this post was submitted on 08 Feb 2026
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How do I read? [Serious] (hexbear.net)
submitted 3 days ago by lobaa@hexbear.net to c/askchapo@hexbear.net
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OK the title is a joke but the question is serious. A bit of backstory:

My parents failed to make me love books, because they also introduced me to a PlayStation 2, and I decided that I like playing vidya games a lot more than reading stuff. School didn't make me love books either because the literature they force you to read in my curriculum, is, in my opinion, better suited for adult reading.

Fast forward to now, I am a freshman in a prestigious university, but it turns out that it requires me to read a lot of stuff, but I don't really have enough willpower to sit through academic literature for more than an hour a day. And the fact I'm noticeably behind my peers in amount of books read makes me feel like I don't belong.

So my question is how to learn to love reading books, get immersed or enter flow state or whatever, and also retain information? Is it some kind of talent or superpower? I know a few of my peers who don't stop reading books and seem to not distract themselves with tiktoks and video games, and attend optional lectures in their free time which is kind of insane to me, but I respect it a lot and want to become like them.

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[–] LaGG_3@hexbear.net 10 points 2 days ago

I don't have a lot to add to this discussion, but I had undiagnosed ADHD for decades that made focusing on reading (even stuff for fun) very difficult. I struggled a lot in college and did a lot of weird shit that didn't make a lot of sense (frequently skipped class on a mandatory attendance economics class, getting a C despite turning in A work; missing a final exam for another class for no reason except forgetting about it; skipping the lecture portion of a chemistry class and only learning the material in the labs; etc). I didn't even do anything fun when I skipped class, just kinda rotted around doing next to nothing.

If trying the tips that other people suggest don't work and you're still confused, there might be some stuff going on with your brain!