Let's see how long this takes to end up on r/bookscirclejerk

You have to learn to develop a form of imagination in your head (if you don't want to learn this, fine, then you still can learn something new like kung fu, a science (for this you'll also have to able to read, btw) or a new sports, but you will still have to put some time and practice into it [that won't always feel nice]) Learning something new always requires some effort.

Everybody's suggesting visualization, but I think the pleasure of reading is in the language itself. Find what interests you in the actual sentences you're reading, or the dialogue, or the plot, the characterization, whatever.

Here’s a thought. When you take a break from the novel, take a moment to draw a character or scene that you remember. Don’t worry about accuracy. Just have fun. The point is to tune into your visual imagination. Not everyone has this in the same way, but you owe it to yourself to try to develop yours.

Have you tried audiobooks? They can be helpful if you get restless, since you can listen to them while doing other stuff. I like to put them on when I'm going on walks or doing chores. I've even put them on while watching cooking or art videos on Youtube.

You might just be too accustomed to reading manga/graphic novels. You mentioned how it’s been 10 years of ONLY manga, and that’s a lot. Anyone would probably feel they aren’t able to visualize while reading a novel after that long. So maybe you just need to push through the adjustment phase with novels.

Do you have a visual imagination? If you do, then it may be worth it to try to create the scenes as well as possible during reading the book. You may be able to create scenes that no manga can.

I feel like a good transitional piece of reading would be light novels. You could try picking up one of a manga that you have already read so you could correlate those pictures you have already seen with the now all text version of the story.

I have no experience or knowledge of your condition, so I’m sorry if anything I say does not apply or isn’t useful. I see you’ve received advice both to read “light novels” and avoid them. I think your best bet is to find something where the physicality or action isn’t key, but dialogue is. And maybe inner dialogue too, but that might be harder to follow at the beginning. I think you’d have a lot of fun reading witty interactions, as they don’t necessarily require you visualize anything specific.

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For me reading novels is way more fun than reading manga. I get the freedom to use my imagination however i want and that's something i'm really good at.

You could try reading VNs, those are basically books but with some illustrations and a soundtrack. And maybe if you get used to that then maybe the transition will be easier. Plus visual novels are just really good in general, its a shame they're not more popular.

Well, as a caveat to my description of VNs, there's quite a bit of variety, and in the west VN also gets used as a description for a shitty rpg. But the things that would be called 'novel games' are what I am talking about. Something like Fate, House in Fata Morgana, White Album 2.

I read and collect western novels. I have over 1100 titles written by 60+ Authors. When I read I remove myself from reality, at the same time painting my own pictures inside my head from the story that I have mentally entered.

Have you mainly been reading light novels, or are you reading other novels as well? It's possible that what your reading just doesn't do visual imagery very well, either because the translator did a poor job or just because it's poorly written.

For example, there is one Japanese light novel that I dropped because I also couldn't really 'see' what was happening, even though I don't normally have a problem with that. It may have been a translation issue, but I suspect the novel itself was just bad. If your looking for good imagery (in English), I'd aim for novel originally written in English. If your looking for something like a light novel, Korean webnovels are usually translated really well (and seem to have imagery that translates well to English). Out of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean web/light novels, Japanese seem to be the most difficult for me to follow.

Of course, maybe the aphantasia is the issue, but I can't really comment on that since I find it difficult to even imagine what that's like.

I understand where you are coming from. I have a vison disorder that makes it hard to read so actual books were a pain when I was younger. I found my love for reading through comics like Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing, Jamie Delano's run on Hellblazer and Matt Wagner's Gendel. The transition to normal books wasn't overnight but I fazed out comics for sci-fi and horror novels. I don't know how else to describe it but I have a mind movie that runs in my head when I read a book. Authors like Clive Barker and Stephen King helped out a bit(Barker does a lot of the art for his books, so stories like "The Thief of Always" had good visuals to go with the book).

Try audio books. I almost exclusively consume my books this way now.

Just read light novels

Why is this post getting downvoted? It's a valid and honest question.

When I read it’s just a movie in my head in a way. It’s not intentional, it just happens. I’ve never really thought of it.

Is it possible you have aphantasia? If you close your eyes and picture a red apple, can you see an apple (even a vague outline of it)?