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Maybe you should ask yourself if you like reading in the first place? We should really stop making reading the holy grail of sophistication. It's not inherentl

Maybe you should ask yourself if you like reading in the first place? We should really stop making reading the holy grail of sophistication. It's not inherently better than any other type of media. Unless you're actually trying to learn about new stuff and read non-fiction, it's not like books will 'give you' anything that watching movies can't give you. For relaxing it's most important that the thing actually relaxes you. Feeling like you have to read books sounds a little backward. If you want to force yourself to get in the habit of reading, it's best to plan a time for it (outside of your relaxation time!). Maybe plan to do it each day for 30mins after dinner. This way after you finish you still have time to unwind your day (without having to worry about having to read books). edit: for fiction I recommend the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, any of the Murakami books, Nausea by Sartre, or Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance. For non-fiction: I recommend picking any topic you're interested in. Skip the biographies and self-help/guide books, they'll only guilt trip you

hanifc 6y ago
> For relaxing it's most important that the thing actually relaxes you. Feeling like you have to read books sounds a little backward. I agree with this, and it's unfortunate it took me so long to figure this out. I used to be pretty rigid with how I read, although I have no idea why. I would start a book and push through to the end, never switching books until I was finished, and never daring to skip a section. Then, I had the realization that you described. Now, I'll read more than one book at a time, and I'll pick up whichever one I feel like reading at that moment. I also have no problem skimming through sections of a nonfiction book if I feel the author is starting get repetitive. I'm enjoying reading a lot more these days, and I've even started to dedicate the first hour after I wake and the last hour before bed to doing it.

hanifc 6y ago

> For relaxing it's most important that the thing actually relaxes you. Feeling like you have to read books sounds a little backward. I agree with this, and it's unfortunate it took me so long to figure this out. I used to be pretty rigid with how I read, although I have no idea why. I would start a book and push through to the end, never switching books until I was finished, and never daring to skip a section. Then, I had the realization that you described. Now, I'll read more than one book at a time, and I'll pick up whichever one I feel like reading at that moment. I also have no problem skimming through sections of a nonfiction book if I feel the author is starting get repetitive. I'm enjoying reading a lot more these days, and I've even started to dedicate the first hour after I wake and the last hour before bed to doing it.