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Originally Posted by latepaul
Interesting perspective.
However for myself I have to say that I live at a very similar pace to you. I live alone, don't have a hectic social life and work a job where as far as it is in my power I work on one task at a time until I complete it. But I don't have a 20-hour attention span (I need sleep for a start) and I find it harder to get into denser books than I used to. I find it harder to motivate myself to read.
As I said in my initial post, I'd noticed this problem before and not blamed it on "the internet" but more on my memory. But I wonder if another part of the problem is that I've just read more. And the more I have to compare with the less good the new stuff seems. It usually seems OK but rarely more than that. (I call it the 7/10 problem as it's the most common rating I tend to give books)
I've tried over the last few years to really push myself to read. I've tried reading different genres. I've tried just picking stuff that seems fun. I've set reading goals. I've tried lots of things. And don't get me wrong I've read some good books and enjoyed them OK. I've read a few really good books. But at the end of the day, I'm more likely to reach for the TV remote than my ereader and I'm more likely to reach for my PC than that.
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To me, it just sounds as if your interests are shifting, and at this point in time, reading is not one of your hobbies anymore. It happens. I've had periods that my photography stuff sits in the closet for weeks or even months, and suddenly, I get the urge to get the camera out again. Then I'll be taking pictures like crazy for a year or more, and after I lose interest, I stash everything in the closet again... for a few days, weeks, or months.
It's the same with all of my other hobbies, even reading. Normally I don't go months without a book, but weeks is not unheard of (such as right now, because of too much work to do...).
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And I'm nervous admitting that because it seems like people see that as a moral failing but it's just where I'm at. I'd like to be a more engaged reader. I still get excited by the idea of books. I didn't set out to change but it seems I have. The problem is everything I've tried to reverse the trend seems to make it feel like a chore.
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I have this same feeling with RPG's. I really love to play them, but halfway through, I lose interest. "I'll continue after the weekend." Then the weekend becomes a week, a month, half a year. Then I forgot where I'm at in the story, and at some point, I restart.
This way, I have played Neverwinter Nights (2006), The Witcher 1 (2007), Dragon Age (2009), and The Witcher 2 (2011; I even upgraded my graphics card for that one), but never finished any of them. I actually lost interest in Dragon Age at around 90%, after waiting 5 years and reading the pre-release books as fast as if the next day would be the last I'd live.