>decide to get into reading as a hobby and to help me get

>>26105999
why try to force yourself to like something? nice trips btw

Bump for same curiosity. I love reading, I prefer it over any other form of communication but I don't have the attention span. I just start thinking or day dreaming while my eyes unconsciously trace the words on the page

Don't read outdated literature for historians.

Start with inherent vice by thomas pynchon or something by haruki murakami for example.

>>26105999

Moby Dick is famous for being a boring assed book. Get yourself a different book.

>>26105999


Your brain has adapted to the instant gratification of the internet and craves constant stimulation.
>be you
>reading this
>condensed and easy
>green text
>not even complete sentences

Everything you do affects how your brain develops. You're used to internet reading and greentext and are unable to stay focused. With your brain adapted to this kind of reading and stimulation you have tried to dive into an extremely dense classic novel. No wonder you find it boring. The syntax is archaic and you probably need to look up a word every couple of pages.

You need to slowly level yourself up. If you have the desire to read, which you apparently do, since you've planned out times to read, etc., then the problem isn't you, it's the book. Books are captivating, and Moby Dick is a great one, but not a good "first book" for somebody trying to get into reading.

I would recommend something something like Post Office by Charles Bukowski. It's extremely short, written in modern English, AND it's a fantastic read. You need to start with books written in modern vernacular and work your way back if you want to read classics. Don't be afraid to pause and use a dictionary. Over time your vocabulary recognition will improve and you will develop more of a "reading brain" that will allow you to stay focused. This will also improve other areas of your life.

If you want any other tips or recommendations ask me.

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Moby Dick is a bad novel to start with, it's too long and confusing and tedious. You gotta learn to read before you can attack books like that. Try reading some novellas. They're shorter, so you don't feel overwhelmed when you realize you've only read 20 pages of a 500 page book.

Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground is a good novella to start with. It's basically about the ultimate robot, this reclusive man who thinks way too hard about his minimal social interactions with the normies. He even beta orbits a prostitute.

You could also try reading some short stories. Kafka's works are very good, he was a robot like us. Most of them have this really sick humor that will make you laugh while you despair for your existence. Chekhov's stories are really nice too, lots of them are very feelsy.

>>26105999
Try Jack London - the call of the wild or white fang, they are short easy to read books to get you started

>>26106087

>Start with Pynchon's second-worst novel

It's like you don't want people to be happy, Anon

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I was the same as you a couple of years ago.

I was 16 and picked up Moby Dick after only having read Catcher in the rye beforehand. I really enjoyed what i read(How can you not like it? The beginning especially is so goddamn comfy) but i didn't understand enough of the references and i got sick of googling words i didn't know and archaic definitions of other words etc. so i read around for a couple of years, expanded my vocabulary a little and bought a kindle for easy word searches. Now I'm 18 and 50% through the book and enjoying it a lot more.

These suggestions are ridiculous. Forget all kinds of classic literature for now. You need to read bestsellers with short chapters and short paragraphs. Try Stephen King and John Grisham. Not only are they extremely entertaining, they are intelligently written too. They're not trash just because they're easy to read, like the faggots on /lit/ will tell you.

I reccommend The Firm and The Partner by Grisham and Pet Sematary and The Dead Zone by King to start out with. If you like those you can basically pick out anything in the respective catalogs and enjoy it.

Have fun!

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>>26106532
>this post
>my face
>ask myself again while I still come here

Haha OP, I once did exact same thing with Moby Dick. I didn't get past about the 6th chapter. Apparently it gets worse, going into the minute details of 19th century Whaling practices.

Just read "Fight Club" or something like that instead

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>>26106680
What did i do wrong? Is it literally just because I'm 18?

It's not like I'm spouting memes or anything and I've probably been here longer than most people.

>>26106762
so you're confirmed to have browsed here underage

that doesn't make it better

you're still young, you still have a chance. stop wasting your time here and go fucking try to make something of yourself at least

books are shit
movies are the true man's hobbie

>>26106787
I've been here for like 4 years. Albeit the first year or so was on /b/.

People who are 'making something of themselves' do still have time to browse the internet you know? It's not like I'm fapping over traps and shitposting either, I'm talking about Moby Dick.

So how old are you anyway? I've made a few friends through /r9k/ and the oldest I've know was in his late twenties.

Protip: to expand your attention span smoke cannabis.

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In the beginning, start out with things that have gripping stories to train your brain. I enjoy literature, but I also read Forgotten Realms novels which are total pleb-tier fantasy stuff but are fun as light reading.

Start with the Dark Elf trilogy by R A Salvatore - there are many more books in that series if you like it, and you can find torrents of them.

Also try the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson (there should also be torrents of those floating around), plus there are two more books in that series afterwards - they're in a different world, not D&D based but cool nonetheless.

Once you've gotten through a couple books like those and enjoyed them, then move on to more /lit/ tier shit.

>>26105999
I was just like this, but I got through War & Peace, enjoyed it, and felt like that was enough justification to never have to read again.

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>>26105999
You should read A Confederacy of Dunces, it's a fun book where the protagonist is a neet that thinks that being a wageslave is the worst and parrots about the degenerancy of modern society.
And the author killed himself before the book could even be published.

>>26106363
I'm not op but I have a question. I am extremely stupid and have a really hard time learning and paying attention. If I got into reading like you say, could I become more intelligent? My memory is also really bad, like I have a really hard time keeping track of the basic story of a video game or movie. I have to make notes to myself to remember.

>>26106946
yo that book is the GOAT anti-/r9k/ shit ever

>>26105999
>read to get smarter
>fiction
>>>/lit/

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>>26106865
Depends on your definition of "making something of themselves". I'm in my final year of undergrad in biochemistry, and I've been on a federal grant to do cancer research as a PI. If you consider me as "making something of myself" then yes, I still have time to do other things. My current hobbies:
-Independent linguistic studies (I'm on my 5th language, French)
-Guitar
-playing league of plebs with friends
-Volunteer math/science tutor

I may be unusual, but I must be improving to feel content. I have a couple suggestions for books to help you "become smarter":

1) How not to be wrong: The power of mathematical thinking

2) How to Win friends and Influence People

3) Verbal Judo

If you read all 3 of those books, you'll be able to resolve conflicts at work, school, etc, you'll be able to keep and hold conversation, you'll get insight into others, and you'll be able to analyze everyday situations in a way that'll help you make smart decisions.

Good luck anon. It's not too late to get yourself on a right track.

Check out the Gregory Peck movie instead.

It's one of the most quotable films ever and is fantastic.

I know the reading day plans going to shit feel tho I'm on Day 2/2.

>>26105999
Read stuff you're into I can't force myself to read something I don't love... Personally I love science fiction.. Neuromancer or dune would be a good starting place

>>26107049
Not him but thank you for the recommendations. In return I suggest Meditations on Violence by Sgt Rory Miller.

>>26106563
Idk why but pet semetary is my favorite book... It's not even that good but it's so satisfying the way everything comes together perfectly

>>26105999
Shitty book to start with, everyone thinks that's boring, even English teachers.
Just don't read stupid fucking normie meme books like Abraham Lincoln vampire slayer or pride and prejudice and zombies

>>26107021
Ignatius Reilly it's such a perfect mix between /pol/ and /r9k/, he doesn't even redeem himself or even think he's in the wrong for one time.

>>26106363
>Post Office by Charles Bukowski
MY NIGGA

>>26106946
Just wikipedia'd, I'm intrigued because the character in the book is literally me.

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>>26105999
checked also dick
hahaha

>>26105999
Are you the guy who posted in the "who /dumb/ here?" thread asking about how to become smarter? If so, I'm glad you've taken my advice.

Still, Melville's style is very dense for someone who's just gotten into reading. If you wanted a similar, but more approachable style, I'd have recommended something by Bram Stoker. His sentences are shorter, but his vocabulary and syntax are similar to Melville's.

Moby Dick is a great book when things are actually happening, but he spends entire chapters just to describe a deck, or a species of aquatic animal, or even to establish a Shakespearean parody. He certainly doesn't know how to get to the point very well.

>>26106946
I'm afraid this thread will lead to memetic reference of Ignatius on both /r9k/ and /pol/.

What an inconvenient caricature:

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>>26107274
This. That first part of Dracula when he's in the castle is god-tier and sparked my love for gothic horror, which in turned sparked an interest in 19th century lit, and then Lord Byrons Poetry and the romantic movement, and so on, so on.

Like music, you gotta find what you like and then go with the flow, following the genres turn into different genres and then you can take on one of the bosses of literature, which i would argue Moby Dick is.

>>26106363
Some of us aren't smart enough to do that kind of stuff, anon.

I allways start laughing uncontrollably when I read shit like this. I mean honestly, in this infinite thing that we call the universe, do you honestly believe, that forcing yourself to read Moby fucking Dick is gonna fix all your problems and make you smart. Holy shit, the delusions are real.

>>26107967
If you take reading as an habit instead of fapping all day everyday to vietnamese cartoons, yeah for sure it can fix all your problems.

>>26106886
This is good advice.

When starting, don't go reading Dostoevsky, Hemingway (though he's a hack), Pynchon, etc. You will only fail. Start out with any of those popular books that catch your attention. There's no shame in reading Harry Potter or fedoracore fantasy as a 20 y.o. if that's what's gonna get you into reading.

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>>26105999
Just picked up Moby dick too.
Minus the whale fact chapters I've really taken to the book. Maybe try listening to an audio book version first.