What to Do If You Hate Reading

If you want to read more books, use these strategies to start building your reading habit.

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⏱ TIMESTAMPS:
01:07 - Use habit-building techniques to make reading easier (and the one that worked for me)
02:04 - Start with easier material (3 specific recommendations)
06:23 - Don't avoid YA books and other specific categories
07:15 - Undo the damage caused by school
08:14 - Don't let your to-be-read list hinder you

🔗 VIDEO LINKS:

👐 BUSINESS:

[Thomasfrank]

Bonus tip that I cut from the video for time:

Try listening to audiobooks as well. I do about half my "reading" through audiobooks, and they have two key benefits:

1) You don't have to actively push forward through the story. Instead, the pace is set for you, much like it is with a TV show or a person telling you a story in real life. This is especially helpful for people who find it hard to get through normal books.
2) You can listen to them while doing other things, like laundry.

I've dealt with certain elitist people who say that listening to an audiobook "doesn't count", but I see that argument mostly as a hindrance to helping more people build a love of reading. Sure, some books are better experienced through text - but it's also true that books evolved from oral storytelling. And most books (especially fiction) can be adequately experienced either way. Plus, starting with audiobooks may encourage you to eventually start reading more paper/digital books.

Hope this video was helpful!

[felixstone]

Thomas: "Only about 497 pages....

Me after reading 2 pages of textbook: Feels like I've worked 36 hours a day

[anujmajumdar]

Thomas Frank : “Only 1019 pages”
My Short Attention Span :

[RayBayne]

make your goals smaller. if i get through 1 page without drifting off that's a win

[gabrielladavid]

At first I couldn't tell if you were being serious about those books or just kidding xD * just a 1000 page book *

[mahmoodalam]

I used to hate reading but your channel motivated me to read books and gradually I started enjoying reading books. Thanks! Tom

[businesswithsam]

What has seriously helped me is listening to audiobooks. It’s gets me interested in new topics which then leads me to listen to more books or grab the paper copy. Sometimes I listen to the audio while reading just to get me in the groove

[jaxx-inspiregrowcreate]

*Just like any other habit it takes time to develop and start enjoying.*

[Ounouh]

I have minor dyslexia, but that alone makes reading mentally exhausting and far from enjoyable. After 15mins my brains are done with it. It's not ADHD because I can listen long podcasts 4h straight without getting tired. I really need to get more into audiobooks.

[jurjenbavelaar]

Protip: Go to law school, you'll never dread reading after that.. :')
But, for real; If you like certain movies, read the books as well! That's an easy way to start.

[admypagame]

*Have an open mind and develop a reading habit. Read as much as you can, expand your mind; you will not only exercise your brain, but you will increase your knowledge, you will learn from the experiences of others, you will travel to new places, you will discover new cultures and you will expand the way you see and do things.*

[dulcemariabarragan]

Omg this video was made for me, I find it hard to commit to reading a full book, I lose interest really fast, I hope this helps

[Photo_Cyclist]

Actually opened this video looking for tips to read articles/academic books you don't really want to. That would be a HUGE help for me. Can you address it in one of your next videos?

Thanks as always for your awesome contents. Really.

[coachbahman]

*Doing something you HATE but doing it like you LOVE it.*

Key to success...

[monemtheartist]

Me: I love reading
My mind: what are you doing here?
Me: I love watching thomas too💙♥️💛

[SnipPeak]

15 min reading then 5 min rest, 15, 5, 15, ... . I do so and it works.

[terrycabeen]

This is really terrific. I read a couple of terrible books when I was younger, and it just took the wind out of me. The main one was long, engrossing, and the conclusion was a MASSIVE letdown. I didn’t want to experience that disappointment again. It has taken me a lot of effort to return to a love of reading. Tons of great suggestions in here to keep building on my past successes. Thank you!

[lelzguy]

I think I sorta have PTSD from reading from being forced to read by parents and school and thinking I’m gonna have to be quizzed

[girlwanemptyheart]

This is probably my favorite Thomas Frank video, hands down.

By the title, i thought that 'oh he's gonna talk about the audiobooks, habits blah blah blah and all of those usual tips that we see on the internet, but bam was i wrong.

Especially that tip about the tbr and emotional attachment really get to me.

Keep up the good work!

[maristotero]

Like reading, watched the video just because it's Thomas and the video is great. Still found things I can apply to my reading life. Like reading short anthologies, because it is frustrating to me that most often I don't have enough time to finish even one chapter and long stories get stretched out for months. Nice point about categories, I feel like many people are afraid or reluctant to explore anything outside "their" category.