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/lit/ - Literature

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5719867 No.5719867 [Reply] [Original]

If you're 26, and read no more than 10 books in your lifetime (the majority in childhood), is there any hope?

I've recently tried to get into reading, but I struggle to process a big chunk of the information (even in the most basic non intellectual fiction).

I have a tiny vocabulary and the act of googling the word pulls me of the moment.

Strange (to me) decisions in sentence structure prevent the words rolling off my mental tongue.

I quit 30 pages in because it feels like work.

Am I destined to be stupid forever? Did anyone else get into reading at 25+, after a lifetime of staring vacantly at television screens/monitors?

>> No.5719874

Why doesn't it even matter?

>> No.5719881

Find a book that you find interesting, start reading it, don't focus on the meaning of the individual words instead focus on what the sentence is trying to say. It doesn't matter if you don't understand every single word as long as you understand the meaning of the sentence.

>> No.5719882

Just be thankful you never "got into" reading. I read a ton as a young adult and had a huge vocabulary, and it took a long time to unlearn most of it. Thinking never helped anyone. Take up another hobby like playing the piano or painting, or just keep staring at screens.

>> No.5719884
File: 138 KB, 1024x680, 14930552420_abeb4d9d5f_b.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5719884

>>5719874
>Why doesn't it even matter?

im glad we're asking only the important philosophical question on /lit/

>> No.5719896

>>5719867
Why don't you read non-fiction. The words won't be fluffy ones that make text better, but ones that explain better.

>> No.5719902

>>5719867
You're 26 and just a dumb fuck.

There are plenty of people who will have happy lives who only read or partly read what was mandatory in schooling.

Then they will go off, after college, and live their lives and make a family instead of shit posting on 4chan at their moms.

So go fuck yourself, faggot.

>> No.5719907

Actually non fiction can be more compelling than fiction. But really your first priority is to be reading a book to enjoy it. Pick up Fight Club or something.

>> No.5719910

>>5719881
>>5719896
>>5719907
Thanks
>>5719874
>>5719882
>>5719902
But reading is more intellectual than the electric kike.

>> No.5719926

Read Bukowski

>> No.5719930

>>5719881

I will do that. I skipped a lot of words but it began to feel like 'cheating' and I became discouraged.

>>5719882

That's not the advice I expected on /lit/. Why did you want to unlearn it, is this some sort of religious thing? When you've eaten shit and stared at screens for so long, the resulting brain fog is not enjoyable to live with.

>>5719896

I've probably read the equivalent of quite a few non fiction books. The problem is, I tend to stop half way in (or less) every time. Were as the few fiction books I have read, I remember loving every moment.

>>5719902

That is true, but I don't have the luxury of being one of those people, so I need to find a new way to fill my time, which won't contribute to my foggy head.

>> No.5719944

>>5719910
The point is that intellectual endeavors often make people miserable.

Ignorance is bliss, etc.

>> No.5720110

Any hope for what?

>> No.5720190

>>5719867
hey OP, I'm a dyslexic with ADHD and I know what it's like to struggle with reading, the two things I have done over the years to make it easier are keep a dictionary by me for reference and find books on subjects in which I currently maintain an interest, additionally reading graphic novels helped me maintain an interest in reading

>> No.5720207

>>5719910
It doesn't make you special to have a hobby that pretentious people have.

Pretentious people watch the tube, and paint, and make and listen to music, etc.

You're not special because you read. It's a hobby.

You're not any smarter for reading fiction either.

>> No.5720225

>>5719867
>is there any hope?
no.

>> No.5720227

this girl who used to sell me weed asked me one time if I had any advice for her as far as her conversation skills were concerned, and I just straight loaned her a shoebox of books. David Sedaris, Fear and Loathing, etc .. just the most accessible, least terrible books I could think of

basically, reading is everything. it is your opportunity to commune with the language and the world, and shouldn't be taken for granted.

>> No.5720243

>>5719867
>read no more than 10 books in your lifetime
Honestly, this applies to most STEM and law students. You can still do something with your life, if that's what you mean by hope. If you are talking about becoming literate, you will probably need a lot of rigorous work on yourself, and cutting out all the shit like TV and video games. And look for something you can relate to and that interests you, that will make it easier for you to read. It's easier to get into the greeks if you like violence, people doing stupid shit, and homosexuality and easier to get into Nietzsche if you are edgy.

>> No.5720295

>>5719867

Start with the Pre-Socratics

>> No.5720299

>>5719910
>But reading is more intellectual than the electric kike.

Maybe you should go back to
>>>/pol/

You won't even have to read, you can just look at jpgs.

>> No.5720303

>is there any hope?

There is always hope. It's as easy as picking up a book and putting it down less and less often, and then making sure you pick up a new one as soon as you're done.

You will enjoy it.

>> No.5720313

>>5720227
did u bang her

>> No.5720314

>>5720299
>Maybe you should go back to
>>>>/pol/
Finally someone caught on.
Fuck, I can't believe it took 3 replies for someone to finally point that out.

>> No.5720320

>>5719867
>Am I destined to be stupid
>destined
>to be

>> No.5720322

>>5720320
>>implying
top kek

>> No.5720330

>>5720314
>browses /pol/ @ 26
>doesn't read
>is stupid

Shocking.

>> No.5720332

>>5720330
I don't browse /pol/ and I'm even OP, I just like posting /pol/ and anti-/pol/ b8
On top of that I like the word kike, it just feels good to mouth it out, and it's pretty fun to satirically be an antisemite.

>> No.5720342

>>5720330
Television is overwhelmingly jewish (in America) and it is an absolute waste at best and insidious propaganda at worst.

>> No.5720353

>>5720342
Okay. Great response.

>> No.5720370

>>5720313
nah, she likes girls

>> No.5720374

>>5720370
w o w

>> No.5720402

>>5720353
I'm not OP and thank you. What are you reading, anon? Do you watch television?

>> No.5720412

>>5720402
I do watch television on occasion. I am reading Negative Dialectics by the evil 'Cultral Marxist' Adorno.

>> No.5720467

sometimes i feel that way with all the philosophy books undergrads 'read' and that i'm still on baby mode and i can barely understand that

>> No.5720501

>american

>> No.5720557
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5720557

yeah you're fine. you already want to read so you're doing better than most people. I didn't make this image but it's pretty good stuff to get you back into reading or into reading in the first place

>> No.5720572

>>5719867
I would actually recommend getting some kind of ereader which all have some kind of dictionary built in. This can stop you from breaking up the flow. And then just start with the recommendations other anons are giving you.

>> No.5720592

>>5720557
Most of these are fine, but don't start with Lolita OP. Get a little more confidence before you wade into Nabokov.

>> No.5720675

>>5719867
You might have a reading or learning disorder, seriously. If it doesn't improve with a lot of work, you might want to see someone about that.

>> No.5720788

>>5720370
wow gay

>> No.5721103
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5721103

>>5720557
>Invisible Man

>> No.5721578

>>5719867
Buy an ereader. They are cheap, they keep track of where you are in the book, you can just highlight a word to look it up in the dictionary.

>> No.5721595

>>5719882

>Thinking never helped anyone

What about all those authors that you read a ton of?

And are you sure your problem wasn't just that you considered your own thoughts too important, perhaps keeping them bottled up and choosing not to express them in a helpful or informative way?

>> No.5721619

>>5720227

I've noticed that my conversation skills correlate with the type of book that I've been reading on any particular day.

It's a strange phenomenon really.

>> No.5722845

>>5719867
I can't begin to imagine that situation, and I'm not sure I believe you. How could you pass grade school without doing ANY of the readings, for instance? I've read 10 books in a day, for Christ's sake.

>> No.5722855

>>5722845
10's high compared to some folks in the working class. English isn't compulsary everywhere.

>> No.5722862

>>5719867
Yes, there is no hope.

>> No.5722875

>>5719867
Do you have money? There's probably some kind of specialist for this sort of thing.

>> No.5722879

>>5722855
"English isn't compulsory everywhere"???
Oh, come on. Name me any English-speaking grade school where English class is optional.

>> No.5722884

As far as vocabulary goes, I highly recommend Google Dictionary. Definitely helped me.
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-dictionary-by-goog/mgijmajocgfcbeboacabfgobmjgjcoja?hl=en

>> No.5722919

>>5721595

I don't understand. Thinking helped them because they made money from their thoughts, if that's what you're trying to say.

I stopped reading them because I found their thoughts unimportant.

Expressing thoughts in "helpful and informative ways" is for children and attention whores. No one has anything of importance to say. That's why I come on 4chan. We can communicate without the pretenses of importance and meaning. Everything here is shit, and no one thinks otherwise.

>> No.5722934

>>5722919
>No one has anything of importance to say.
Oh, go away and grow up, please. Jesus.

>> No.5722943

>>5722934
There's something cute about people who read in the 21st century. It's like people who still listen to baseball games on the radio when there are 55inch HD televisions.

>> No.5723878

>>5722943
Like people who drive cross-country instead of flying, or people who take a walk in the woods instead of watching the nature channel.

>> No.5723890

>>5719882
>Take up another hobby like playing the piano or painting, or just keep staring at screens.

My modification of this advice: take up piano or painting (fuck staring at screens), but read in addition. Being able to make art (particularly music) while having a decent grasp of certain aspects/devices of literature is a great feeling.

>> No.5723924

>If you're 26, and read no more than 10 books in your lifetime (the majority in childhood), is there any hope?
Yes, certainly.

>I've recently tried to get into reading, but I struggle to process a big chunk of the information (even in the most basic non intellectual fiction).
You need to stop reading non intellectual fiction. A better alternative is to start with short intellectual fiction.

Set your alarm and get up early and read. If you need coffee, that's fine. Even better than an alarm would be to open drapes and let the morning let wake you up, it will be a lot easier than an alarm. If you sleep in the same room as your computer, don't start it up when you wake up. Try to read for at least a half hour to start with. Me, every morning I get up at six and read for a least a couple of hours before I get out of bed. Even when I go to bed late, I manage this through the daylight wake up. If I haven't had enough sleep, it generally doesn't him me until late in the afternoon, in which case I nap.

>I have a tiny vocabulary and the act of googling the word pulls me of the moment.
I strongly urge you to acquire a dictionary and refrain from going near your computer while your read, sit in a different room if possible.

>Strange (to me) decisions in sentence structure prevent the words rolling off my mental tongue.
Read aloud for a while, especially poetry since there is all sorts of strange structure with that and it's better for reading aloud.