Maybe because information/entertainment is offered in smaller and smaller bits? Like, there is Tik Tok now because Youtube videos are apparently too long for some people. Or online articles that tell you it takes 3 minutes to read them or "online watch parties" because just watching a movie without some entertainment on the side is apparently not enough anymore.

Just a guess, but I bet this has some kind of effect on how people consume other types of media as well.

I don't have an explanation, but I experience the same thing. Some combination of impatience and anticipation. Are you, like me, basically never satisfied with what you're currently doing?

You’re not alone OP. I’m an elder millennial. Elder enough to remember a mostly analog world. In my childhood and teen years, even my early 20s, I could get lost in a book for hours. I would be fully absorbed in it. I got my first smartphone at age 26, and after a year or two that definitely changed, and now in my late 30s it’s worse than ever. Just like you, it doesn’t matter if I’m reading a dry Victorian novel or a fast paced modern thriller or horror novel, I cannot stay focused on it. Even if I love it. I do a lot of the same things. Checking to see how many pages are left in a chapter, etc. I’ve tried doing “digital detox” before but I can’t seem to stick with it very long. I used to read 20 or more books a year. Now I’m lucky if I get through 4. It’s somewhat embarrassing and also makes me kinda sad. At the end of the day we’re just monkeys chasing dopamine hits. I don’t think our brains were “built” to contend with unlimited high speed internet access at our fingertips 24 hours a day.

Why do you read? To me this sounds like a sort of emptiness in the intention to read, where the only goal is simply to 'consume' or 'achieve' the book, and the only counterbalancing force is ecstasy or enjoyment. This reduces reading to a mere task and you attend to it like other tasks- always looking beyond it as a burden to release.

I get this way but I also have diagnosed OCD. I'm always counting page numbers and wondering when I'll finish or if I'll ever finish. I have to remind myself to take a deep breath and pause and visualize/enjoy the page I'm reading

You may also need something structured like a timer set when you read. And telling yourself, I will only read until the timer is up. Then I will put it down no matter what page I'm on. May help you enjoy it in smaller chunks?

Maybe try audio books. My sister hates to read but loves listening to books. I am the opposite.

Lol, I get this way. I just want to know what happens at the end of the story. I skim books with a ton of inner monologue for this reason.

I don't know if what I do is really the same thing but I am often almost racing for the end but it's less of a 'when will this be over' and more of a 'when will I know' kind of deal. It's like I can't wait to finish so that I know what happens, there's no desire for the reading to be over just for the knowledge that comes from finishing.

I’m the same sometimes. I stop and start and keep checking how many pages to the next chapter and how many chapters left in the book. A part of it is attention span issues and a part of it is anxiety—I’ve reached a part of the book that’s a little too intense and am distracting myself from continuing. But then the action draws me in and I forget to count, at least for the next little while.

It would be interesting to maybe try reading a book without chapters (which I haven’t done in a while) and see if that affects the way I read.

It’s happens to me too, I’m a very anxious person and even when I’m watching a movie or a video I will constantly check the time left but it’s not to a degree that bothers me, I’ve even learnt to skim carefully to just see the page number and avoid spoilers in books lol.

Something extra:

I went from reading up to 30-40 books a year to a declining 3-10 starting 2017. Different situations for me to read presented. I was reading while commuting, now I had a more dynamic commute with almost no time, I was reading during lunch and now I was more engaged with my colleagues during lunch.

It all changed in 2021. That year I read 40 books again!! Last year I reached 55! This year I already have 12 done.

And books actually helped me get into that. “Atomic Habits” (if you read it, my only advice is to skip the chapter 1) and “The art of not giving a f*ck” practically helped me finding what is important to me and why, remove what I don’t find helpful in the life I want and find time for the things I enjoy.

I have at the moment a huge list of “Want to Read” in my Goodreads that might never go to 0 as it keeps growing. And I try to read different topics simultaneously (one chapter a day from one or the other, or few pages a day from few). I separated them in: mental health, work related, fantasy, people (biographies), hobby, fiction and such. And I try to have 1 from each category in my “Currently Reading”. That way I keep my brain challenged and interested by learning from different topics. If I want something lighter, or if I feel like crying or so. I am a curious person by nature and I love learning, I am thirsty for information always, so that also helps, but with today’s media-driven society, your brain might get a bit updated.

Only remember: your brain is yours and you are the driver. You can make it do ANYTHING you want. I know sometimes we need the help of externals like meds or docs, but in general, it is yours to command. Be open to question it and try new things and hack it :)

Sounds like anxiety. And today’s world is only created for short-spans. To hook you with one phrase. To sell you with one look. Meditating can help tons. But do not expect results soon, it’s a life-long practice.

I love TV series. Not movies that much. As I want the story to develop longer, like in a book. So I think in a sense I also read my books as if they were a TV show, “in parts”, and I enjoy the cliffhangers I leave myself with.

Just with anything in life, it is about the journey, not the destination. Try to focus on the journey instead. Not to mark the book as read but to enjoy everything that comes with reading it, maybe even learn something from it.

Maybe ask yourself: why do I read? What do I gain from reading?