Do you, perhaps focus too much on reading the books that "score well" and get good reviews but don't do much for you?

You need to think of a topic and get something out of it. Or at least read stuff you are genuinely interested in. It's hard to explain, but I had this same problem as you; I went on a decade-long hiatus of not reading.

Now I read every day, more or less.

Don't go for the "famous" ones; go for the ones you know you'll enjoy, so to speak.

A bit hard to explain so forgive me if I'm not doing it well.

Ugh the dreaded reading slump. I’ve been going through this for an entire year, literally since January of 2022. I couldn’t finish anything and it was genuinely frustrating. But, In My Dreams I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead got me out of this slump. It’s a gripping murder mystery involving a college reunion, lost friendships and narrated by a not-so-perfect main character. A very great read and I hope to find more books like it.

I love reading and used to be a voracious reader. But as I got busier I took breaks and had to actually force myself to read. It sounds like what you are going through.

I started re-reading old books to get over that, ‘I’ll never finish a book’ feeling. That was great because I started noticing different things and getting involved in different aspects of the story. After that I started reading 1-2 new books a year, with some chapters read on my lunch breaks/before bed. And I also use goodreads to set myself a certain limit of books I want to read for the year.

It’s definitely something I’ll have to start back up, since I’ve been a really bad reader ever since my son was born a few months ago.

I was severely burned out earlier this year. My brain couldn't focus on reading, so I didn't force it. In October, I started listening to an audiobook. And then another. And then another. And then I started reading on my Kindle again, etc. So if it's not time for you right now, don't force it. But it sounds like you're past that. You're actively missing it. Just start again. That's how you do it.

I believe we have seasons in our lives and some seasons just are made for reading, or at least not reading often. When my kids were little, it was rare that I had time to read. I remember one time we were planning a vacation and I told them I didn't care where we went, I just needed some down time so I could read a whole book, I got my wish.

I also had a serious slump from 2019-2021, we decided to move to a new state, so getting the house that we'd lived in for 25 years ready to sell and moving not once, but twice, then throw in a pandemic and trying to decide if I wanted to restart my business or retire and my mind was too full to read.

Looking back, I probably could have read more when my kids were little, I just wasn't managing my time well. I couldn't concentrate because there were always chores that need to be done. If I were in the same situation today. I would use time blocking, which is something I learned while running a business from home. I simply assigned times to focus on work, housework, family, socializing, and anything else I wanted to accomplish during the week. When I assigned time for things that were fun, I didn't have guilt or preoccupation with the other things on my ToDo list because they had their own assigned times.

The key to reading more is to do something else less. For me, I was spending way too much time on screens (TV, Movies, Web). I eliminated those from my activities after 5PM Monday - Thursday and the time I spent reading increased dramatically.

Maybe hit up some good YA. It reads faster and the payoff comes sooner so it's easier to get engaged in the book (Tui T Sutherland's Menagerie series may have been written for kids but it's frigging delightful and I like to reread it when I'm stressed, ditto the Best Christmas Pagent Ever and The Enchanted Forest Chronicles)

I like to read in the bath (without my phone) because there are no other options and I'm forced to concentrate

Hi there. This subject has been very popular in the past. Please use reddit search and/or check the /r/books/wiki/faq.

If you don’t like reading any more, you don’t like reading any more. You can’t force yourself to read. My friends tried to get me to play Fortnite and I was like hell nah I won’t enjoy that. I wouldn’t force myself to like something I wouldn’t enjoy. Watch TV shows or movies instead maybe. Go for hikes. Draw. Listen to music. Play video games.

For me, I read books in the morning for 2 hours before going about my day but I enjoy it and don’t see it as a chore.

How do you like sci-fi/fantasy? I find a good page-tuning sci-fi fantasy series has always been the thing to get me reading again. Some recommendations:

Hyperion Cantos

A Song of Ice and Fire series (Game of Thrones)

The Expanse series

Just a thought, I binged all these series when I read them and they all really keep the action going throughout.