Reading and Aging: Has it changed for you?

[photon]

I've been a reader my whole life. My tastes sometimes change, generally I always like sci-fi but other stuff will come and go.. fantasy, general fiction, coming of age, biography, science, but I'm usually always reading something.

But it seems the past few years I'm having increasing difficulty staying engaged with a book, even one I really like or by one of my favorite authors.

I have dozens of unfinished books.. re-reading something seems to engage me a lot more.

I'm wondering if this is an age thing? Like as we get older do we want the comfort of the familiar more than new experiences? Kinda like the stereotypical old people hate the music of kids these days?

Or maybe it's just hard to find really good books and the more you read the higher your standards go?

Anyone else experience this?

I guess maybe I've gone through spans when I haven't read as much and maybe I'm just in one of those, but it's been going on for a while.

I guess the other possibility is my attention span has been obliterated by YouTube and TikTok and the ever decreasing length of entertainment.. If I'm not amused in 10 seconds then keep scrolling...

[Cube Inmate]

Have you tried reading glasses?

But seriously... I love reading but it's a seasonal thing. I usually read a lot during summer and struggle to stick with a book otherwise. The point being I think it's normal to have phases where even the hobbies you love don't hold your interest and that it may return when you're in the right frame of mind.

In fact, I think all my recreation is like that. I get into it, get bored and do something else, then come back when I'm ready.

Now movies on the other hand ... They just suck more the older I get. I've seen every plot, every twist, every piece of recycled dialogue. I doubt I'll ever find the passion I once had for big-screen movies

[CaptainCrunch]

Sure there's lots of things. I used to be able to read 3 books a week, or multiple books at the same time, I used to be able to remember things from the start to end of books and track things like story lines, or characters, or in terms of non fiction, facts and data.

I used to be able to read a full book in a week, I was pretty fast.

Now due to other things, it takes me about 3 weeks to read a book, and I have difficulty stitching things together. Forget about reading multiple books at the same time, because they just muddle.


At times, what was once a favorite thing to do, has at times become really difficult and it sucks.

Now, ask me about watching a TV series, or trying to sit through a two hour movie, that's a fun conversation.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by photon

I've been a reader my whole life. My tastes sometimes change, generally I always like sci-fi but other stuff will come and go.. fantasy, general fiction, coming of age, biography, science, but I'm usually always reading something.

But it seems the past few years I'm having increasing difficulty staying engaged with a book, even one I really like or by one of my favorite authors.

I have dozens of unfinished books.. re-reading something seems to engage me a lot more.

I'm wondering if this is an age thing? Like as we get older do we want the comfort of the familiar more than new experiences? Kinda like the stereotypical old people hate the music of kids these days?

Or maybe it's just hard to find really good books and the more you read the higher your standards go?

Anyone else experience this?

I guess maybe I've gone through spans when I haven't read as much and maybe I'm just in one of those, but it's been going on for a while.

I guess the other possibility is my attention span has been obliterated by YouTube and TikTok and the ever decreasing length of entertainment.. If I'm not amused in 10 seconds then keep scrolling...

For me at least.. its the last option. I have no attention span anymore. But if I'm completely disconnected in a place with no signal - I can read multiple books in a week. But if I'm at home or near my phone/tablet - sitting and reading for a hour is difficult.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by photon

I guess the other possibility is my attention span has been obliterated by YouTube and TikTok and the ever decreasing length of entertainment.. If I'm not amused in 10 seconds then keep scrolling...

The need to cram through university textbooks obliterated any joy from reading for me, but I will absolutely say now that YouTube and 20-30 minute videos are my #1 source of entertainment, I've found it difficult to watch a 60 minute TV show or a 90+ minute movie. I can;'t imagine trying to read a 400pg novel right now.

I've found if I'm not hooked within 20 minutes of a movie - I move on. (hello any Netflix major release....)

[photon]

I don't feel like that's it for me, when I'm engaged it's fine, I just don't get engaged in the novel.. like I don't care what happens next or feel connection to the characters as much.

I reread the whole Dune series earlier this year and I tore through that no problem.. and I find myself wanting to reread books rather than start new ones.

But still could be I guess, new books require more attention.

[photon]

That said YouTube 20-30 min videos are a major source of entertainment for me as well, there's a few makers and others that I watch their videos as constantly as I used to watch a TV series.

[WhiteTiger]

As part of my weight loss plans, one of the areas I have had to cut back on for now is my reading.

I realized a while back that I was in the habit of eating whenever I read, and reading whenever I ate. I love reading, and read a lot...so was eating a lot. I'm doing what I can to uncouple those two, so I'm not reading nearly as much as I have in the past, but I'm still reading decently frequently.

[jammies]

I found I read even more, partly attributable to the pandemic. Being home all the time with oodles of free time moved me from 3-4 books a week to 5-7, and even now after that free time is cut back, I am around 4-5. I am much less patient with poorly written or unengaging books though, I used to fully embrace sunk cost fallacy, now I'll just decide something isn't engaging me and drop it.

I do find it easier to find interesting books now, I'll find a decent author I hadn't read before and then just get their whole back catalog on Kobo or Kindle. I used to reread all the time because it was too much trouble to always be getting new physical books, now it's literally find a book, buy it and download it in a couple minutes, day or night.

And I'm older than Locke! Frankly it's surprising they even had literacy when I was a kid.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by jammies

I found I read even more, partly attributable to the pandemic. Being home all the time with oodles of free time moved me from 3-4 books a week to 5-7, and even now after that free time is cut back, I am around 4-5. I am much less patient with poorly written or unengaging books though, I used to fully embrace sunk cost fallacy, now I'll just decide something isn't engaging me and drop it.

I do find it easier to find interesting books now, I'll find a decent author I hadn't read before and then just get their whole back catalog on Kobo or Kindle. I used to reread all the time because it was too much trouble to always be getting new physical books, now it's literally find a book, buy it and download it in a couple minutes, day or night.

And I'm older than Locke! Frankly it's surprising they even had literacy when I was a kid.

Its so much more convenient not having to read by the whale-oil lamp anymore...

[photon]

Originally Posted by jammies

I am much less patient with poorly written or unengaging books though

Yeah me too, I used to work through it but now I don't hesitate to drop it.

Maybe that's part of it, maybe I'm just too picky now. Or I just need to find new authors to start working through their books.

Though Alastair Reynolds is one of my favourite sci-fi authors and I did drop a recent book even though it was part of a series.. though that maybe is just due to being long enough from the previous ones I need to re-read the older ones to get back into the universe.

[jammies]

Originally Posted by photon

Though Alastair Reynolds is one of my favourite sci-fi authors and I did drop a recent book even though it was part of a series..

It it was Bone Silence I think it's likely you recognized it just is not a good book.

[Cube Inmate]

Originally Posted by photon

I don't feel like that's it for me, when I'm engaged it's fine, I just don't get engaged in the novel.. like I don't care what happens next or feel connection to the characters as much.

That's probably a maturity thing there. Realizing that the characters aren't real, and nothing actually "happens" to them at all. When I'm reading, often I'm acutely aware of wondering not "how will the character get out of this one?" but "how will the author twist this one to keep the story moving?" I respect an ingenious twist... Especially one where all the groundwork was subtly laid for hundreds of pages before. The storytelling is more important than the story. And it's a lot harder to master.

I just read a Grisham book last week and it was... not masterful. In the final chapters, all the mysteries were explained but there was no moment of "I can't believe I missed that!" It was just a mechanical, dry explanation of something he never made me think about in the first place.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Cube Inmate

That's probably a maturity thing there. Realizing that the characters aren't real, and nothing actually "happens" to them at all. When I'm reading, often I'm acutely aware of wondering not "how will the character get out of this one?" but "how will the author twist this one to keep the story moving?" I respect an ingenious twist... Especially one where all the groundwork was subtly laid for hundreds of pages before. The storytelling is more important than the story. And it's a lot harder to master.

I just read a Grisham book last week and it was... not masterful. In the final chapters, all the mysteries were explained but there was no moment of "I can't believe I missed that!" It was just a mechanical, dry explanation of something he never made me think about in the first place.

I've experienced that with his last few offerings.

They seem fairly formulaic and feel like an author who has lost the passion but is still contractually obligated to keep his name on covers and those covers on shelves.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Cube Inmate

The storytelling is more important than the story. And it's a lot harder to master.

I just read a Grisham book last week and it was... not masterful. In the final chapters, all the mysteries were explained but there was no moment of "I can't believe I missed that!" It was just a mechanical, dry explanation of something he never made me think about in the first place.

Hm that could definitely be, just getting more picky/discerning over time (either term depending on how you want to spin it lol).

Even when I was young I couldn't read many Star Wars or Star Trek or whatever.. most just seemed terrible. I remember thinking the Thrawn Star Wars books or the Drizzt Forgotten Realms books were decent because they were closer to what I usually read.

Someone suggested Cory Doctorow to me since they're techy/nerdy, but it just seemed like "lets see how many tech concepts we can stir in and hope they don't notice the rest".

Maybe I should be going onto best 100 of blank book lists and start reading the ones I haven't read.

[Monahammer]

I think Reddit/this forum/ internet reading in general has definitely effected my ability to read/focus/enjoy fiction novels. I used to get so immersed. The fix, recommended to me here, was audiobooks and long drives.

But, my attention span has notably been impacted by technology and communication trends and I wonder about the implication that has on future generations.

[Oil Stain]

On the one hand I also tend to think it might be a technology thing as I still spend a large amount of time reading things on the internet, just not novels.

But on the other hand I have noticed I don't care about music as much anymore either, and when you talk about re-reading something engaging you more, that reminds me of my parents listening to the Beatles and the Stones or nothing.

I think perhaps it has something to do with stronger emotional connections being made to various art forms when one is younger. You are discovering who you are as a person, and you have less experience to draw on so every new experience seems to be felt more keenly.

[KTrain]

I find switching up the genre I'm reading helps to keep me interested. Try mixing in some non-fiction (biographies and true crime are great). Or go "low brow" and just pick something that's easy to plow through. Could be noir crime or graphic novels.

[Cube Inmate]

I'm intrigued by the attention span comments. I can't really watch TV anymore without simultaneously doing something mindless on the phone. It's because TV feeds me the story (same as a book) but also everything around it: characters' looks, sounds, the setting. There's nothing left for my imagination to do. Whereas with a good novel I'm actively filling in those parts of the story myself, continually. It's full-brain engagement.

Maybe that's part of why I go through phases. When I don't have the brain power to really engage, I can't get into it. And that could be caused by fatigue, distracting news, seasonal depression, or whatever. I guess in summer I've got more brains available for reading.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

But on the other hand I have noticed I don't care about music as much anymore either, and when you talk about re-reading something engaging you more, that reminds me of my parents listening to the Beatles and the Stones or nothing.

I thought I felt the same way until I started browsing random albums on Bandcamp around 2016 or so. Suddenly I was listening - and buying - albums from all sorts of genres and changed how I felt about music in general.

Like K-Train mentioned, I've also been reading books from different genres and I think that helps.