I have all these books lyeing around that I bought or were given to me over the years but have never read. Some of them I really want to read. Sometimes I will start reading a book and then I will start reading another one but it's so much easier to read a trashy magazine from cover to cover. I spend most of my days reading and writing (emails at work etc), I have no problems in my ability to read and write. But, never ever a book from start to finish anymore. This really bothers me and has for sometime. Does anyone else have trouble with this?

I never used to be this way. I used to read a huge amount as a child but as I get older I have been reading less and less over the years.

So, it sounds kind of crazy but I have to force myself to read a book from front to cover and I even know the book I want to read...I have started it three times before...I even half stole it...well conveniently forgot to give it back to it's owner because I had that feeling that I really should read it. It's like I have this thing in my head telling me I don't read books anymore and that I can't read books which I know is ridiculous so I need to read one to prove how ridiculous this is to myself.

Which brings me to my next question, does anyone else rely on creating rules for themselves to get the things they want to get done? I do this alot. Kind of like when your mum says to you when your a kid ..."eat the mince or you won't get icecream". Do this and then do that or else your not allowed to do this? Get this, this and this done or else you can't go to the thing you really want to go to on Friday night?

So, I'm going to post one more thread that I have been thinking about starting and then I have decided that I'm not allowed back into this forum or onto the internet for anything other than banking or checking my hotmail until I read this book. Now lets see how fast I will read it.

^I agree with the mental block thing. I'm almost to the point where I'm convinced that I can't read a book as well... but I know I can read just fine. and the book I like is staring at me right now! Yet another thing to add to the list i guess.

As for creating your own rules: yes. I was so excited for GTA4 to come out and I was planning on buying it right away. One night though, I was stressed out because of all the school work that's been piling up, hours cut at work, gas prices, etc... and I knew that I'd just lose myself in the game if I bought it before summer. So I stuck the money in my running shoes and told myself that I couldn't buy the game until I was able to make the 5mile run both ways to the store. I still haven't been able to do it, but it has me training again and relieving stress instead of wasting brain cells while I try to run away from the work that I need to do.

Impulse control is a weird experience for me. Doesn't it feel great?
It's just a matter of making it last...

Here's a trick you may want to try. I teach younger children who have difficulty in reading to change chunks of text into symbols or two words (usually a noun and a verb) to mark text. Then arrange the symbols or two words into some sort of graphic organizer... depending what you want to accomplish. If you just want to map out the text... it would look like a map of the story. If you want sequence... you create a timeline, etc...

What this does is help the reader determine where to reread if necessary to answer specific questions. Also, if you loose the story mid page, you can go back to the previous markings to pick up the last sequence.

It doesn't work for everyone, but if you find yourself being a visual type of person, mapping text works wonderfully. Also, you can sketch little scenes of what happened in the paragraph to help visualize the reading... this creates a sort of mini comic book of the events in the margins.

Reading has always been hard for me. I hated getting called upon to read out loud in class because I would stammer, stutter, read words that weren't there, etc. I have been able to read books that I was reeeeeeally interested in, but only after forcing myself to get past the first few chapters (seems to be a vulnerability with distraction in the beginning). After I get into it, I tend to lose interest in anything but the book and have ended up forgetting to feed my kids, throw in the next load of laundry, etc.

My method of reading is very time-consuming too. I have to read word by word, as if I'm hearing the book narrated. If I try to go faster, I end up reading the page backwards (from the bottom up). I also have a very difficult time recalling details of what I read. I am currently trying to read a book called "The Blank Slate". Even though I understand it fine, if someone were to ask me to explain what it is about, I wouldn't be able to get into any details other than the basic premis of the book even thought it goes into a lot of detail.
I'm really glad most people on here seem to use paragraphs to break up their posts, when people write huge amounts without breaks, I can't read it (or at least it would take me a LOT longer...I'd probably hold a piece of paper up to the screen so I could only see one line at a time)...

I think setting 'rules' like that is a great idea! I will give it a try!

^I agree with the mental block thing. I'm almost to the point where I'm convinced that I can't read a book as well... but I know I can read just fine. and the book I like is staring at me right now! Yet another thing to add to the list i guess.

As for creating your own rules: yes. I was so excited for GTA4 to come out and I was planning on buying it right away. One night though, I was stressed out because of all the school work that's been piling up, hours cut at work, gas prices, etc... and I knew that I'd just lose myself in the game if I bought it before summer. So I stuck the money in my running shoes and told myself that I couldn't buy the game until I was able to make the 5mile run both ways to the store. I still haven't been able to do it, but it has me training again and relieving stress instead of wasting brain cells while I try to run away from the work that I need to do.

Impulse control is a weird experience for me. Doesn't it feel great?
It's just a matter of making it last...

Hehe, I don't know what GTA4 is....sorry! When I was little I used to play computer games until I clocked them... I used to have major fights with my sister over who got to use the computer. I have purposely avoided games for the longest time. I'm hopeless at them now. I know this could all change if I let it....but I can just see myself playing games and doing absolutely nothing else and liking playing games more than spending time with my friends if I'm not careful.

Here's a trick you may want to try. I teach younger children who have difficulty in reading to change chunks of text into symbols or two words (usually a noun and a verb) to mark text. Then arrange the symbols or two words into some sort of graphic organizer... depending what you want to accomplish. If you just want to map out the text... it would look like a map of the story. If you want sequence... you create a timeline, etc...

What this does is help the reader determine where to reread if necessary to answer specific questions. Also, if you loose the story mid page, you can go back to the previous markings to pick up the last sequence.

It doesn't work for everyone, but if you find yourself being a visual type of person, mapping text works wonderfully. Also, you can sketch little scenes of what happened in the paragraph to help visualize the reading... this creates a sort of mini comic book of the events in the margins.

Thanks, I think if I was every studying the idea of sketching a little scene of what happened in the paragraph could be something that would work well for me.

I think having to put what I read into a picture and letting myself dedicate a small amount of time to thinking what that picture would look like would help in the sense that I would remmember the picture first and from the picture then remmember the text if that makes sense....I would remmember what I was thinking while I drew a picture better than what I was thinking as I read a book.

So,

when I created the rule that I wasn't allowed to spend my leisure time on anything other than catching up with friends and reading this book (no TV, no internet) it only took me 2 days to read it! ;) Yay, I can read a book still.

I usually have half a dozen books on the go at once.........

that's interesting - I have the exact same problem. I was a hyperbookworm when I was a kid, and I have NO problems reading or writing in itself, but I can't get through a novel (or an article, or a textbook chapter, whatever) anymore, which bothers me to no end. I haven't really found a way to get past it, but I'm glad I'm not alone in this.