Don’t Like Reading? | Find the Right Book for You

Four Books from a Street Bookseller

Yesterday evening, after exercising, my wife and I went with my friend and his wife to eat at a restaurant near the river.

While we were there, a street bookseller approached our table carrying about forty books. My friend looked through them and bought four.

Seeing him buy so many, I asked, “You must really enjoy reading, don’t you?”

He smiled and replied, “No. Actually, I do not like reading. After only two or three pages, I become sleepy. I buy books and keep them at home in case my wife or children want to read them.”

His answer made me curious, so I asked whether he enjoyed watching television.

“Yes,” he said. “I especially love Chinese historical dramas. Once I begin watching one, I do not want to get up or go anywhere.”

“What about other kinds of programs?” I asked.

“I do not enjoy them very much,” he replied. “There are some programs I turn off almost as soon as I begin watching them.”

“But you just said that you like watching television.”

“Yes, I do—but I do not like everything on television. I only enjoy the programs that interest me.”

At that point, I smiled.

He noticed and asked, “Why are you smiling? Did I say something wrong?”

“Yes,” I answered. “It was when you said you do not like reading.”

He looked surprised. “But I really do not like reading.”

“I do not think that is necessarily true,” I told him. “Maybe you simply have not found an article or book that you truly enjoy. It is the same with television. You like watching it, but only when you find the right program.”

He became quiet for a moment. Then he said, “That seems true.”

We Sometimes Judge an Activity by the Wrong Experience

My friend’s words stayed with me because many people describe themselves in the same way.

“I do not like reading.”

“I am not interested in learning.”

“I cannot enjoy exercise.”

“I am not creative.”

These statements may feel true because they are based on real experiences. A person opened a difficult book, read a few pages, became bored, and stopped. After this happened several times, the person decided that reading itself was the problem.

But reading is not one single experience.

A historical novel, a practical guide, a spiritual reflection, a biography, and a technical textbook all require different kinds of attention. Disliking one of them does not mean we will dislike the others.

We understand this easily with television. No one watches one uninteresting program and concludes, “Television is not for me.” We change the channel and look for something else.

With books, however, people may blame themselves. They assume that a good reader should be able to enjoy whatever is placed before them. When they cannot, they decide that they lack patience, intelligence, or discipline.

The problem may be much simpler: the book and the reader have not yet met at the right place.

Interest Is Often the Doorway to Discipline

Discipline matters in reading. Even an interesting book may contain difficult chapters. A reader still needs patience, attention, and time.

But interest often gives discipline somewhere to begin.

My friend can remain in front of a Chinese historical drama because the story holds his attention. He wants to discover what the characters will do, how the conflict will develop, and what will happen next. His ability to concentrate is already present. It appears when the subject matters to him.

A person who says, “I cannot read for twenty minutes,” may spend an hour reading comments, news, messages, or information about a favorite hobby. The person is reading, but does not count it because it is not happening inside a serious-looking book.

This distinction is important. It changes the question from “Why am I unable to read?” to “What am I naturally willing to read about?”

Someone who loves Chinese historical dramas may enjoy books about Chinese history, famous military leaders, palace life, traditional philosophy, or the real events behind a favorite series. Familiar interest can become a bridge toward deeper knowledge.

We do not always need to begin with the books people say we should read. We can begin with the subject that makes us want to turn one more page.

Find the Right Entrance into Reading

If you believe that you dislike reading, do not force yourself to finish a long book immediately. First, learn what kind of reading fits you.

Begin by noticing what already holds your attention. Which subjects do you search for online? What kind of stories do you enjoy watching? What problems do you want to solve? Which conversations make you forget the time?

Your answers provide clues.

Next, choose a book connected to one clear interest. Do not select it merely because it is famous or because someone calls it important. Read the description, examine the table of contents, and preview a few pages if possible. The author’s language should feel understandable, and the subject should make you curious enough to continue.

Then give the book a fair but limited trial. Read ten pages or spend fifteen minutes with it. If the material is useful but difficult, slow down and take notes. If it does not connect with you at all, try another book without treating the change as failure.

The format may also matter. Some people enjoy printed books because paper helps them concentrate. Others prefer an e-book because they can change the font size and carry many titles on one device. Some understand ideas more easily by listening to an audiobook while walking or traveling.

The goal is not to prove that one format is superior. The goal is to create a meeting between your attention and something worth understanding.

Not Every Book Must Be Finished

Buying a book can feel like making a promise. Once people begin reading, they may believe they must finish every page, even when the book gives them little value.

This pressure can turn reading into punishment.

Some books deserve patience. A valuable idea may take time to understand, and leaving every book at the first difficult page will prevent deeper learning. Yet difficulty and disconnection are not the same.

A difficult book stretches your mind while giving you a reason to continue. An unsuitable book may leave you with neither understanding nor curiosity, even after an honest effort.

Learning to recognize the difference is part of becoming a reader.

You are allowed to pause a book and return later. You are allowed to read only the chapters connected to your present need. You are also allowed to stop a book that is not useful to you and choose another.

A book is a tool for understanding, not a test of personal worth. Finishing many books without absorbing anything is not necessarily better than reading one book slowly and allowing it to influence how you live.

The purpose of reading is not simply to reach the final page. It is to receive something worth carrying beyond it.

Reading Is Valuable, but It Is Not the Only Door

We should also avoid judging people who do not become enthusiastic readers.

People learn in different ways. Some learn deeply through conversation, observation, work, travel, audio, or direct experience. A person may possess practical wisdom without having read many books.

Reading remains valuable because it allows us to enter experiences beyond our own. Through books, we can learn from people we may never meet and examine ideas that took someone else years to understand. But reading should enlarge life, not become a reason to feel superior to others.

A person who loves books can still fail to apply what they learn. Another person may read very little but listen carefully, observe honestly, and live with wisdom.

The number of books in a house does not tell us how much understanding lives there.

My friend had already done something meaningful by buying books for his wife and children. Although he did not see himself as a reader, he was creating the possibility of reading within his home. His action showed that he respected the value of books even before discovering whether one might speak directly to him.

Before we finished our conversation, I suggested that he try one of the books I have written and published on Amazon. I did not know whether it would be the right book for him, but it could give him another place to begin.

He answered immediately, “All right. I will try reading one and see.”

That was enough.

He did not promise to become a lifelong reader. He simply became willing to test an old belief about himself.

Before saying, “I do not like reading,” we may need to add one small word: “yet.”

We may not dislike reading. We may only be waiting for the book that makes us want to continue.

— Sinin
Daily Wisdom Notes

Continue This Reflection

If reflections drawn from ordinary life hold your interest, you might begin with a subject that already makes you curious. My book Wisdom About Life: Timeless Lessons from Ordinary Moments explores everyday experiences, change, and meaning, and may give you one place to test what kind of reading speaks to you. Explore Wisdom About Life on Amazon.

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