READING · PICK UP WHERE YOU ARE

How to get back into reading.

Choose a book or format you want to try, make room for one manageable session, then use what happened to choose the next one.

By Habits · November 3, 2026

The bookmark has been on the same page for weeks. You still want to read, but “read more” is not much help when you cannot tell whether the problem is the book, the format or the moment you keep choosing.

Start with that decision. Keep the parts that seem workable and change one thing for your next attempt. You do not need to catch up on missed pages or commit to finishing this particular book before you can read again.

Choose the problem you recognise.

Think about the last time you tried to read. What actually stopped the session? Choose the closest description below. If more than one fits, start with the one that would make the next attempt easier to begin.

“I open it, but I do not want to keep reading.”

Try a different book. Sample something you are curious about, return to a familiar favourite, or choose a short story. Before borrowing or buying a full book, see whether a sample makes you want to continue. You do not owe the current book another attempt just because it is on your shelf.

“I have forgotten what was happening.”

Find a place to rejoin the story. Reread the last few pages you remember, then decide whether you want to continue. If reconstructing the story feels like more work than the book is worth to you, start a different, shorter work instead. Restarting from page one is an option, not a requirement.

“I mean to read, but never open the book.”

Change the setup or the moment. Choose a specific place you will be, put the book there, and name an occasion when you can open it. “At the kitchen table after lunch” gives you a next attempt to try. If the chosen moment is always rushed, choose another rather than adding a bigger target.

“This format does not fit the moment I have.”

Try a format you can comfortably use. A library ebook sample, an audiobook sample or a graphic novel may be worth trying. Check what your library offers and any device or borrowing requirements. Choose by how the session feels, not by a rule that one format is the only proper way to read.

This chooser is Habits’ editorial synthesis. Suggestions to try familiar or shorter books, a different genre or format, and less pressure appear in the bookseller and library articles linked below.

Make one attempt, then make one decision.

Choose a stopping point that feels manageable today. That might be five minutes, a few pages or one short section. Those are examples, not evidence-based ideal amounts. The point is to give the book and the setting a fair try without turning your return into a test you can fail.

Afterward, ask: Would I choose this book, in this format, at this time again? Answer from what happened. “I was interested but kept falling asleep” suggests a different next step from “I had time, but wanted to read something else.”

The book was fine. Bedtime was not.

If lunch had been interrupted, Alex could have chosen another occasion. If the book still felt uninteresting, changing the book would have been reasonable. The next step comes from the attempt, not from a rule to keep pushing through the same arrangement.

Keep reading, switch books or take a break.

If the session felt worth repeating, keep it simple: use the same book and a similar occasion next time. If it did not, change the part that got in the way. You can also stop reading a book without replacing it immediately.

For help choosing another book, tell a librarian or bookseller what you liked about an earlier read and what you are avoiding now. “I want a mystery with short chapters, but nothing too bleak” gives them more to work with than “something good.”

If even choosing a book feels like an obligation, a break is a valid choice. There is no required timetable for returning to a leisure activity. Leave yourself a clear option to return to, such as a saved sample or a book a friend recommended, rather than a debt of unread pages.

Once reading feels workable again, you can set a longer-term target if you want one. The reading-goals guide helps you turn that target into a page plan. That is a separate decision from finding something you want to open today.