I can’t read serious books anymore

[Anonymous]

I’ve been an avid reader my whole life. Mostly fiction.

In my mid 40s now and I feel like my desire to read more serious books is mostly gone and I’m enjoying more fluff books. I’m currently enjoying easy to read popular romance novels that end up having similar plot lines. I occasionally pick up a deeper historical fiction novel and I’ll enjoy it, but not quite as much as the other books.

Is this due to a drop in my attention span due to screen use? Or a general change due to age?

Can anyone relate?

[Anonymous]

Yes! That is me (47). I will be watching this thread.

[Anonymous]

Same here!

[Anonymous]

Me too (50) but I blame the internet.

[Anonymous]

That’s me. I don’t want to think about anything profound or be depressed- I read for fun and want light fluff

[Anonymous]

My two cents. It's the internet and easy access to mass media. We're really addicted to mass news media and the hysteria/drama it gives us. The phone give us too easy access to this and therefore makes it harder to consume slower paced but ultimately deeper works. Reading serious works just doesn't supply the drama/dopamine hits we can easily access through the internet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My two cents. It's the internet and easy access to mass media. We're really addicted to mass news media and the hysteria/drama it gives us. The phone give us too easy access to this and therefore makes it harder to consume slower paced but ultimately deeper works. Reading serious works just doesn't supply the drama/dopamine hits we can easily access through the internet.

Op here—this is my gut feeling as well, and I hate it. I’m going to try and really reduce my screen use this year. My only resolution!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s me. I don’t want to think about anything profound or be depressed- I read for fun and want light fluff

Op again…this too. There’s so much sad stuff in the real world, it’s just not as entertaining to read about on my down time.

[Anonymous]

I think there's also some extent to which modern literary fiction is just a parade of sadness and not particularly fun to read. I just read some EM Forster so it's not necessarily literary fiction.

[Anonymous]

Yes. The most serious and depressing books I read where in my teens: Dostoevsky, Zola, etc. Some were required by my French high school, some I picked up myself. Ever since, I've been on a slow trend of less negative to more positive outlooks, entertainment-wise.

[Anonymous]

Were, not where. Need to wake up.

[Anonymous]

This is interesting... I am the exact opposite as I have grown older. I am an avid reader and pretty much now only consume non-fiction. I just find actual lives and events so much more interesting. I get bored quickly of fiction, especially formulaic romance stuff, and won't finish. I wondered if that was due to my declining attention span. I can't stand to read any anything depressing having to do with children though. I made it all of thirty pages into Demon Copperhead before I have to put it down, for instance. A lot of fiction now is horribly depressing or about very dysfunctional sad families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is interesting... I am the exact opposite as I have grown older. I am an avid reader and pretty much now only consume non-fiction. I just find actual lives and events so much more interesting. I get bored quickly of fiction, especially formulaic romance stuff, and won't finish. I wondered if that was due to my declining attention span. I can't stand to read any anything depressing having to do with children though. I made it all of thirty pages into Demon Copperhead before I have to put it down, for instance. A lot of fiction now is horribly depressing or about very dysfunctional sad families.

That is interesting! What sort of non-fiction books do you read? Any recommendations? I agree a lot of serious fiction is quite depressing. Have you read the Four Winds? So painful.

[Anonymous]

Same. I know the internet is part of it, but I think being at a different stage of life is playing a role for me, as well. I have a lot more spare time than I did when DCs were younger, and I have been using it to be creative. Where I once had 30 minutes and it made sense to grab a book, I now have an afternoon to work on a knitting project or break out the sewing machine. Right now I'm getting more satisfaction and pleasure from making things than I am with reading or watching things.

[Anonymous]

In 2024, I read a few autobiographies by Rob Lowe, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Dave Grohl,and Julianna Marguilies. I believe there was a specific thread on autobiographies. All the books I mentioned were pretty good.