📖
if you're like me and got away from reading for a few years but are trying to get back into it, here are some things that have helped me in the last 6 ish months:
1) deleting some social media accounts / spending less time on them
2) replace my doom scrolling with reading either on my phone or with an e-reader (the more basic the better imo) (my kobo is on its way to me as we speak)
3) starting with shorter things like novellas and working my way back up to longer things (also if I feel overwhelmed by my lack of progress on something longer I read a short story)
4) remembering that reading is a skill and it will take time to get really good at it again like when I was younger and that's okay !
happy reading everyone!
Jan 13, 2025
Comments (1)
Make an account to reply.
This is really good advice will def try it out ! (ive been wanting to get back into reading)
Related Recs
📚
I think a lot of us want to be able to read longer material, but our attention spans are fried for various reasons. For me, it was the fatal combo of doing a reading-intensive college degree that ate away at my time + social media brainrot + a high level of anxiety that makes me feel generally restless and unfocused. I used to be a huge reader, so I've tried jumping right back into reading long novels multiple times. This hasn't seemed to work in any lasting way. I've had more luck recently with starting small.
Even if you set your goal as: "I want to read something longer than tweets or social media posts," it's progress! Zines, articles, Substack posts, anything just a little bit longer that your brain can latch deeper into will help rebuild your attention. Short story collections and novellas have also been helpful for me, especially if you pick a topic or genre that you're really interested in. I'm still on some forms of social media, so I haven't gone cold-turkey. But I do feel like incorporating longer-form material again, even mixed in with scrolling, has helped my brain so much already. It's refreshing to hand-select what I want to read and give my attention to, instead of letting an algorithm serve me topics. I didn't realize how much depth I was missing in exchange for the breadth of the internet!
Jan 19, 2025
☕
re read your favorite book from when you were a kid
read true crime or celebrity biographies or romance novels
as the other rec said, read short books! I did this for a year and it helped me so much to get back into the practice of reading
go to the library and check out three or four books— don’t buy them so you don’t feel guilty if you cant get through one
go outside with a book when it’s sunny, it’s harder to see your phone screen in the sun, and reading outside is both a big flex and a great joy
I have a personal rule about screens in bed outside of specific times which helps me read instead of scrolling if I want to lie down for a bit
It does take a little bit of practice to get it reincorporated back into your routine but it’s easier if you love it !
Apr 24, 2024
📕
On the advice of my therapist, I started reading again for the first time in years and it's REALLY helped. It lights up your brain and rewards you for seeing things through. That being said, it is a *skill* that needs to be relearned and nurtured, so be patient with yourself!
Jan 14, 2025
Top Recs from @soulful_old_man_sunshine
I was bullied a lot for my eye color as a kid (because me having very dark brown hair and very dark brown eyes made me look "evil", apparently) and, naturally, began to dislike them. but as I've gotten out of school and away from people who put me down, I've realized how insane it is to bully someone over their eye and hair color and grown to love the color of my eyes. I mean, they may be dark but there's nothing wrong with that. and I can take pretty pictures of my eyes too, I just have to blind myself and almost stare into the sun to do so lol
Feb 27, 2025
📖
recently, when I wake up in the morning and have time to kill, I've been spending a bit of time reading before or after I get myself ready to go about the day instead of sitting on my phone when I first wake up. I feel like it helps clear my mind for the day and it feels nice to not immediately scroll when I wake up like I used to
Feb 5, 2025
"yap" about the things that interest you all you want; enjoy your hobbies and pour your heart into them, stop worrying about if what you're into is "cringe"; if your friends don't like your hobbies/interests and put you down for enjoying them, find people that will; surround yourself with people you love who love you back and you will be so much happier than the people that are so quick to put others down for pursuing their happiness
Feb 8, 2025