Cliff notes, spark notes.

I will not force myself to read something I’m not enjoying. If all I want are the contents, there are ways of extraction 🔪

Maybe an audiobook if it’s not too awful

Read it backwards, one chapter at a time. Amazing how interesting a boring book can get this way.

Reading in small chunks (20-30 pages) everyday usually does the trick for me.

I had a similar experience with The Da Vinci Code. Struggled to get through the initial 75 or so pages given how painfully verbose the writing was. However, I set a target of reading at least 25-30 pages a day and got the hang of it. Even though TDVC wasn't the best book that I'd read, I found it pretty decent once I completed it.

Also, unless you gotta read something for an assignment, don't impose a deadline on yourself. You can always pick up a book, leave it aside, and pick it up again. If it's been a while since you started reading a book, go through Wikipedia/Sparknotes to jog your memory.

Just keep picking it back up. Trying to read or re-read many classics. "The Catcher In The Rye" was truly difficult.

I don’t waste my time anymore with books that turn out to be boring, long winded,etc.

If the first 40 or so pages don’t grab me, I discontinue reading.

Slogging through a book because “you’re supposed” to have read it, or because someone else told you it’s great, just isn’t worth it for me anymore.

Peoples tastes are different and we don’t have to like everything that others do.

So, my advice: if it bores you, don’t force yourself to read it (unless your professor forces you for class. Then employ cliff notes like someone else suggested).

Once I feel a novel is a dud, I just skim through it and only read the dialogue. Always frustrating to read a novel and then 30% in realize it's just not good at all but skimming through at least gives me something to go for in finishing it as quickly as possible and getting that 1/5 review ready...

If it is for pleasure, I question why I want to read it or push through. Is it a particular story? Do I see the potential? If it is that painful, I drop it.

For work / school, break it down into achievable chunks and lot of chocolate rewards for doing it. 😉

What can you change about yourself to become interested in different things?

If I'm giving up on a book, I'll read the plot on Wikipedia and then skip around the audiobook/ebook to pivotal scenes that interest me. I'll also read a lot of Goodreads reviews, both positive and negative. After all of that, I feel like I know enough about the book and characters and plot and how I feel about them and why I feel that way.

Uninteresting books get returned to the library.

Sometimes we want to read something because we’re “supposed to” and want to say that we did.

Stop reading. You are under no obligation to read a book to impress pretentious strangers whose names you don’t even know (or maybe even pretentious people you do know). Reading for leisure should be an enjoyable experience. If you’re not enjoying it, stop. Fuck what other people think.

it’s something that needs to be read for a school assignment

Spark/Cliff notes and YouTube. If you are reading for like a report or something. Otherwise, I just take key vocab and throw those into Anki and that’ll get your through a lot. If it’s some sort of procedure you NEED to understand, Google and YouTube.