Liquor&Spice: So…reading and me have a complicated relationship. But I want to try...

liquornspice:

So…reading and me have a complicated relationship. But I want to try and do more of it in ways that are sustainable for me. ie: do not rely on hyperfocus (where I neglect physical needs like sleep, food, the toilet), or lead to me feeling frustrated and stupid because I can’t pay attention long…

Just saw this, I have a lot of these issues, too. Some of reading for me is practice. I went through a period where I couldn’t read because of being ill and then I couldn’t pay attention when I got back to it. So, working up to reading longer stuff helped. I have ADHD, too, and it makes me feel like I’m missing half my IQ.

I take notes and underline—this is my #1 strategy for learning and paying attention, in any format. Taking notes forces me to pay attention and I can review them. I will do this for fiction if I am getting confused by names and places. A little notebook is good for this and makes me feel all professional: SEE I AM TAKING NOTES I AM A GROWNUP. LOOK I HAVE A PEN. (That’s actually my interior monologue at the coffee shop.)

Magazines and short story publications are great for if you can’t read longer pieces.  I go to the bookstore and buy smart people magazines and feel smart, then I read them in public and pretend I know what I’m reading.

YA! Reading YA and MG stories is what got me back into reading. There is awesome YA out there and it made practicing the act of reading really fulfilling. YA is not just for kids, it’s just appropriate for them, too.

Getting a Kindle was not cheap but it has paid for itself in book shipping fees (I research for my job and when I can’t read, I can’t even tell you). If it’s an option for you, you might try borrowing a friend’s and see if it helps. Being able to alter font size/spacing can be a big help. And, again, notes and underlining. Also, you can subscribe to periodicals and fiction mags.