HOW TO READ A BOOK?

             Seems like an uncomplicated question, doesn't it? It boils down to a simple matter of desire... if you know how to read and have a book at hand. Yet, you know, it's hard. Nowadays, reading feels like climbing up Mount Everest. It seems almost impossible for a person who has a job, a home, a pet, a social life, a workout routine, and so on, to find the time and willingness to read anything longer than 140 characters. If I may dare say so, reading has become even harder than losing weight (maybe I've gone too far. Sorry. But I’m trying to make a point here).

So, in order to understand if this difficulty is an individual problem, I conducted an effortless research on Twitter about the subject. I asked: How many books did you read in 2024? Out of the 31 responses, 42% (13 people - I believe bots can't answer) replied, “None, I lost the habit.” Thus, it appears I'm not alone in this reading issue. I don't mean to brag, but maybe I've stumbled upon a solution for this concern. And once again, I don't intend to show off, but the reliability test-trial was conducted in the most strict laboratory I know: my easily distracted and bored mind (no, I haven't been diagnosed with ADHD, and I don't wish to contribute to the current trend of self-diagnosing mental illnesses on social media. Even so, I've consistently been facing this obnoxious lack of concentration and the most horrible sensation of full-bore boredom. Although, I've come to realize that reading isn't the most captivating activity, given the advent of television, internet, Netflix, and Candy Crush. I’m sorry, this parenthesis is ginormous. On the other hand, I have a lot of interlinked* thoughts).

Finally, how did I solve the modern problem of the always-scrolling-down-our-phones society while trying to read a good old-fashioned book, with one hundred or more pages?

It’s actually quite simple: I learned to trick my own mind! The constant feeling of boredom and distraction was my major obstacle, so I decided to embrace it. Whenever I felt the urge to reach for my phone while reading or bored, I switched books. This way, I'm simultaneously diving into 5-7 books covering completely different subjects. From Portuguese to English, from fantasy (like "Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban" and "One For The Money") to technical reads (focusing on water and soil erosion), from delving into psychology (like Freud's "Beyond the Pleasure Principle") to historical accounts (such as "Anne Frank’s Diary", "The Power Broker", and "The Art of War"), I've found a method that keeps me engaged and away from endless scrolling.

So, the "secret" is this: instead of sticking to just one bedside book, I keep 5, 6, 7... I've lost count, really. My focus is on reading, and I'm achieving that goal. Thanks to this method, I've already finished 2 books, which is 2 more than last year. It worked for me, and it might just work for you too. Why not give it a try?

*It's impossible to imagine this word and not remember Ryan Gosling in Blade Runner 2049 saying, “Within cells interlinked. Within cells interlinked. Within cells interlinked.” - great movie by the way.