So...how do I read?

[renegade7]

Well, I'm not like illiterate.

The problem is that even though I might want to read something, I'm finding that it's too easy to get distracted or information doesn't stay. Even for subjects I'm very interested in, I'm having trouble staying focused. Help?

 

[Barbas]

Write notes as you read, then refer to them often, so you have the basic plot or vital information to hand. Speak as you read, so you are listening as well as seeing. Read, write, speak, repeat, take a break, continue.

 

[DoPo]

In addition to the above, I'll give you a general tactic I use for when I can't concentrate on a task - take breaks. Set your watch for...I dunno, let's say 5 minutes and after 5 minutes of reading, take a couple of minutes break - go online or something - whatever is that you're distracted with. And just start increasing the time periods of activity - after some time, go with 10 minutes, then 15 and so on.

Obviously you can tailor the times to suit you - you could go 5/5 in the beginning or 10/5 or whatever - just keep it short enough to be able to concentrate and go. I find it helps me a lot, since even after my allotted "work time" ends, I go ahead and continue doing what I need, to just finish a subtask I've started. If reading, I may go "OK, just to finish this paragraph/page", so the increase of "work time" comes naturally.

 

[Batou667]

You might just not be a visual learner (or a read/write learner, in the new lingo).

Would you have a better uptake if the text was accompanied with diagrams and illustrations, or if it was an audio book?

 

[theboombody]

Take it slow. This world expects things too quickly. Read one page a day or two pages a day. Go slow but don't stop. Take a day off here and there but don't stop. Persisting is key. I've trudged through books before that I eventually, slowly but surely, read all the way to the end. Then I got depressed because I realized that I've forgotten most of the books I've read. I finished reading a 600 plus page book recently from Russian author Dostoyevsky called "The Idiot" that I thought was interesting, but I wouldn't read again. I've cut my reading down a bit now that I've realized I'll forget most of it anyway. Probably my favorite book is "The Neverending Story." That has some good stuff in it that you'll never see in the movie. I've read it three times.

On another note I'm reading my study Bible one page every few days. Or half a page a day. It varies. I'm in no hurry to finish.

G-rated Shock Value
"No bad words. Just bad ideas."

 

[OneCatch]

Well, I'm not like illiterate.

The problem is that even though I might want to read something, I'm finding that it's too easy to get distracted or information doesn't stay. Even for subjects I'm very interested in, I'm having trouble staying focused. Help?

Practice.

I'm an avid reader, but a while back I had about a 6 month spell of not reading much at all (new gaming PC took up most of my free time).
When I started again I was frustratingly unfocused and distracted - was slow, couldn't stick with one book, etc. It was actually quite shocking how much of a difference 6 months of laziness made.
I forced myself to stick with it (even if that meant I was jumping between 3 or 4 books as the mood took me) and now I'm back to my usual quota of a hefty book a week!