While bookworms and avid readers may argue that just saying that reading can be boring is an unforgivable blasphemy, there still exists a certain stigma in regards to reading and the level of entertainment it provides.
Despite being perhaps one of the most efficient learning tools and providing us with countless benefits, many still avoid doing it arguing that it’s a boring and unfulfilling activity.
Why is reading boring for some and a source of endless entertainment for others?
Why do some people find reading boring?
“I want to read books but I get bored” – sadly this is something we hear more and more these days, especially from young people.
First, let’s clarify one important aspect: reading is boring only for some of us. Reading in itself is not a boring activity, but it can be perceived as such by certain people and more often than not, it has more to do with their mindset, personal beliefs and education.
Let’s have a look at some of the most common reasons why some consider reading to be a boring activity.
Bad influence from the overstimulating TV
When it comes to pass-time activities, reading is unfortunately most often compared to watching TV. While the two activities have almost nothing in common, they are both regarded as an alternative for the other.
Watching TV and reading are quite different and the main thing to look at in this case is the fact that watching TV is a lot more stimulating for our brain, but not in a good way. Our brain is flooded by blue light, flashing images, sounds and in most cases, poor quality content.
Getting our brain used to this overstimulation will make reading feel like eating an apple after we’ve eaten a Snickers bar. We know the apple is the healthier choice and that it has countless health benefits, but we will crave the Snickers more often, because our brain prefers the quick release of endorphins, sugar and energy it gets with a lot less effort.
Watching TV is completely effortless, requires no active involvement compared to reading and that is why its influence is toxic for our reading habits. Of course a person who watches TV constantly will find reading boring, because a book has no visual effects, no sound and relies on our imagination and thought process to make it come alive.
Bad influence from the always engaging media available on your phone
Similarly, another reason why some people find reading to be a boring activity is the fact that they get used to the level of engagement they get from their phones. Social media platforms and content streaming platforms have the potential to feed us with endless entertainment available at our fingertips with zero effort.
Funny videos, memes, cat pictures and many other funny or engaging things are always available at any time of day on a device that fits in the palm of our hand. Even though books are a lot more complex and have many health benefits, they are often forced to take a backseat in our list of preferences because we get used rather easily with things that keep us entertained and visually stimulated with almost no effort.
While scrolling our social media feeds provides no benefits for our general knowledge or mental health, reading has the potential to make us better people, smarter, healthier and even more empathetic. Despite that, the struggle to make the right choice is sometimes overshadowed by the instant gratification provided by mindless content available online.
A lack of education on the importance of reading
Another justification to why reading is boring for some of us has a lot to do with our education and how reading has been presented to us in our childhood.
For a young child, reading can open a magical world filled with knowledge, interesting adventures and endless possibilities for his imagination. But building a healthy reading habit from a young age takes a certain type of education and the love for reading needs to be introduced and fed by the parents.
A kid whose parents don’t read to him from early childhood is more likely to see reading as a chore rather than a form of entertainment or a fountain of knowledge. How we are taught to see books from an early age has a powerful effect on how we will approach reading as adults.
Didn’t find the right genre yet
Another reason why books are boring for some people is the simple fact that they still haven’t figured out what they like. Reading is a matter of personal taste and while some can find joy in reading whatever falls in their hands, others are less flexible.
Finding the right genre can make a huge difference in how reading is perceived and in building healthy reading habits. Those who still find reading to be boring and can’t find the strength to finish books are very likely to be those who haven’t found out exactly what they should be reading in order to actually enjoy the activity.
Flashbacks from forced reading in school
Another common reason why certain people find reading boring or even unpleasant is the way they perceive it. Like I mentioned earlier, looking at reading as a chore is a toxic habit and one that will hurt your reading habits in the long run.
Sadly, for many of us, this problem has its roots back in school when we had to do mandatory reads. The way our teachers approached reading while we were students has a long lasting effect on how we embrace reading later in life.
A lack of imagination
Reading can be a very stimulating activity for our brain, but that can be massively influenced by how our imagination works and how well we are able to visualize what we read. A lack of imagination can, indeed, turn reading into a rather boring activity. Just reading words on a page without having the benefit of recreating everything with our mind’s eye is not ideal.
So for some, the answer to the question “why are books so boring?” lies in their lack of imagination and, somewhat counterintuitively, that can be fixed through reading as well.
How can I make reading less boring?
If you’re one of the people who struggles to find the motivation to read and finds it boring, all is not lost. There are ways for you to change your mindset, to approach reading in a different manner or to simply find your motivation or the right genre. All you need is the right set of tools and to put in a little effort.
Here are some of the most effective ways to make reading less boring.
Use Basmo
The most complex and efficient solution is to use a reading tracking app like Basmo. Having been designed with the modern reader in mind, it provides solutions to most problems you may face in your struggle to create a reading habit and to improve your reading skills.
The app works seamlessly on any mobile device, both Android or iOS operated, is user-friendly and comes packed to the brim with features especially designed to make your reading experience more enjoyable, to allow you to read more mindfully, to read more and to retain more information from the materials you go through.
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Get your motivation straight
Finding reading boring can have its roots in your lack of motivation to start reading and approach it with the right mindset. To overcome this, you need to find your motivation.
Why are you reading? For the health benefits, to learn new skills, to improve your imagination, to sleep better, to relax, for personal development, for self-growth or to make a step up in your career? Choose one of the many benefits of reading and set that as your primary motivation.
Once you know why you are reading, Basmo will help with the “how”. The app allows you to set reading goals, whether you want to look at the big picture and set a yearly goal for the number of books you read, or a daily goal for the time you spend reading.
Not only that, but Basmo will also allow you to set a reading schedule, which can be personalized and made as flexible as you wish. You just need to select the days of the week and the time of day you want to read at and the app will also remind you of any upcoming reading sessions.
Do some research on the book you’re about to read before you start
If you are a picky reader and find most of the books you start to be boring or hard to finish, doing some research before you even start reading a book may be a great solution for you.
You can find a lot of information online about any title and by reading reviews from other fellow readers will shed some valuable light on whether you should bother reading a certain book or not.
Choose books that are best-sellers, highly appreciated by people and critics online, at least until you get into reading. Once you get the hang of reading, it will be much easier to find books to read.
Reward yourself
Gratification is one of the strongest motivators for us humans. Use this information to your advantage and reward yourself for any reading-related achievements. If you know yourself enough to know that you find reading boring and you are looking to fix this, then you are self-aware enough to understand what rewards work best for you.
Whether it’s a piece of chocolate, another cup of tea or 15 minutes in the hot tub, set your reading goals with Basmo and reward yourself for each individual achievement. One more chapter, one more piece of chocolate.
Basmo allows you to also track your progress towards reaching your goals through statistics and visuals, which can also help a lot. You can even use the app to create a reading journal and keep track of your emotions through each chapter of a book or from one reading session to another.
Join a book club/readers’ community
Another great way of improving your reading habits even if you generally find books to be boring and unfulfilling is to join online communities for readers.
By joining a book club for example, you will surely have access to curated reading lists, to group members who may be going through the same things as you and you can be embraced and helped by the community to overcome the situation you are in.
Online communities on Facebook or Reddit can be very helpful as well. Just asking for a piece of advice from other members or book recommendations for people who don’t particularly like reading will surely yield some positive results.
Gamification
The concept of gamification exploits the humans’ love and desire for playing in order to improve otherwise less pleasant activities. By applying game principles to non-game contexts, gamification has the power to transform an otherwise boring activity into a much more engaging experience.
For example, implementing Basmo into your reading habits will come with a series of enhancements in this area.
Basmo will provide you with interesting statistics and data about your reading habits, will give you the chance to mark your reading sessions with emoticons so you can remember how you felt reading specific parts of a book.
Having interesting statistics about your reading speed for example or regarding your time spent reading every day will soon feel like you’re in a competition with yourself and you will constantly try to improve your stats, taking some of the boring aspects out of the reading experience.
On top of this, Basmo allows you to scan pages of a book, to save your favorite quotes as images, edit and format them as you see fit and share them directly on social media. Reading doesn’t have to be boring, does it?
Don’t overdo it – take breaks
An important thing to remember is that overdoing it when it comes to reading can have a negative effect. If you try too hard or force yourself to read more or things that don’t bring you any joy may feel a lot like a burnout.
Be mindful about your reading. Use Basmo to keep a reading journal, set achievable reading goals, create a realistic schedule that works for your daily routine and keep your emotions in check with emoticons after each reading session.
Basmo can also help you create personalized reading lists so make sure to take advantage of this feature as well-having several reading lists so you can alternate the genres or book difficulty from one book to the next one can have a positive impact on your mindset and the way you approach reading in general.
Give Your Reading Experience
An Extra Boost With Basmo
Track the books you read, monitor the time you spend reading and keep notes on your reading habits and how it makes you feel. You can set yourself targets for the time you spend reading and you can get notified whenever you’re behind on your reading time.
Final thoughts
So, why is reading boring?
Mostly because we’re doing it wrong or approach it with the wrong mindset. Reading is a gift for our soul, our mental and physical health. All we need to do is find the right motivation, change the way we look at it as an activity and use the right tools to make it a long lasting habit in our lives.
People reading vector created by pikisuperstar – www.freepik.com
