How to Regain Your Reading Focus

Welcome to the Dear Book Nerd podcast, a bi-weekly show that answers YOUR questions about life, love, and literature! My special guest host this week is the wonderful Adam Silvera. Adam and I talk about how to get back your reading focus, whether or not it's worth it to keep old books around for a long time, and much more. Don't miss it! AdamSilvera Adam is the author of More Happy Than Not from Soho Teen. You can find him on Twitter at @Adam Silvera. Thank you, Adam! This episode was sponsored by Scribd and TryAudiobooks.com.   QUESTIONS DISCUSSED: Dear Book Nerd, I love to read and enjoy getting into a new book; however, at about the halfway mark I always seem to be anticipating the next book I'm going to read. Rarely do I stay fully committed to the current book I'm reading. I don't really enjoy reading multiple books at a time so I don't feel like that is an option. I feel like I'm not fully able to appreciate what I'm reading though. I'm always looking ahead instead of focusing on where I am currently. Is this normal and do you have any suggestions on how to remain focused? Amee Dear Book Nerd, I am trying to make this the year of reading all backlogged books, which includes a lot of books I got in high school. I am a year out of school and I'm finally getting back to devouring books like I did as a teen. Some of them I am excited to read - there were a few YA series I'm looking forward to finishing - but others I would consider to have no literary merit at all. It's not that I wouldn't enjoy reading them in the slightest, sometimes a mindless entertainment book is nice after a long day, but I can only average about 30 books a year and I don't want to waste my years on a lot of bad books. So my question is: Do I plow through all of these books I currently own before buying new ones or do I just let them gather dust on my shelf and consider them a waste of money? Kaia Dear Book Nerd, I have a degree in Literature, and I was the kind of person who loved books so much, her relatives gave her gift cards for bookstores on all occasions (having given up trying to find a book I hadn't read) as a child. But for the past 2-3 years, I've been unable to concentrate on any books. I tend to skip through parts, give up on stuff even though I'm enjoying it, and just turn to television instead. I'm scared I won't ever be a bookworm again. I still love libraries and bookstores, and still buy books at any given opportunity, but simply cannot get through them. Book Worried ________________________________________________________ Listen to past episodes and read past columns of Dear Book Nerd here! And you can subscribe to the podcast via RSS here, or via iTunes here. The show can also be found on Stitcher here. Do you have a bookish question about life, love, or literature for Dear Book Nerd? Fill out the form below or email DearBookNerd@bookriot.com. Don't be shy, ask away!