Some people, even with honest efforts, just don't benefit from ebooks or audiobooks. No problem if print books are the only format that suit your preferences, and it says nothing about you on a personal level.

I get most of my print books secondhand (thrift shops, used bookstores, etc.) with prices ranging from $1 to $10 each, or as gifts. If you're on a budget and the national library is the last resort, try to borrow as many books as possible on each visit? This way, you get the most out of your traveling efforts.

So, you find out people are getting exploited by sketchy companies, and your reaction is to become afraid?

Don't ever read anything on the agricultural industry.

Just do what you want to do! I did enjoy reading The Civil War, the big book with illustrations. Other than that, encyclopedias fascinated me. I've always thought that in non- fiction there is so much embellishment put there to make a boring story more interesting.

Do you have long covid? Maybe get a check up. It sounds very frusterating. Maybe you can find another hobby for now that is more physically engaging like coloring or drawing. If you still want to enjoy words, Maybe you could download duolingo and learn another language (they are like 2 minute lessons) or maybe you could get into poetry (buy a book of collected poems and just read 1 per day). Hope you feel better.

When I was trying to open up to more genres what helped me was joining book clubs and not even nominating any books, just reading whatever was chosen. Some fell in my wheel house, some took me out of it. Some were good, some were not, but reading them and being able to discuss with other book lovers definitely helped me branch out.

Oh, for sure - I didn't mean to imply your post was censorious, just throwing it out there. Certain subjects are a pretty hard sell for me, too, even if I wouldn't write them off entirely. You did the right thing by taking care of yourself!

I struggle with World War 2 fiction. My grandfather was a veteran and I remember the stories he would tell me when I read books in this genre.

It sounds like you are struggling with a mental health issue, perhaps OCD or anxiety or perfectionism.

I think that a therapist would be able to help you to begin to make forward motion again in your life and get a grasp on what's going on and be able to cope better. Maybe you can get through without any medication but meds can be an absolute game changer for some people.

For right now, let the books go since you aren't enjoying them.

Good luck with recovery x

I don’t think writers should be censored, just saying I wouldn’t read certain books with certain subject matter. No matter how good it is.

The Kite Runner is my example because I know it deserves all the accolades. For me, though, it just was the moment that I realised I couldn’t bring myself to read certain types of books because they’re just too triggering.

Same here

I feel like my capacity to focus has absolutely been decimated by social media. The short form content has killed my attention span. I actually haven't read much at all over the past five years, whereas I used to love reading. I'm only just now getting back into it. Maybe you just need to give yourself permission to have a break, knowing that it might take a few years to come back to it. Give yourself time. Books will always be there.

I've avoided sci-fi for years because I'd read a sample of books I thought I'd be interested in, and I couldn't keep up with the world-building from the first x pages. I tried keeping notes, but then it started feeling like a chore. I figured I was just too 'dumb', even though I can manage fantasy world-building just fine.

I'm still giving the genre a try every few months though. Currently reading Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao and it's going well enough. I'm drifting away from YA but I figured YA sci-fi could be a solid stepping stone to adult sci-fi.

Rape, child abuse (physical and emotional). I lived it. I don't need to live it again in my books. Add in eating disorders, too (I'm in recovery) unless it's a book my therapist suggested.

There's no subject matter I'll flat out refuse to read, and I don't think anything should be off limits entirely for writers; we need fiction that covers the whole range of what humans are capable of experiencing. That said, execution matters a lot. I find a lot of value in reading the viewpoints of truly reprehensible people, and in stories exploring the aftermath of the most horrific events you can imagine, but I'm not interested in schlocky, gratuitous revelling in these things.

Not viscerally ghastly like other topics mentioned here, but I get deeply upset with books/media that involve cheating on a partner. Even if the matter is dealt with in a responsible way by the end, I remain thoroughly upset the entire way through.

I'm at 40 right now, and expect to finish one more today. Lots of good stuff this month. I've been mostly working through older works I haven't read yet by favourite authors.

It's only SOME modernism and post-modernism that's difficult (some is not - proust, for example, i found so lovely). I guess things written in middle/early modern English, too, are difficult for us today. Everything else should be sweet.

Ah love that! good for you! don't kill yourself for it though, then you wouldn't be able to read more :P!

What is storygraph and should I know about it heheh?

Dresden Files is such a fun world

Oh I really can’t pick a favorite, they’re both such strange and enjoyable reads that take you on a ride!

There’s a moment where Bovary just screams at her kid. And that felt so modern in terms of PPD and stuff. I loved that book even tho it broke my heart too

Three musketeers

Suffer the same problem with reading. Best advice is to just keep going even if you feel like you aren’t retaining. It is okay to read it slower or even aloud until you feel comfortable stopping. Because you are retaining more than you think you are. It is not every excruciating detail, but it is enough for the story. You’re not reading to recite the whole thing back to someone, you’re reading for a story/plot/main idea. Also, if there is something you really like in a certain chapter, you could notate it in one form or another. Doesn’t have to be all the time, and it could be just that once to help you jog your memory for it. Very possible that ADHD is something you are dealing with like others have commented.

Reading a lot of fantasy has almost ruined one off novels for me. When the entire story is less that 500 pages there are only 6-8 characters and half of them are more plot devices than characters. I find it hard to become engaged in such a book.