How to Get Back Into Reading After Years Away
To get back into reading, start smaller than feels reasonable: 10 minutes a day, with a short, gripping book you would read for fun, at a fixed time with your phone out of reach. Give yourself two weeks of that warm-up before you pick anything long or “worthwhile”. Momentum comes first. Ambition comes later.
Plenty of adults who read constantly as kids find, years later, that they cannot get through a chapter without reaching for their phone. That is not a lost ability. Attention for long-form reading is a habit, and habits that go unused weaken. They also come back faster than you expect.
Why reading slipped away (and why that matters)
Knowing the cause tells you which fix to try first. The usual suspects:
- Phone competition. Reading has to beat an endless feed for the same 20 minutes before bed. It usually loses unless you change the setup.
- Wrong books. Many people return with a classic or a dense nonfiction title they feel they should read, stall at page 40, and conclude they “can’t read anymore”.
- No slot. Reading used to happen on a commute, at lunch, or before sleep. A job change or kids removed the slot, and nothing replaced it.
- A reading slump. Even keen readers hit stretches where nothing grabs them. That is common and usually passes with a change of genre.
Before you start: set up for an easy win
You need three things: a book, a time, and a place where your phone is not. That is genuinely all.
For the book, choose for pull, not prestige. Short novels, thrillers, memoirs, essay collections and narrative nonfiction work well, because each chapter ends with a reason to start the next one. Aim for under 300 pages for your first pick.
A library card is the cheapest way to experiment, because abandoning a free book costs nothing. Apps like Libby let you borrow ebooks and audiobooks from your local library on your phone. Our guide to getting the most from your public library covers holds, interlibrary loans and other features most members never use.
Permission to quit: give every book 50 pages. If it has not grabbed you by then, stop and start another. Forcing your way through a dull book is the fastest route back to not reading at all.
A two-week warm-up plan
This plan rebuilds the habit before it asks much of your attention span. Treat the minutes as a minimum, not a target. If you want to keep reading, keep going.
| Days | Daily time | What to read | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 10 minutes | A short, fast novel or memoir | Just show up at the same time |
| 4 to 7 | 15 minutes | Same book | Phone in another room |
| 8 to 10 | 15 to 20 minutes | Finish or swap the book | Notice when focus drifts, return to the page |
| 11 to 14 | 20 minutes | Second book, slightly longer or denser | Add a second slot, like lunch or a commute |
Expect days 4 to 7 to feel like work. The novelty is gone and the habit is not automatic yet. Most people who quit, quit there. By the second week, many find they look forward to the slot.
Step-by-step: how to begin tonight
- Pick the slot. Bedtime is the most common choice. Lunch break and early morning work too.
- Move the phone. Charge it outside the bedroom, or put it in a drawer during your reading time. This single change does more than any other tip.
- Choose one book from your library app or shelf using the “pull, not prestige” rule.
- Set a 10-minute timer and read. Stopping when it rings is allowed.
- Mark the day on a calendar. A visible streak helps more in week one than in week ten.
- Before bed tomorrow, repeat. Do not raise the time until day 4.
Good starter book types
Rather than a fixed list, which goes stale, use these categories to search your library catalog or ask a librarian:
- Short literary novels under 200 pages, which you can finish in a week.
- Crime and thrillers with short chapters and strong cliffhangers.
- Memoirs by people whose work you already find interesting.
- Narrative nonfiction: true stories about events, discoveries or expeditions, written like novels.
- Rereads of a book you loved years ago. Familiarity lowers the effort and reminds you why you liked reading.
- Classics, free: if you want an older book, Project Gutenberg has tens of thousands of public-domain titles at no cost. Pick a short one.
When you are ready for denser nonfiction, our guide to choosing nonfiction you will actually finish helps you avoid padded titles.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Setting a yearly book target too early
“52 books this year” turns reading into a quota and pushes you toward short books you do not care about. Track days read instead of books finished for the first few months.
Starting with a giant
An 800-page novel is a wonderful second or third book. As a first, it is a trap.
Reading only when you feel like it
Feelings follow the habit, not the other way round. A fixed slot carries you through the days when you would rather scroll.
Ruling out audiobooks
Audiobooks count. They keep you in stories and build the appetite for print, especially on commutes or chores. Many people alternate between formats.
Making room for reading in a full day
Most adults who want to read more do not lack time so much as lack a protected slot. Look at a normal day and find the gaps that currently go to your phone: the first ten minutes after waking, a lunch break, the wait at school pickup, the half hour before sleep. One of those becomes your reading slot.
Then make the book easier to reach than the phone. Keep it on your pillow, in your bag, or on the kitchen table. Load your library ebook onto your phone’s home screen and move social apps into a folder on the last screen. Small frictions decide most of these contests.
If evenings are the only option and you fall asleep after two pages, try reading earlier, before dinner or straight after work, even for ten minutes. A rested ten minutes beats a drowsy thirty.
How to know it is working
Three signs you are back. You reach for your book without a reminder at least a few times a week. You can read for 20 minutes without checking your phone. And you have a next book lined up before finishing the current one. Most people see the first two within three to four weeks.
Once reading is steady, you may want to keep more of what you read. Our guide on remembering what you read adds a simple recall step without spoiling the pleasure.
Keeping it going when life gets busy
Have a floor: two pages a day, even on terrible days. Two pages keeps the book open in your mind, so the next session starts warm. If you lose a week or a month anyway, use a short, easy book to restart rather than returning to the dense one you stalled on. Our advice on restarting after a break applies to reading as much as any other habit.
When you want to build reading volume over time, rather than just keep it alive, see our practical guide to reading more books in a busy life.
Where to go next
Tonight, choose one short book, move your phone out of reach, and read for ten minutes. Repeat for three days before changing anything. Reading is also one of the most flexible tools for teaching yourself new subjects, which our overview of how to teach yourself anything builds on once the habit is back.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get back into reading?
Start with 10 minutes a day at a fixed time, using a short, gripping book you would enjoy rather than one you feel you should read. Keep your phone in another room during that time. After three or four days, raise it to 15 or 20 minutes. Most people feel the habit return within two to three weeks.
Why can't I focus on reading anymore?
Usually because long-form attention has gone unused while short, rapid content has taken over spare moments. It is a habit that weakens, not a permanent loss. Short daily sessions without your phone nearby rebuild it. Expect the first week to feel restless. If concentration problems affect your whole life, not just reading, it is worth raising with a doctor.
How do I get out of a reading slump?
Change something significant: switch genre, try a short book, reread an old favorite, or move to audiobooks for a while. Drop any book that has not grabbed you within 50 pages. Slumps often come from pushing through the wrong book, so a quick, enjoyable read usually breaks them within a week or two.
What is a good first book to get back into reading?
Pick something short and gripping: a thriller with short chapters, a memoir by someone you find interesting, a short literary novel under 200 pages, or a book you loved years ago. Avoid long classics and dense nonfiction for your first pick. The aim is to finish something and enjoy it, which builds momentum.
Can I get back into reading with only 15 minutes a day?
Yes. Fifteen minutes a day adds up to several hours a month, enough for one or two average-length books. The consistency matters more than the length of sessions. Many people find that once the habit returns, 15 minutes naturally stretches to 30 on evenings when the book is good.
Do audiobooks count as reading?
For getting back into reading, yes. Audiobooks keep you engaged with stories and ideas, and they fit into commutes and chores when you cannot hold a book. Many people use them to rebuild the appetite for books and then alternate with print. Use whatever keeps you reading regularly.
Do I need to buy books to start reading again?
No. Your public library is free and lets you experiment without guilt, since abandoning a borrowed book costs nothing. Libby lets you borrow ebooks and audiobooks on your phone with a library card. Project Gutenberg offers thousands of public-domain classics free. Buy books later, once you know what you enjoy.
Is it harder to get back into reading after 40?
Not in any way that should stop you. Some people find small print more tiring, so try an e-reader with adjustable font size or large-print library editions. Busy family and work years are the bigger obstacle, which is why a fixed daily slot matters. Readers of any age can rebuild the habit in a few weeks.
Continue in this guideHow to Teach Yourself Anything →
This article was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by the Life Learning Journey editorial team. Read our editorial standards.