No Stupid Questions

I have it especially with audiobooks. Get distracted, miss entire chapter.

Hmm, sorry what?

I do it all the time!

Yeah, then I try an reread the passage and do the same exact thing. I think it happens to me moreso when I'm disinterested or tired.

I read these threads and end up thinking I have ADHD... or a chronic case of Internet Induced Short Attention Span

Oh, God yes. And I do it on audiobooks no less. I was reading something a few months ago. "And she still had no idea who the spy was that one of her friends had been killed and replaced with master impersonator". Wait... WTF? The chapter just started out that way. Well crap, chapter rewind. No I heard how that one starts out, tractor rewind again... No I heard that one too. I moved back through four chapters...nothing. I went and found the ePub downloaded it and text searched it. It happened like seven chapters ago in the middle of a chapter and I missed maybe 15 pages of content.

It also happens when I'm commuting now and then if I'm listening. I'll realize that I'm not paying good attention and tap 30-second rewind half a dozen times. Listen to it all again and realize that I totally missed everything they said again even though I'm not doing anything else but driving. I just put some music on and go the hell home.

That happens to me, but I usually interpret that as a signal that I should do something else, like listen to music. I also have the problem where I forget the book after I read it. It helps to write some quick notes after reading.

This happens to me when I read when I'm tired.

On the other hand, when I'm excited by what's going on in the book my brain wants to skip ahead.

I have diagnosed ADHD and this is exactly my crux with reading books. I love reading books but this is what happens... Amusingly enough if I find a book that I love I'll crush it but retaining the books plot or many details is really difficult.

Yep, some books I just can't get into and it's like I'm reading them but not taking in anything? I find this happens a lot with textbooks and documentation and I have to really try hard to focus on what I'm reading

Yep, especially true for me in books that I have no real interest in like when I was in college. I'll go four pages before I realize I was just skimming and retained nothing.

I've read whole pages and chapters, then realized I need to go back because I have no clue what just happened. I don't even know where my brain goes during those times, lol. It's just gone.

Lmao yes. Is like my brain goes into power saving mode. If I really am into it , i carry on until my brain sort of reboots and things click again and if I must I go back to the chunk i glaze over. So totally it happens.

Certainly. Happens to me sometimes. Less so in my mother tongue.

Also in podcasts I listen to, I often realize that I don't really follow the meaning.

Might be a sign that the book is not interesting to you.

You keep reading because reading is a reflex. If you can't get your attention, you'll keep reading, but you'll be contemplating in your imagination. This is normal.

Absolutely!

So many times I will have to go back and reread a page or two because I completely zoned out but kept going through the motions.

Lol I recommend you don't try reading Malazan.

Hey, no need to attack me like this, OP (:

It’s definitely normal for me at least, I have ADD though. Whenever I finish a chapter, it’s a must for me to skim it over again. I just read the first sentence or two of each paragraph and I move on when I have the order of the major events mapped out in my head. Recalling the order of what I’ve read helps me a ton when it comes to processing it.

Worse still: starting a book, forgetting it exists for 3-4 days, and having to reread like 3 chapters back because you don’t remember what’s going on.

Or so I’m told…

I find this happening a lot when I get bored of a story.

Happens way too many times. The best way is to take a break and continue later!

I'd say it's normal for this to happen once in a while, you could be fatigued or distracted by other thoughts. If it happens every single time you try to read something it might indicate an issue. I can tell my blood glucose is tanking fast and possibly having a hypo if I'm having trouble comprehending what I'm trying to read.

L and, especially if it's a book that's a bit dense. Like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I loved it, but I needed to only read it when I was reasonably awake or I'd have to reread. The best approach for me was to be mindful of this as a possibility and proactively ask myself if I'm absorbing the content adequately, because it's easier to reread a chapter than half a book.

It also happens if it's a book that I feel like I "should" read, like one of the big classic ones that "everyone should read". Air quotes there not because I disagree that those books are worth reading, but because the "should" can add undue pressure and make people read even less than they would. Here

A friend was recently talking to me about this and he realised this sense of guilt about things he "should" be reading meant he never got started on the stuff he did want to read, in particular, some nice graphic novels gifted to him

Definitely, especially if too early in the morning and my mind still churning sorting out stuff for the rest of the day. Or just plain stressed.

I feel like I used to do this a lot. But less so these days, probably because my mind is less racing and distracted. I am more mindful in general.

It's also similar to someone talking to me and I'm nodding my head, and occasionally reply with something semi-coherent, yet I actually barely have an idea what they actually said. Its almost like a kind of shallow "chatGPT mode" of listening where I can reply in shallow ways but I have no comprehension.

This is the only way I can read fiction, I can't connect the words to build a story, also I'm bad with names so I have trouble keeping character stories straight in my mind. For non fiction on technical articles I do not have an issue.

Not just with reading, personally I find it happens more with hearing for me. If I'm not actively concentrating, stuff really just goes in one ear and comes out another.

Yeah. It happens more often when I'm tired, and I'll only skip over a few paragraphs, but I've definitely been there.

I try to have dedicated time to read/listen to books. I recently started to read an ebook and listen to the audiobook at the same time. I usually only listen to audiobooks with narrators I enjoy listening to so I don't mind if they read at a slower pace than I read in my head. I read PHM, the entire Bobiverse series, one of Obama's books, one of Trever Noah's books, and planning on reading The Three Body Problem this way.

Happens way too often to me too... And then, I'll start reading all over, only to realize I've done the same thing again...

I've definitely gone on autopilot while reading. Used to happen all of the time with college textbooks. My eyes are clearly scanning the words, but my attention is on some other thought. End up having to circle back and re-read that section.

Not sure how common this is, but I know as a kid this was caused by my ADHD, and it would cause me to take twice as long to read a book

This is common enough for me, that I feel the english language needs a good new word to describe it.

I asked ChatGPT what word it would use to describe this experience, and here is what it came up with.

Certainly! I propose the word "lexidaze" (pronounced lex-ih-daze) to describe the feeling you've described. Here's the definition and usage example:

Word: Lexidaze

Part of Speech: Verb

Definition: The act of reading a book while being completely absorbed in the words, but failing to comprehend or process their meaning, resulting in a disorienting feeling of confusion about the plot. Example: As I delved deeper into the novel, I became so engrossed in the sentences that I started to lexidaze, losing track of the storyline and finding myself perplexed by the events unfolding before me.

I hope this newly created word captures the essence of the experience you were looking to describe! Let me know if there's anything else I can assist you with.

Yep, I zone out and have to backtrack a bit to figure out what’s going on

Yes, except instead of reading it's listening, and instead of fiction it's whatever I was supposed to remember to do after work today.

I have the same problem with audio books. There I am, driving along, and then think "what the hell is going on in this story? Who are all these people?"

Admittedly, that probably says more about life than the story, but hey 🤣

Happens more and more... shorter attention span and/or too tired to focus properly.

Yep, I tried reading 'Heart of Darkness' to this exact effect.

Yeah, sometimes it does happen to me too, and I always get nervous when it happens, makes me feel like I have some sort of attention problem.

Lol... this also happens to me

This always happened to me in school with assigned reading. In college I found a classmate that had the same issue and we would read to each other which seemed to help because when you're reading out loud you tend to pay attention more. We would switch readers at the end of each page.