/lit/ - Literature

>>22303142
I never read but I read 300 pages over the weekend. You have to prevent yourself from doing anything else. Dopamine fast. And also make sure you’re actually interested in what you’re reading.

>>22303142
OP, when I am unmotivated to read, I just remember myself how much smarter do I feel after finishing reading. I just feel superior. Do the same, even if you start with something simple and short, you'll still be leaps foward those who don't read.

>>22303142
rope and hope for a better roll after reincarnating
on a serious note, just pick up an easy readable book that you can enjoy, force yourself to mute all devices while you read, and make yourself read 1-2hrs daily. when you get in the habit just pick up whatever seems interesting to you next as well as harder stuff. you can make it
also i hate zoomers so much

>>22303142
the less people that read, the better. go back to tiktok zoomer, you dont belong here.

i dont feel superior after i read a book its like im being told to think but im to retarded to think myself so it is what it is

>>22303160
start with something very simple and engaging, like Mice and Men. turn off your phone and try to focus.

It's over for you I'm afraid. You're doomed to a life of watching youtube shorts and playing increasingly politically correct first person shooters whose formulas never radically evolved from Halo 2. It seems grim but at least you'll get some epic clips along the way no doubt

>>22303165
i already read

>>22303174
Anon you seem braindead, so I don't think I could help you.

I am 30. I used to read voraciously when I was a teen. Then I too succumbed to the trap of the blue screen. I had no discipline in life. I failed at pretty much everything I did.
Don't be like me, OP. Don't your let youth go to waste.

>OP, when I am unmotivated to read, I just remember myself how much smarter do I feel after finishing reading. I just feel superior. Do the same, even if you start with something simple and short, you'll still be leaps foward those who don't read.

>>22303142

>Forced bodily labor does no harm to the body, but nothing taught by force stays in the soul.Then don’t use force to train the children in these subjects; use play instead. That way you’ll also see better what each of them is naturally fitted for.

Plato Republic Book VII 536D


Learning cannot exist without interest and passion. Otherwise you will forget everything you have learned, if you went through compulsory schooling this should be obvious. In fact, I will boldly posit that any subject that didn't interest you at this point has become forgotten, and if you were to take a test in that subject as you are now a school boy will score higher than you.

The point being that if you have a passion for learning, then learning will follow and you will retain the information. Otherwise, if you force yourself to read and learn you will not profit from it, no matter how much effort you put into it.

If you wish to cultivate your mind, then may I suggest, if you are inclined to music, to learn an instrument that you enjoy the sound of. And practice songs first rather than learn theory, that is if you enjoy songs more than theory of course. In learning songs, and practicing them you will have refined your focus and strengthened your mind and achieved a fine goal, and if you are satisfied with simply that then that is okay, if you wish to go further then you can. It's ultimately up to you.

>ahhhh I'm le current generation I am so le troubled and le different because uhhh media overexposure or something
what a pathetic cry for attention. cut down your wrist it works better

>>22303142
Don't fall for any lit memes about what you should be reading. Start yourself off with some fluffy trash genre fiction to get your brain in shape. Just try to read it for fun, don't analyze it. Diving into serious 'art' literature head first without practice will just make you hate reading, and treating everything as if it had some kind of deep encoded 'meaning' will just make you hate it even more. Start to read stuff that's harder and deeper once your brain is more in shape. Just like starting to lift.

Your teachers at school should have started you off that way, but they fell for the Round Award for Killing Children's Interest in Reading. But, it's never too late to start.

>>22303188
stop pretending you don't feel superior to plebs after reading the Greeks

>>22303272
Are there any links between getting old and getting dumbfuck-er? I lost my capability to force myself to sit down to read. Days ago, I said to myself - no excuses. I read ten pages and then I stopped. Then I haven't picked a book up since. I come here and just lurk/occasionally participate. I should have learnt discipline ages ago.. Maybe it's too late. Ty for reading my Blogspot.

>>22303142
Adderall
XD
YAY
just beware of the comedown :(

>>22303142
30 day digital detox. No screens within reason. Your phone should be on Do Not Disturb 24/7. Limit your internet and streaming service use. After the 30 days keep it that way. You're addicted to meaningless shit and wasting your valuable attention.

>>22303300
Drink green tea, take a multivitamin that includes D K and the B complexes, avoid weed alcohol and opiates, take melanin if you're not having dreams you remember regularly. Reduced memory and logical reasoning skills as you age is not uncommon, but can be fought and most people can retain good intelligence well into their 70s and even 80s.

Sometimes genetics might make you SOL but if your parents didn't develop early alzheimers chances are you won't either.

>>22303318
>melanin
*melatonin

>>22303142
This will sound strange but you have to kind of treat it like meditation. That is the best way to get back to reading. What I mean is - if you have a fried mind like it seems you have, you will have intrusive thoughts within reading the first sentence of a book, if you get distracted by that thought you will be taken away from the book and not know what you are reading, this will make you need to reread to understand and make the process of reading more painful. Every time you have a distracted thought, notice it, but let it go. Then try to be more mindfully focused simply on reading the book. It will get better anon, you just have to try.

>>22303142
Like anything start small and go from there

i'm a boomer and i pretty much had the same problem. I would recommend listening to audiobooks while doing something else that doesn't require much attention. you will end up stopping what you're doing to focus on the book if it's good.
also start with easy books. there are a lot of masterpieces that are easy to read.

>>22303142
just give your phone and shit to your parents

>>22303142
I was like you up until very recently.
Motivation won't do anything, you have to force yourself and instill a deep sense of discipline.
That's all

>>22303142
Read ebooks.
Easily refer to definitions of words you think you might not know.
Do not turn the page until you understand what happened on the page you just read.
Do this with a challenging book so you can feel good about yourself after.
Repeat until reading becomes easy and you are not referencing definitions so much.
Good luck, OP.

>>22303275
Is Socrates an exception to this? He insisted to have the same knowledge as everyone and was inferior and far more ways than he was superior. He had patience and a strong will for discussion, that's basically it. He pissef off so many people with his ignorant questions that he was killed for it.

>>22303606
in* far more

I've noticed that works that have a bit of flowery prose works best for me. Poetry is too abstract and Shakespeare is too hard for me as an ESL. So I read works of prose stylist like Nabokov, Melville, McCarthy, I guess Conrad is up there as well.

>>22303142
I started taking adderall and now I can read long 4chan posts with no problem

>>22303142
Push through the pain. You can do it, but the longer you've been TikTok C00ming, the longer it's gonna take. As in, a few days to a week. Chill out, just keep at it and you'll be aight.

>>22303662
Are there any downsides to taking it? Nothing has worked out for me so far in my life.

Could be many things. Vitamin deficiencies etc. Maybe adhd which is caused by mercury/heavy metal poisoning.

>>22303142
Just do it dumbass. Turn off your phone and put it in a different room. Sit somewhere different than you do on your computer. Go somewhere and take a book with you. Do it. Society and your parents fucked you to a certain extent by not limiting your media intake but you’re an individual, take responsibility, just do it again and again.

>>22303142
Start with fanfiction of your favorite non literary media

These threads are always

1. read [pseud]
2. dont read [pseud] read [waste]
3. dont read [gigachad]

You need to untrain your brain from years of mindless media consumption. Start by forcing yourself to read a little everyday and then gradually increase. Remember that consistency is key in forming better habits.

>>22303321
Too late

>>22303142
>reading books physically hurts
No it fucking doesn't. "Zoomer brain" is fake. If you want to read just do it, it's not that hard. If it helps, start with small goals. Like read 10 or 20 pages at a time.

>>22303318
>avoid weed alcohol and opiates
But reading on any one of these is divine. All the literati of days gone by were constantly twisted on opium, hash, and liquor, and for good reason

>>22303142
First of all you are smart for noticing this. Yes reading or any attention span demanding activity WILL make your brain feel tired. Keep doing it anyways and you will develop. Also work on social skills which will also make your brain more powerful.

>>22303680
Not him, the downsides are you will become dependent on a drug for focus, and also that you may feel worn out when it wears off. Also tolerance will build up if you take it often. Also it can be addictive if you’re irresponsible. Btw, it’s supposed to be hard to change your life. Most people don’t change their life so you have no examples of what this is like.
Once you start gaining momentum it becomes easier, but understand that hard effort and action is needed. Think of it like you are running one direction and need to be going the other direction, you need to literally force yourself to stop running the wrong way before you can begin to run the right way. With all that being said, it is very doable if you’re serious. I also recommend meeting lots of different people because it will boost your confidence and brain power if yours is low.

>>22303142
look up a program called Cold Turkey Blocker. Block every social media and porn site for a week. You'll find something to do with your time

>>22303142
Reading for what purpose?

Since people have been shitbposting here mostly ill give you some actual advice

Start with shorter books with more simplicity writing, more dialogue than descriptive. Of Mice and men, less than zero, animal farm etc.

You'll be unable to get through shit like gravity's rainbow, gatsby or infinite jest if you don't start small

First, stop posting green frog
Second, go read 5 pages

>>22303753
>mercury/heavy metal poisoning
Go back to facebook with all the other 50 year old moms

>>22304744
>I also recommend meeting lots of different people because it will boost your confidence and brain power if yours is low
How
The modern world is atomized

>>22303142
start with american/english novellas and easier novels. or collections of short stories.
steinbeck, lovecraft, hemingway, orwell, fitzgerald, nabokov, heller, twain, tolkein, etc.

>>22304726
Yeah it's fun for a while, but then you end up with the weed dementia in your 40s. Forgetting things that happened two days ago, attention trailing off in the middle of a sentence and losing the train of thought, struggling with basic word choice whenever you try and write anything (or even hold a conversation), being baffled by basic primary school arithmetic, etc etc.
If you must trip while reading, use psilocybin or DMT. You might end up a schizophrenic but that's comparatively rare, and a lot more fun for those around you than if you're a drooling stoner.

>>22304854
Yeah but its true lol. Only if you knew what i know.

For me? I just have my two last hours be just reading/writing time. Wanna get more in the day but when I'm working I get way too focused and can't take breaks, even for games. So I get two hours

>>22303142
Stop using all social media; it will destroy your attention span. Wait a few days for your body to adjust to not having constant stimulation. Start by reading small things, don't stop reading unless you reach benchmarks like the end of a chapter.

Leave your phone and any electronics in another room.

It's that simple.

>>22305089
I know that you were dropped on your had as a child.

Read dostoesvky, dickens, oe, freud to start curing yourself of this
start looking into blake and stuff as well he has paintings
get into peter cook architecture drawings they are complex but colorful.

>>22304855
Do it and you will see for yourself. I’m not exactly sure why it happens but most people have been conditioned to be socially anxious which affects how they view themselves and the world. When you learn how to meet people (all kinds of people), you learn how to be less insecure. This increase in confidence will be a benefit to you, unless you are already used to meeting people which most aren’t

>>22303797
Unfathomably based and true. The fact that I read 2 fanfictions with a word count comparable to Crime and Punishment each in 2 weeks is a testament to the fact that reading can be easy if it's about something you like

>>22303142
Stop cooming and porn binges. Run . Hydrate. Good sleep cycle . Slowly read 1- 4 page daily . Dopamine fast your receptors are fried just like mine :(

>>22303797
I mean yeah, habit is the most important thing here and for sure if you can keep up this habit, you can start with other better works with ease.

>>22303797
This was how I learned to read French. Now I read Houellebecq.

surprising to see how common this problem is these days.

>>22306853
its not surprising you illiterate fuck

>>22306855
Or maybe he is just old.

>>22306853
How is it not the most predictable thing ever?

>>22306855
>>22306907
>>22306940
some aggro anons. I assumed that more people had some level of self-discipline. I am supposed to expect every person to be some tech-crack-addict?

>>22307068
>I am supposed to expect every person to be some tech-crack-addict?
More or less, yes.

>>22303142
>Can you motivate me
No. Motivation is fleeting, only habit patterns suffice.

>>22307068
People born post 2000, or to be generous 2005, yes. Look around, if not also in the mirror. I work with teenagers, the majority were raised as the first generation of iPad kids, they’re fucked from birth.

>>22307366
This isn’t excusing OP or anyone in their position either, just a pretty blatant fact. I had to learn to overcome it on my own, most do, but it’s increasingly difficult with the number of dogshit parents who are equally tech-addled.

>>22303142
start with simple and comfy ones.
i recommend Holmes stories and Leblanc's Lupin stuff.

they're quick, easy, and comfy. It's a nice first step to go into harder novels. Afterwards, i'd recc Tolstoy's novellas. finally, some smaller novels like Turgenev's 'sketches from a hunter's diary' or Dostoevsky's small works like 'notes from underground' and 'the gambler', and then just work your way up.

>>22307380
and a tip, keep re-reading a sentence until you stop subvocalizing, then breeze through the text. Repeat that every time you lose focus.

>>22307384
>sub-vocalizing
Why do retards hate this? This has obvious benefit of absorbing the text so that you wouldn't forget it easily

>>22307384
>until you stop subvocalizing
Enough of this meme. Subvocalizing is useful where fiction and poetry are concerned.

>>22303142
Read small easy books first that have an interesting plot like of the stranger

>>22307408
>the stranger
my nigga it's so mundane and boring it feels like slice of life and some muh deep elements sprinkled in

>>22307406
i find it kind of detracts from focus, really.
i used to do it much more often, and my recollection of the books i've done that in were remarkably better than the ones i just read "normally".
>>22307399
i found the opposite to be true. i'm not going for the "speed is everything" meme, and that does make it nonsensical to read if you're just rushing.
it's about some sense of "focus"; my way of coveying that (and how i feel it is) is kind of going past subvocalizing.

>>22303156
Why do you want less people reading? Are you insane?

>>22307745
Because ancient Egyptian scribes were paid lots of money to read for peasants

>>22303142
The truth is that you just need to keep reading until it becomes normal for you, I had (and still do have) a similar issue of motivation. A first step could be to read before bed, and from there implement it in your day at times you do useless things (4chan, social media, youtube, etc.) It's very difficult to break out of the dopamine hole, but very much worth it.

>>22303142
Most of the books /lit/ recommends suck and are only discussed because they have short Wikipedia summaries. People make the mistake of assuming people here actually read philosophy or whatever and then do something retarded like try to get into reading with a Hegel because someone said it was “based”. It’s normal to have a short attention span if you haven’t read in a long time. Start with easier reads for now, it’s more important at this stage to make reading into something you do habitually and to train yourself to set aside time just for reading without distractions. I recommend classic short sci fi stories to start with, there are some fantastic collections out there like Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem or 10,000 Light Years From Home by James Tiptree Jr. which are exciting and easy enough to keep you hooked but smart enough that you’ll feel like reading them is worthwhile.

peoples cell phones are like the one ring in lotr. Tolkien was ahead of his time

>>22307745
I'm perfectly sane. The less literate the next generation is the more power I will have.

>>22309693
You're stifling the expansion of human cognition. Without the generational advance of reason through its free public exercise we'll never achieve a kingdom of ends. Retard.