I've discovered that my brain will only accept certain content certain ways. If I'm really into a fun book, then text is perfect. If it's any kind of "literature" or non-fiction, I need to listen to it at the fastest setting my brain can absorb (usually 2x speed) while doing things that would otherwise not be fun (unloading the dishwasher, cleaning, doing laundry, whatever). And I pay attention to my emotional reactions to stuff. If something is too heavy to be fun (or to handle in general), I don't make myself go back to it. I evaluate whether I want to continue. I have more than 1,000 books on my Libby wishlist, so I feel no guilt about moving on to the next thing.

It takes me about a week of holiday before I can read. No work stress, and less obsession with the continual dopamine hits of smart phones, eventually lets my brain relax enough to pick up a book.

Every time I come back from holidays I tell myself I should keep reading. I never have kept it up though..

Hey there, I was right there with you about a year ago. Couple years ago I easily read through 50 books in a year, then right at the end of college I couldn't even begin one. After 3 years being out, I finally finished a couple books in less than half a year.

What helped is reading something easy and fun. Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy was it for me. Nowadays I'm doing therapy as well, which helps. I'm nowhere near as voracious a reader as I once was but I'm a different person than I was years ago, so that's fine.

You are getting a lot of advice on which books to read and strategies on how to read them, but one thing that I feel is often very overlooked, despite how important it is, is to search a proper ambient for a reading session.

Get yourself a comfy seat and a nice light. Turn off your phone's notifications (except for calls and other important matters) and put your phone away, same with your computer. You can have soft background music (no lyrics, of course) if that is your cup of tea, just make it so you cannot see the screen. Get a cup of coffee or tea if you like that, and put an alarm on your clock: until the alarm sounds, there are no obligations or anything else for you to do other than reading at your own pace.