How to Finally Read More Great Books, with ADHD
- zachlaengert
- Sep 22, 2024
- 4 min read
Escape the distractions and rediscover your love of stories
The struggle to focus on a book is real
Have you ever sat down determined to finally read a book, only to find your phone back in your hand after less than ten minutes? Less than five? Has there maybe been a time or two when the book was never even opened?
That last has happened to me three times in the past week, and I had everything going for me: no incoming messages, already knowing I liked the book and years of experience setting everything aside and reading. It's not just you!
It's horribly ironic that BookTok and Bookstagram accounts are full of aesthetically pleasing posts about the dozens of books they read, encouraging followers to do the same via the exact dopamine-laden short-form content that makes focusing on other activities feel more difficult by comparison.
But I'm here to promise you that there is hope! It will just take a little patience.
Work with your attention span
Living with ADHD can often feel like we are at the mercy of our fickle attention span. It is remarkable how quickly and effectively we can engage with something new and shiny, but by the same token it can be scary to see how easily that fascination evaporates. It's a fact of our lives, so why not embrace it where we can?
A common piece of advice I like to give around here is simply to read what you enjoy, and put down what you don't. If you couldn't stand math in school, would you be frustrated with yourself for struggling to get through one of Einstein's proofs? No, because that's not for you – neither are a lot of books, and that's okay!
For me, tension and mystery are absolutely key to keeping me invested – whereas romance and social machinations (especially in Victorian England, sorry!) often actively subtract from my interest. It took me some time to figure that out, so have patience with yourself as you try to determine what does and doesn't work for you and your interests!
As you explore, you might stumble on an author or two who really mesh well with your taste. Perhaps the best fit I've found is Seth Dickinson (whose novels I just spend three weeks singing the praises of), but far more prolific is Brandon Sanderson, whose imaginative novels almost always sweep me away.
But you can certainly go far more general as well! I absolutely loved Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead, was overwhelmed by her The Poisonwood Bible and am currently entranced by her The Lacuna.
While I've learned to be hesitant about books hyped by TikTok (I still haven't forgiven Fourth Wing), I've also come to accept that Bestsellers are damned worth that title for how powerfully they can draw a reader in and capture attention.
Not finishing what you started (and not going broke)
A significant hurdle to my advice so far is the fact that we ADHDers are also more likely to buy a cool new book on impulse, only to slowly accumulate guilt as the pile of unread books grows.
If there's a book in the pile that catches your interest right now, great! Otherwise, don't sweat it – that's your aspirational pile of books, and maybe you can work your way there. First, try one of these:
Borrow a book from the library. In my experience, getting my hands on an exciting library book is just as good as buying a shiny new one – and probably $20-30 cheaper! Audiobooks and eBooks are great options here too; just make sure to pick something unintimidating and genuinely interesting to you right now.
If you love it, great! You can buy a shiny copy with confidence. If you get three pages in and are bored to tears, also great! Return it and try something else.
Load up Spotify Premium. Did you know that your account now comes with 15 hours of audiobooks per month? It's a fantastic way to dip your toes into any number of available audiobooks that might be waitlisted at the library. I go into details and offer tips here! (Even without Premium, some podcasts on the platform upload audiobooks for anyone to listen to!)
Try some short fiction online. I love speculative fiction, so can highly recommend online publications like Lightspeed Magazine and Nightmare Magazine which made incredible short stories available. These tales always have an important message to impart and are often wonderfully imaginative, despite being short enough to consume in a half hour. I did a spotlight of one of my favourite stories, Pitcher Plant, here. There are plenty more sites out there dedicated to other types of fiction!
Reduce distractions. Managing your attention with ADHD can be a juggling act. For me, blasting music while reading (or doing something physical while listening to) a book goes a long way to fully engaging my mind and reducing distractibility.
Patience and curiosity make perfect
If you take one piece of advice away from this article, I hope it is to stop bashing your head against the wall with whatever book you're currently struggling with (at least for now). Once you find something that just lets you enjoy and get into the rhythm of reading, consider returning!
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