Why cant i take in what i read?

onlyroz

Have you tried audiobooks? I don't have time to properly read anymore but I listen to audiobooks on the way into work - a good narrator can really bring a story to life.

I can recommend Audible - to get the best prices you have to take out a subscription but there are probably introductory offers where you can try it out for a few months at a reduced price.

PasturesNew

I've never been able to remember books or films. That's why I don't bother with them.

lavalamp

I read a lot of books as I love to read, but I could read all of them again a couple of years later and not remember the endings. In some ways it's good because I'd never run out of books, but it can be really irritating. Same thing with films - after a year or two, I can't remember the ending! Maybe some people just don't hold onto things that aren't needed at a later date....

joansgirl

I always make notes, whether I'm reading fact or fiction. I even do it for some TV programmes as well coz I know I'll forget in a weeks time what's happened this week. I find that writing stuff down makes it go in. Once I've written something down I tend not to forget it. I think it's probably got something to do with my school days when homework was mostly writing up notes made in class.

Hermia

I think reading is a skill that needs to be practiced. If you hadn't gone running for ages you wouldn't expect to be able to go straight out and run as fast/far as you used to straight away. It's the same with reading. I had a break from reading non-fiction for a few years after finishing university and when I went back to it I felt like a child learning to read again. I couldn't believe how how my stamina and memory was shot to pieces. I had to start off by reading popular non-fiction and SLOWLY work my way up to the academic stuff.

I started a reading blog earlier this year mainly as a way to challenge myself. I find that when I read now I always have the thought at the back of my mind that I am going to be writing about this book so I try to be a more active reader (if you know what I mean). I also take part in challenges on Good Reads and again that has really helped.

Savvy_Sue

onlyroz wrote: »

Have you tried audiobooks? I don't have time to properly read anymore but I listen to audiobooks on the way into work - a good narrator can really bring a story to life.

I find I listen to something, but then think "I haven't heard anything for the last 10 minutes." Just listened to a radio play, for example, and couldn't tell you what happened just 2 minutes ago!

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've never been able to remember books or films. That's why I don't bother with them.

I'm like that too, but I do enjoy re-watching things and thinking "oh yes, I remember that!" as the plot develops.

lavalamp wrote: »

I read a lot of books as I love to read, but I could read all of them again a couple of years later and not remember the endings. In some ways it's good because I'd never run out of books, but it can be really irritating. Same thing with films - after a year or two, I can't remember the ending! Maybe some people just don't hold onto things that aren't needed at a later date....

Yup, that too ... maybe I should keep a list of books I've read!

hgotsparkle

I used to read all the time, and then went off reading for about a year as I couldn't find anything I felt like reading. I'm making myself get back into it now and though I've probably chosen one of the worst books to start back up with (Terry Pratchetts Dodger, its a bit lyrical sometimes), I'm slowly getting back into the flow of being immersed in the story.I sometimes still have the problem though where my eyes will flit across the page, and I feel I'm reading but then I think about it and I don't actually know what happened on that page - its a really weird sensation.

Scrapaholic

I was also going to say that maybe the style of writing is putting you off . Sometimes I can pick up a book and get straight into it . If it doesn't happen then I'm unlikely to persevere with it . I'm like that with newspaper articles too , sometimes I just can't be bothered to read them . Do the books you have need to be read for study or work or are they books you thought might be good to read ? If you don't actually need to read them try others that might be easier to get into .

greenorange

I know how you feel. I can read a book, and after a page or two, my mind is thinking about something completely unrelated. I just cannot concentrate for long at all.

It's a real problem, as I'm at university. Getting extra sleep, eating healthy etc, doesn't seem to solve the problem. I've just accepted I've got a brain that doesn't like to concentrate on one thing for too long.

A bigger problem for me is I do not remember people's faces and names. I've had full blown conversations with people, and ended up walking straight past them the next day because I just cannot remember faces.

fluffnutter

It's nice that so many of us are helping the OP, but perhaps we should try to keep our responses short.