Not able to read a book anymore?

I’m half way down the page and I’m looking at the words, but I haven’t absorbed a word of it. I like the feel of a book in my hands, I’m not a Kindle girl. Every night, at bedtime, if I don’t have a book to read I feel like there’s something missing. However, I have noticed that it takes longer for me to get into the slower pace of reading a long form piece of writing. Whether it is a magazine article or an actual novel or non-fiction book.

Now, when I was at University I studied English Literature and I was expected to read thousands and thousands of words. I did often fall asleep in my frezing cold house in Salford, under the duvet, trying to keep warm. Back in the late 1990s we obviously didn’t have smartphones to pick up every five minutes for any… ‘Just need to check…’ reasons. I don’t know how students nowadays have the sufficient attention span to read as much as they need to.

A 6th form aged student in the New Yorker magazine was quoted mentioning exactly this issue.

 “Many of us have grown up surrounded by screens, and it’s hard to stay focused on long texts when everyone online moves so fast. For me, I’ve noticed that reading a whole book feels harder than it used to. I get distracted or want to check my phone.”

I heard on the radio this week that fewer children are reading, but are fewer adults too?

When did you last read a book? Do you still enjoy reading words in print?

I have noticed that when I start reading there is a short period of resistance where my brain tries not to slow to the reading pace, my eyes dance down the page, and my brain is thinking about lots of other things. I bring my awareness to the shape of the letters, breathe and after a few minutes, something shifts. The resistance fades and I’m transported into the world of that book.

In the Annual Literacy Survey it was found that less than 1 in 3 children between 8 – 13 years old read for pleasure. That’s the lowest level since they began this survey in 2005. But, does it matter? Some people say that other types of reading could be included in the survey to catch the numbers who are listening to audiobooks or who are reading comics or online. What do you think?

Are we really mourning, not just the decline in reading, but the loss of sustained attention itself?

In a world designed to fragment our focus into bite-sized chunks, the ability to sit with a book for an hour feels almost radical. It’s an act of quiet rebellion against the constant pull of notifications and the dopamine-driven scroll. To read just for the sake of reading too, not to study or for work, but just to read and enjoy a story.

What is happening to our attention spans? Is it useful to ride through the transient discomfort of carrying on and reading a page instead of giving in to the urge to seek a dopamine hit from elsewhere?

I think it is. I believe that beyond the initial discomfort lies something valuable, which is the practice of being present, of slowing down, of allowing our minds to wander through someone else’s carefully constructed thoughts rather than skimming the surface of a thousand fleeting updates.

The lovely Michael Mosley suggested that reading can help you live longer… who knows? Worth a shot.

Plus reading comes in at number 1 on this list of the 10 most restful things you can do.

So here’s my challenge to you and to myself.

Pick up a book tonight. Any book. Notice that initial resistance, that urge to reach for your phone. Breathe through it. Give yourself permission to read slowly, to re-read sentences, to let your mind settle into the pace of the page.

Maybe it is possible to reclaim those moments of deep focus and relate to them as something precious rather than seeing them as simply a struggle. Could the feeling of a book in your hands and the world it opens up, be worth the effort of retraining our distracted minds?

Here is some more calm available for you too

Come along to this free workshop on Fri 5th Dec. 12-1pm GMT. Book your free place to receive the Zoom link.