[Yodel0914]

The point about not setting a goal rings true for me. A few years ago I set a book-a-week goal and it definitely had a large influence on the books I chose to read.

I tend to read a lot of books simultaneously, but much I’m not convinced is the best approach (esp for fiction) but I’m undecided yet on if it’s a habit worth changing.

[jemmyw]

I just started reading simultaneously instead of sequentially and it really helped me get back into reading every night. The problem with one book at a time is that I'll get stuck or sick of one and then I just don't read.

[tbossanova]

Just ditch a book you’re not into. Life’s too short. I’m trying to write a book and I would hope a reader that isn’t into my book would just abandon it early

[Yodel0914]

Often for me it’s not about not liking the book, but not wanting to read it right now. This is particularly true with philosophy, but also true of fiction (I’m currently reading and loving Infinite Jest, but I’m not always in the mood for it).

[nephihaha]

I'm still reading Infinite Jest. Started back in 2020, one hundred pages left. I doubt I will ever read it again if and when I finish it. I liked Wallace's shorter works and thought Infinite Jest would give me something to do over lockdown. I get some of the themes in it, like entertainment being a sedative, but some parts just don't grip me, like the Eschaton (which I feel should) or radioactive hamsters wandering through wastelands.

[jemmyw]

That's not it at all. I do ditch books I'm not into. The situation I'm describing is usually where the story has some tension or I feel like the next chapter might have tension, and I don't want to push on for the time being. I need some calming space, and another story is perfect for that. Edit: I said "sick of" in my previous comment when really I should have said tired of.

[internet_points]

For me, just writing down the books I read into a list seems to have made me read more. (Well, I can't be sure, since I don't have a log from before I started logging, but I certainly feel like I'm spending more evenings reading!)

I don't want to "gamify" reading, that would make me choose short/easy reads. I love those challenging reads that stay with you, change you, give you new perspectives. (And I also love obsessive fun reads.) But I think often I don't read because I don't feel like I'm being "productive". So it's not lack of motivation, but this nagging feeling of "wasting time" (and so I'd open my laptop and click around aimlessly online as if that was more productive). However, simply being able to change an item in my org-mode file from "TODO" to "DONE" has mostly taken away that feeling, now I both read from enjoyment and don't feel like I should be doing something on the computer.