Having some problems with reading...?

Question

I have no reading disabilities that I know of, and my reading comprehension is perfectly fine. But the thing is, when I read a novel, any novel, I have such a hard time reading because I'll read easy words, like "understand" or "hard" or "help" and for some reason I'll feel like I don't know what those words mean. I can always come up with synonyms for those words, but at the same time I feel like I'm drawing a weird blank, like I'm not quite processing what I'm reading. Sometimes my eyes will just skim over entire sentences, reading the words themselves, but not taking in their meanings. I'm so frustrated because it makes reading very very very slow, for all books, including the ones I love. But I don't know if it's just all in my head and I'm overthinking things, or if maybe...something's wrong? Does this happen to anyone else?

Answer 1

haha. that happens to me all the time, ill have to re-read sentaces a few times to actually grasp whats its on about.

its like my brain tunes out, but i carry on reading,but like reading words/sentances that i dunno what they mean etc. i get what ya mean tho.

mayb we r just thinkin 2 hard, or need 2 catch up on sleep. lol

but dnt wry,u aint tha only one

Answer 2

you have something on your mind or you can hear something in the background and start to concentrate on that, like the t.v or kids maybe.  it happens to all of us, try to read at night after a bath and have a reading light with the main light off.

  hope this helps and happy reading..

Answer 3

Yeah that happens to me sometimes. You might want to take a break from your reading and make sure you have good lighting. Also, try to get more sleep. That might help

Answer 4

Same kind of thing happens to me. I could look at a word I've seen every day in my life know that I've seen it and know that I know what it is but at the time I won't have a clue. Happens with spoken words too, it's like people start talking a different language. A few years ago I was told I was dyslexic, my memory and speed of processing are bad.

Answer 5

Try Audio books, especially if you can get the full length ones (unabridged) then read the book along with the audio version.  This way you will read at a pace with the person who is reading the story.  They are usually famous actors/actresses and use different voices so can be very entertaining!

To give you a break from reading listen to the books on audio if you can only get the shortened versions (abridged).

audible.co.uk have thousands of titles to choose from.

Answer 6

It is possible that you are simply stressed out, skim reading and getting distracted.  However the fact that you read easy words which you know you understand and draw a blank and the fact that this is affecting your enjoyment of reading makes this sound like a more serious problem.

My husband looked at your question and wondered if you could possibly have a mild form of Obsessive Compulsive Order.  Please don't be insulted by this as he has some experience in the matter.  He is highly intelligent, loves reading and has not learning problems but it used to take him an age to read a book as he would obsess over re-reading parts of the book that he knew he understood but still felt compelled to re-read "just in case" he had not understood.  If you find that your reading is slow because you are going over the same parts of the book again and obsessing about certain words you should maybe see a doctor.  This can be treated through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy which is just training your mind to ignore the problem that is holding you back.  I am not an expert and this is just a suggestion.  But the fact that this is really slowing you down and frustrating you and impairing your enjoyment of reading I think you really should see someone professional about it even if it is only stress and distraction holding you back - I really think you need someone to assess the problem and help you find a way to overcome it.

One thing to understand is that OCD is not a learning difficulty it is simply one of those quirks of humanity - and we all have some symptoms of OCD in us.

Answer 7

The second thing you described, the skimming, is normal.

I think I know what you're talking about in the first part, about forgetting words' meanings, but it doesn't happen often enough for me to really take notice of it. I'd talk to your doctor