I Can't Read Long Books Anymore :(

[Mark1]

This thread reminds me of a conversation I had with DM the other day. She was commenting on always losing her train of thought and noted that she can't even read books with lots of characters now as it's just to hard to keep track of them all.
Great, yet another thing to look forward to.

 

[tmitchell]

I noticed a few years ago that my attention for long form fiction was getting worse. I’m pretty sure it’s because of the internet and our fractured attention in general, so now I try to discipline myself like a schoolboy to stay put and concentrate.

Matthew Crawford has done some interesting work on this if you’re interested. Shop Class as Soulcraft was his first. He gets deep into what he calls “the attentional commons” and how our culture is rigged to hijack it.

 

[ERD50]

I'm not going to blame the internet for short attention spans (though it might apply to those who grew up with it). I've rarely ever been able to read a long book. I dunno, just hard to stick with it. I read rather slow, I actually want to enjoy the process, and not make it a race to finish. But that means not a lot of pages at one sitting, so a lot of discontinuity, and it just falls apart for me. I do lean towards ADD, but find I can concentrate for long periods on some things.

The last one I recall enjoy reading was "The Omnivore's Dilemma". What helped was that each chapter was sort of a fresh angle on the problems of our food supply chain. Hmmm, I just mentioned something from "The Right Stuff" to DW, enjoyed that, and "Lost Moon" (the Apollo 13 mission), sense a trend. Those were years ago, I'd say the internet just fits me style more, I can read lots of different things in smaller segments. Before the internet, I think I was more of a magazine article reader - similar style.

Reading is my nightly remedy for insomnia. I'm good for 2-3 hours minimum.

When the print starts to blur, I know I'm ready to turn off the lights.

That's what I do with informative/educational youtube videos. After the 5th time the tablet has clonked my forehead, I put it down and got to sleep!

-ERD50

 

[tmm99]

My book-readimg days are over, too. Went out the door several years ago. I've listened to some audio books on the plane only because there isn't much else one can do on the plane besides watching movies.

 

[ER Eddie]

I read some epic novels a couple years ago (e.g., Pillars of the Earth, Lonesome Dove). I don't do that much anymore, though -- not because those weren't very enjoyable reads, but because I've lost my taste for fiction. I have too many non-fiction books I want to get through, and fiction seems like a distraction. I still read short stories and an occasional normal-length novel, but I don't want to invest the time necessary to read an epic novel anymore.

 

[Koolau]

Me too. I got Amazon Prime video and it's very rare for me to find a movie that I can watch to the end. What I do is watch parts, stop and then go back to it on another day. Many times I just quit watching and try to find another movie. When it comes to books, the only 'books' I can read are car magazines and consumer reports. I think getting old is hurting my attention span. Part of that is when you're retired you don't have to do anything, especially something that requires effort & concentration.

Regarding movies, I think there must be maybe 6 movie scripts in the world and they just keep recycling them. I'll watch a bit and know what's coming next and then next, etc. IF a movie surprises me, I just may stay to the end, but that's becoming rare.

The other day, DW and I were watching a free movie on cable and I was finishing lines of the actors - pretty accurately. DW said "I didn't know you'd seen this before." Me: "I've seen it several times - just with different actors in different movies." YMMV

 

[f35phixer]

just finished tenth book this year. Have become addicted to Andrew Mayne and Freida McFadden.

Using my retirement present Kindle...

 

[prudent_one]

Ha
Love this thread. Once I see that a book is over 300 pages I become much less interested. Also, lately when I start reading a book if after 60-70 pages I'm not really into it I put it down and move to another book.

I feel I've wasted so much time trudging through books because I feel I have to read the whole thing.Screw that! Reading is supposed to be enjoyable --not some homework assignment!

I don't care how long a book is but I don't hesitate to abandon ship if I don't like it after starting. Doesn't happen often, but if I'm 100 pages in and I don't feel engaged, NEXT!

 

[CindyBlue]

Love this topic!

I am a voracious reader, and have been all my life. My folks were, too.

By far, I like nonfiction the best, mostly history and biography, but i like historical fiction, too (think Michener) and some sci-fi, and my hubby has recently been getting me into some of Baldocci's books. I have an old iPhone acting as an iPod with Kindle, for night reading. When it's time to go to sleep, I have an audiobook in my ear all night (just tap back to where I last remember when I wake up - a night book can last me for weeks (grin!)) I have audiobook cds going in my truck any time I'm driving, I read magazines in the bathroom, and have Kindle on my phone for waiting times.

I guess I'm just addicted to books (smile!)

 

[JohnRM]

I blame the author

I enjoy Stephen King's long books like "The Institute" and years ago, "The Stand" I usually get books at the local used book store, or yard sales. I don't like the pressure to return them to the library. If I start a book and it just does not hold my interest, I throw it in the trade-in or donate box. Life is too short to slog through just because I paid for it.

Dealing with too many characters, I just read on anyway, I figure if I don't pick up the thread on that character later, they weren't that important.

I like Grisham, and even though I am a guy I love to read the Stephanie Plum bounty hunter series. So sue me

 

[braumeister]

I don't like the pressure to return them to the library.

FWIW, around here you can renew a book (except for brand new ones in high demand) at least once, sometimes up to three times depending on the library.

 

[zaqxsw]

I truly love my Kindle Paperwhite. I'm on my third one since 2012. I download eBooks from numerous digital libraries and process them through Calibre so I can still keep them after I return them.

I don't think I could read without it. It's really hard to keep track of more than a few dozen characters for me. I can click and hold on a name, choose to search the book, and the Kindle brings up the first mention of that name, and then it all comes back to me.

My memory isn't what it once was, and the Kindle is a blessing! I read for a couple of hours a day. Morning, after my lunch nap, and maybe before bed.

 

[sajohnson]

This literally hurts my heart..

Why? Just curious.

 

[imnontrad]

I found while at home, I am better at getting the audiobook that I listen to while exercising and stuff. But when on vacation with little to do in the evening, the book was nice. And I am trying to NOT have electronics in my bedroom and read a book instead.

 

[street]

I like to read books, but I also have a hard time reading for hours on end. It takes me a while to read 400-page book now. An hour or two and done till I find time again to read.

 

[RobbieB]

400 pages would last me less than a week. Kindle Unlimited subscriber -

 

[Major Tom]

This literally hurts my heart..

I suspect that your heart isn't literally hurting, or we'd have to strongly suggest that you see a doctor immediately. Just out of curiosity, what is the difference between something hurting your heart, and it literally hurting your heart?

 

[EastWest Gal]

I enjoy fiction, historical fiction, biographies, especially. I have a hard time putting a book down. I now have a Kindle paperwhite, which I read in dark mode. I've been known to stay up all night reading.

Last year I started reading the Xanth series. Never heard of it before I got a copy that was falling apart in a hotel library (leave a book, take a book). I decided to take this one. I'm up to book 26 (there are currently 46 books, book 47 to be published this year, and 48 is in the works). The author is Piers Anthony, who is 88 years old. The first book came out in 1973. He remarried at age 86 after his first wife passed away.

The series is completely silly, all based on puns. I think I finally got bored with it. I was reading 1-2 books a week for awhile. I might pick it up and continue when I'm a little less preoccupied.

 

[Focus]

Yes, same with me. Formerly an avid reader, I rarely read books anymore, and when I do, I tend to focus on nonfiction and speed through. Nicholas Carr warned us in 2010's "The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains":

“What the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. Whether I’m online or not, my mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.”

It's not as if I'm reading less overall. I'm reading a lot, but almost entirely online and informational.

 

[Luvtoride]

One of my great retirement joys is reading, and long things too. To do so I find I need to severely cut any addiction to social media/aimless computer searching/TV. Unfortunately media has really made attention spans much shorter. As a former college teacher, I noted a dramatic change in my students in this regard over the 35+ years I was in the classroom. I've definitely noted it about myself. It is something I seek to change now that I'm retired.

After reading thru this thread, this comment struck home as to why it’s harder now for me (and apparently many others) to focus on reading long books today vs. years ago. I used to read every Tom Clancy novel (and they were all BIG books) as soon as a new one came out…And it didn’t take long to read it. Now I struggle to stay concentrated on reading a book for longer than 30-60 minutes at a stretch.

I’m currently reading a very long classic (not sure how many pages as I’m reading it in the Books app on my iPad and the page count changes as I change the font size) “The Agony and the Ecstasy “ about Michaelangelo’s life. I am enjoying the book but just find it hard to read more than 2 or 3 chapters at a time. Not sure when I will finish it, but it will be in 2023 [emoji23]!

 

[DrRoy]

I still read as I used to. Not unusual to read for 30 - 60 minutes at a time, but never a whole book in one sitting.

 

[Koolau]

I suspect that your heart isn't literally hurting, or we'd have to strongly suggest that you see a doctor immediately. Just out of curiosity, what is the difference between something hurting your heart, and it literally hurting your heart?

I think he meant literarily hurting his heart but YMMV.

 

[bloom2708]

Work, sleep, eating, chores tend to take away from my reading time. Hopefully the work part goes away in the next 5-7.

Some books go faster, some slower. I still try to read some pages every day.

 

[ERD50]

Originally Posted by ivinsfan View Post
This literally hurts my heart..

I suspect that your heart isn't literally hurting, or we'd have to strongly suggest that you see a doctor immediately. Just out of curiosity, what is the difference between something hurting your heart, and it literally hurting your heart?

I think he *literally* meant that *figuratively* !

-ERD50

 

[SJhawkins]

I'm not liking this thread, I do like to read, not that fastest reader however. Reading is one thing on my list to do more when I retire, hope I can still read when that time comes!