of intellectual stimulation, doesn't even have to start with books. The recognition of what other parts of your life already exhibit this habitual function will likely be the process to adding something new into your baseline.
HOPE THIS HELPS!! I would be absolutely happy to give you a recommendation, and can pretty much guarantee I'd suggest some(s) things that would work as a re-introduction point!
You must be logged in to reply.