Is it normal to start reading a book but then suddenly realize that you have no idea what's going on in the plot because you have been reading the words but ignoring their meaning?

AvaddonLFC ☄️ 🤘@lemmy.world to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world – 412 points –

Happens way too often to me.

edit: I had no idea this was such a common issue!

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I'm doing it reading these comments right now

I just read through the whole page, what comments are you talking about?

I'm reading and reading, but i still don't understand what you are saying

I've reread so many pages and chapters because of this, sometimes even restarted books entirely

I used to read a lot more, and I do remember this happening, but it happens a lot for me now with podcasts. I'm a big podcast junkie and I will often find myself going down a rabbit hole of thought and realizing I have no idea what they're talking about anymore.

So glad it's not only me zoning out on podcasts. I haven't been able to read a book in years. I'm hoping i can get back into reading again now that I nuked my reddit account

Check if your library participates in Overdrive or Libby (digital library collection). I can't believe I had been missing out on free ebooks, audiobooks, and comics/graphic novels for years. I just needed an active library card to sign up.

I do this pretty often, though usually it's a sentence or line here and there. of course sometimes books are just written that way and the meaning comes later.

It's a bit of an ADHD thing and you get better at reading with purpose as you go. I used to barely take anything in and I can see books in my list that I've read but remember almost nothing about, try to read with conviction, take it in, imagine it as it happens, your comprehension will improve as you go.

Yeah, definitely an ADD/Attention-Processing issue. I used to read a lot as a kid, and after a head injury that aggravated my ADD and years of reading and talking in short-form messages (SMS, twitter, etc), it took me FOREVER to re-learn the skill of reading long-form text.

Luckily, with practice comes mastery, I was able to regain my abilities to read, and I'm currently working on a few textbooks and two casual books. It's still a struggle in distracting environments (loud children, hospitals, etc), but it's getting better the more I read.

I struggle in distracting environments due to ASD pretty much forcing brain to take in everything it hears and tries to process it as it would when someone was talking to me directly. I always read with noise cancelling headphones and ambient music.

When I was getting back into reading as an adult (used to read a lot as a kid but stopped for 20 years) I would read along with audiobooks, that worked wonders for getting into a book that I was struggling with.

Oh that's a really great method! I used to know a guy with ASD who did kind-of the inverse, he was super familiar with reading (specifically the bible), but he had a hard time with conversations. So he learned how to use the bible as a medium to conduct conversation.

Really, really cool discussions were born from that, and by the time I met him, he was almost independently conducting conversation, only going back to certain bible references when he got stuck or he needed to borrow a story or metaphor.

The brain is at its coolest when it's just a bit different.

Your bible memorising friend makes me think of the Star Trek episode "Darmok"

Indeed, indeed! Diversity is one of the strongest traits of human life (and life in-general).

I don't recall that episode, I'll have to go watch it!

It's a TNG episode, the commonly memed "Darmok and Jilad, at Tenagra" quote comes from that one. the crew try to talk to aliens that speak almost entirely in historical metaphors so their universal translator gets the words right but cant translate the meaning.

Honestly a great episode on communication and understanding and I actually see it referenced a lot in neurodivergent communities, people (nerds) have written dissertations on that one.

Thanks for the recommendation, I just finished watching it--and yeah that speaks volumes (quite literally, haha!). I love how they started off the episode with a very fluent mixture of non-English and a few English phrases.

I should really go back and revisit TNG! I remember watching it as a kid, but now that I have a few decades under my belt, I've gone back and watched a few episodes: and it really is packed with amazing philosophy and social commentary.

Usually happens because I start thinking about something else without quite realizing it. I do the same thing with podcasts sometimes, too.

This is a common issue with people who have ADHD. Source - Diagnosed at age 7.

I don't know how normal it is, but I have ADHD and I have it all the time. My mind will just wander about until I'm at the end of the page and then I'll realize that I have not read anything.

Not just with reading, personally I have this problem with hearing, more so than with reading. If I'm not actively concentrating, stuff really just goes in one ear and out the other, bypassing the brain competely. This is why I can't multitask while listening to podcasts or audiobooks, because it just becomes white noise.

Happens to me too. First post on Lemmy! When I was younger I’d read whole books in a couple sittings. Stephen King, Michael Chrichton, LotR - I read a lot. Now with tech job and kids, I don’t find as much time as I used to, and my attention span isn’t what it used to be after years of Reddit and interrupt-driven IT work. Reading one book, a chapter a night, out loud to the kids is about all I manage most days.

Used to be the case for me, I used to love reading books when I was younger but the stories never stuck with me because I was too used to reading quick. Nowadays I read much slower but I appreciate them so much more!

I reread a page for the 7th time and wonder what the hell I just read because I can't remember any of it

I've absolutely read a book, thought it was a bit predictable, got to the end and realised I've read it before 🤦

Lol that's hilarious and sad at the same time

In my defence there was about 15 years between readings. But still pretty bad lol

I've bought duplicate CDs in the past as well...

Watched movies with an odd sense deja Vu with the same conclusion.

Basically, I'm rounding out the bell curve for the rest of you lot to look good. It's not much, but it's honest work...

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

Sounds like adhd kicked in and you were off in your head. Ever trying listening to white noises while reading?

I think I have undiagnosed adult ADHD and I will start to drift off in thought pretty often, especially if I have something else on my mind, to where I end up having to reread a passageway more than once. The idea to listen to white noise while I read is something I should try, thanks for the suggestion!

No problem. I've had it for a long time and it took me a while to find a method that works. I will get silly with it too, I'll go on you tube play a thunderstorm, blow dryer and shower all at the same time. Also I read in 25 minute increments and take a 5-10min break if I want to continue. Almost forgot but in the very beginning I needed to use a digital reader because my adhd was like "I will never finish a book that size" somehow my brain was tricked. I can read physicals pretty easy now after some years.

I find that any type of music, regardless of how clean and continuous it may be, disrupts my reading experience by influencing the way I read, or making me think about what I'm listening to. The only times(well, mostly) I can read properly and without any type of difficulty is when I'm not very sober.

It's impossible for me and I think it's just comes down to my adhd. I will play Ghost in the Shell and Bladerunner atmospheric mixes when I read scifi for example. In silence my brain is too loud and doesn't stop. If I'm reading and whatever white noises are playing it minimizes the gaps when the brain wanders. It was already busy processing the sound.

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.

It's called being neurodivergent xD

I'm pretty sure you don't have to be neurodivergent to experience that

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

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.

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.

All the time dude, ADHD sucks lol

ADHD dude here. Can confirm without medication life is a living hell.

Yes, totally normal. It can happen for all kinds of reasons, but for me it usually boils down to a) the book is boring and my mind wanders or b) I'm distracted by something (maybe sleepy, or pondering a problem or worried about something) and that takes my focus away. I keep reading the words but I'm thinking about something else. Eventually I realize I have no idea what I've read and have to back track a little.

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.

Happens to books I'm not completely invested in, or books with purple prose - just full of filler without any substance. A lot of young adult books are guilty of this! Interestingly, never happened to me with a Joe Abercrombie or Brandon Sanderson book, though. :)

My wife has dyslexia and she can read the same book five times and every time it's different. Kind of awesome, to be honest

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

I'm sure it's normal for everyone to do occasionally, but if it's debilitating/all the time it's probably something like ADHD. I cannot even read a book but I can listen to an audio book. I might have to rewind it a lot but it's better than actually reading.

Can you stop calling my adhd ass out?

It happens to me too and I don't think I have ADHD. Should I be diagnosed?

It’s when it happens in excess that it’s ADHD. ND disabilities (from my understanding I’m not a doctor) are typically normal things that everyone experiences that are happening in excess. Everyone fidgets with things, everyone’s mind wanders, it’s totally normal to be distracted, but when it’s frequent and severe enough to interrupt your daily obligations does it become a disability.

I struggle with learning how to program because I keep losing focus on what the code I'm writing does. I'm not diagnosed but it sure sounds like ADHD to me.

Interesting, I have adhd and am quite the opposite, I love coding too much, the hyper focus kicks in and I can’t not focus on my code, fk eating, or using the bathroom, I’ll burn through every break I was supposed to take. Best employee ever I guess lol yah gotta find your passion, the thing your adhd brain excels at (your superpower some call it) and make it your career, and then focusing won’t be an issue at all! (in that one area)

Yeah, quite common. Used to happen to me even in my bookworm days

I sometimes find my mind wandering when I'm reading a book out loud to my kid. I also feel bad about it.

Books, tv, movies, YouTube even. Especially if I'm multitasking with programming.

Depending on the style of writing, when you are reading a book where you are putting yourself into a narrative.

Sometimes that narrative immediately envelopes you and you turn each page pulling you to the end of the story wanting more.

Sometimes it takes a little longer with the cogs of the story being just a bit bigger or smaller than your minds cogs. If the write too specifically without bringing in context that the reader can enmesh then the gears never turn and the book doesn't become a page turner, the reader tunes out.

I think sometimes editors cut content in the opening chapters of books to cut down word count so there is more at the end chapters to end the story well but at the cost of understanding at the outset of the adventure.

This is why I have a hard time getting into or even reading books in general. I just... stop processing.

We are human. Humans just zone out sometimes. We just need to keep going until we understand

This has happened way too many times, especially in many books. This makes doing a lot of my assignments a lot more difficult and often has dissuaded me from reading. I am trying to get better at reading, so I got myself some more books (that I'll read sometime in the future maybe) and combining it with some music or white noise to prevent me from zoning out.

It happens to everyone to varying degrees. It's a phenomenon similar to highway hypnosis (where you forget completing large sections of familiar drives), in that you are consciously participating in the activity but not commiting enough processing power for your brain to deem it important enough to encode.

Reading becomes so practiced it's simple, comprehension is another matter entirely.

That happens when I'm tired. Sometimes my head falls into the book as well, I see it as a subtle hint my body gives me to hit the bed.

I used to be able to entirely loose myself in reading for hours, whether the book interested me or not, because I was just passionate about reading. Nowadays my ADHD (and partially my anxiety) has become so bad that I can barely get through one page while seriously paying attention.

I've found taking notes in the margins or highlighting interesting parts helps for me. I do the same thing w ebooks as well!

I'm writing a book. How can I better avoid this to make the reader understand what's going on? I've been considering bolding the names of characters and places the first few times after they've been introduced.

While also having little intermissions where the characters consider the next best option (while sounding organic, of course)

What else?

Happens all the time. I have to constantly remind myself that I'm actually interested in the topic. That or just trust the subconscious will absorb some information.

It's not even just books for me. I can watch a movie a second time it's like watching a whole new movie. Like I completely missed half the plot and most of the details. I can also watch 100 episodes of a TV show and realize that I don't know the main character's best friend's name (the best friends who had 30 focus episodes and appeared in 86 of the 100 episodes).

It’s not even just books and movies for me. Sometimes I’d be talking to someone in real life and I’d suddenly become distracted (a text message comes in, I’m reminded about an errand because of a word they said), and the words come in and they don’t make sense. Nowadays I’ve seemed to learned how to queue the words and process them after I get distracted lol.

I can relate to this. Even while talking, sometimes I might forget what I was saying right in the middle of a sentence, and then move my focus onto completely different stuff. I find that eating well and being active somewhat helps though.

All these things you're bringing up are very common ADHD symptoms! PTSD and extreme stress and fatigue can cause these things too, but if you're not under particular pressure or recovering from trauma, or if it's been like this as long as you can remember, you might want to look into ADHD.

Getting diagnosed was life-changing for me and has radically reshaped my conception of myself.

That's interesting, and I'm glad you're doing okay now! I've never visited a professional about this type of stuff but seems like I might. May I ask how was it life-changing for you?

Sure! Undiagnosed and unaddressed, I struggled my whole life with emotional instability (huge, overwhelming feelings, very reactive), chaos in my head (songs, phrases, conversations, scenarios, etc, all jumbled up on shuffle-repeat while I'm trying to steer a train of thought through), difficulty with relationships (chaotic brain makes conversations tangential & interrupt-y, makes it easy to forget people exist, etc), difficulty starting tasks and finishing projects, and I spent almost 40 years thinking that all of this was the result of various character flaws that someday I would finally be a good enough person to fix:

Someday I won't be reactive and my brain will be quiet if I just meditate enough! (Meditation does help but definitely wasn't enough.)

Someday people will like me better if I learn to be quiet during conversations! (I try, I really do. 😂🤦🤷 I literally make lists for and take notes during big conversations.)

Someday I will be successful and have an always-tidy house! (Routines and lists help but weren't enough.)

Then my 14yo was really struggling in school and with friends and asked to be assessed for ADHD and was diagnosed, so I started reading up on it so I could parent better and in everything I was reading, I recognized myself as much as my kid. All of these problem areas are the result of my brain functioning differently from others', and no amount of pounding their strategies into it is going to make it act like theirs. There are modified and alternate strategies that work better for neurodivergent brains.

Super half-ass early morning analogy - it's like trying to drive a manual transmission vehicle when all you know is an automatic. I spent my entire life thinking that my car would start but just wouldn't go anywhere, but actually I just needed to push the clutch down to get it into gear. 😂 Why didn't anybody tell me I had a clutch?!?! They don't have clutches, they don't know any better. Now that I found my clutch, I can see that my car isn't a jalopy piece of shit, it's just different, and it is totally capable of driving!

Life-changing.

Please feel free to ask anything else! I'm happy to discuss, I want to make sure everybody knows to check their floor for a clutch before they give up on their car.

I'm pretty sure I have undiagnosed inattentive type ADHD so this is the story of my life. One word could send my brain on a journey of other related things even while I'm still reading the words. I have to reread so much.

I have diagnosed inattentive type and was just sitting here wondering if this was a feature of it.

Diagnosed combined type checking in - I also do this. I came to the comments to upvote whoever was here to tell OP that if this is a constant struggle, they might have ADHD.

I have diagnosed adhd and this is very much my life. Audiobooks are the best! It still happens, but way way less

I wish I could do audiobooks. I don't know if it's my autism making it more difficult to process auditory information or what, but audiobooks are even more difficult for me. I love podcasts though, since that is just casual conversation and I never get too lost even if I zone out and miss something.

I've never been able to do audiobooks unless I'm reading along. Can't pay attention to spoken words. I used to hate when teachers would make students take turns reading passages aloud. I literally couldn't pay attention because they would read s o s l o w l y that my brain would have too much time to think between words.

I think you just unlocked a memory. It is so difficult for me to understand when people are talking too slow. I can't remember what words were at the beginning by the time we get to the end. I always have to watch everything with subtitles.

It happens. I usually take that to mean that either I'm distracted by other things, or I'm stressed, or very tired. Sometimes it just means it's time to go to bed.

Oh ya. I'll read 3 pages and be like "wait what did I just read?" Then go back and re read.

It happens to me with books, and also equally often with podcasts.

My theory is it happens when something else has (often subconsciously) hijacked the language processing part of my brain. E.g. if I'm reading and there's another conversation going on in the background that I'm slightly interested in. (The reason I mentioned podcasts is because this revelation happened to me when I discovered that I can do a sudoku puzzle while listening to a podcast but not a crossword.)

I've noticed this as well, where I can't listen to something with words (podcast, someone talking, TV show, etc) while doing a crossword or other word puzzle. I never really broke it down to realize that it's likely because the part of my brain that processes language is completely incapable of multitasking.

I also have to avoid music with words while working; I'll end up typing out the lyrics to the song instead of the email response to a user that I'm supposed to be composing.

Lol I can’t listen to podcasts

I need to see the text or else I’ll space out way too often

Yeah, it happens to me every time I read a book. Hell, for any media for that matter. It's quite annoying, I wonder if there's a way to fix my retention

I realized recently I started reading books the same way a keep listening to videos on the background. It works for passing the time or unwinding a bit. For retention, mindfulness exercises (silly as it sounds) seem to work: taking a look at my environment and taking a moment to clear out distractions, stoping to think what is it I last read on that book (which is always harder then I expect), reflecting why I'm reading whatever it is I'm reading. Doing these things as little rituals tends to help.

I have ADHD (extra-spicy type) and this is a super normal symptom for me. Also happens with movies and tv.

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.

I've actually found audiobooks super helpful in clearing out my backlog, but there are certainly times where i feel like i accidentally started listening to a completely different book

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.

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.

Yup. So many times. I've to go back and reread those pages because my mind hasn't registered what the words said.

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

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.

I forget character names too. The X-Ray feature on many Kindle books helps a lot with that. You can just press a character’s name and check back previous references to them.

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...

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

This used to happen to me a lot before I started using an e-reader. I found that if I put the font on the 'open dyslexia' font and bump up the print size significantly, this rarely happens anymore. It's strange since my eyesight is 20/20 so I don't have a problem seeing the words, I think it might be that seeing all of the other text on the page ads eyestrain and distraction.

Try it out! It might help.

Well for one there's less on a page for your brain to process at one time, and for two, dyslexia has nothing to do with eyesight so you may also just have dyslexia, it's a common co morbidity with ADHD

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 listen to a ton of audiobooks and I'm constantly rewinding when I realize I've zoned out and missed half a chapter.

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.

It happens a lot if I am distracted by anything or can't get into the material I'm reading. I've had to reread a lot of chapters.

Constantly! I also tend to see something that catches my eye later on the page I'm currently reading and read a bit from there and forget to go back to where I was.

ADHD aside, you need to ask yourself if you like it, if you're really interested in the content shown, if maybe your mind is distracted in something, or you're worried/uncomfortable in the environment you are in and the likes. Have you read How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler? the author explains that we learn to read just on a surface level, leading sometimes to problems like you express. He then teaches how to approach a book in a way that you squeeze the most information and knowledge from it, even if its just a fiction book; and in the process, remember everything that you read even after finishing it. What works for me is: give a conscious effort to concentrate in what you're reading, but don't stay in the same page, don't even read a sentence two times. See if you concentrate better with music; I have ADHD and when I read books I need to listen to three diferent playlists to concentrate. Finally, following the first thing I mentioned, giving a conscious effort is exhausting to the brain so when you realize you can't concentrate anymore just leave it and start again the next day where you left it, you will notice that your brain will stand more and more all the work out you're giving it.

I appreciate your insightful comment! I'll definitely read the book you suggested as soon as I can. I'm not sure if I have ADHD as I've never visited a professional about these types of things, but I'll try out some of the advice you've given. Thank you and happy fediversing! :)

No problem, happy to help! Hoping that the book ends up useful for you. I have ADHD, so the thing you described is very common for me, but I understand that all people experience something like that even without having it, so is a matter of understanding what is causing it and work to solve it.

I can read 50k fanfic no problem. I can virtually visualize it in 3D, but give me a book about, I don’t know, rocks? And my brain stops working.

This is me with the lotr wiki. Still haven't managed to make it through all of the books.

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.

These are both very common ADHD symptoms. Not trying to diagnose you, just putting it out there as something you might want to consider researching further if these things cause you difficulties or problems.

@the_itsb No longer causes me problems 🙏. I mainly solved these things by re-arranging my lifestyle and meditating a lot and now my mind is comparatively clear, lucid and focused. People seem pretty trigger happy on the ADHD diagnoses these days. I think it's too easy to develop a distracted mind in todays world, but there are also practices that can un-distract it. If on rare occasion I find myself unable to listen, its pretty obvious that I am in distraction mode or neglected to meditate.

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.

Yes! Just read the book Blood Meridian and then watched a 5 hour youtube video on it, turns out I missed a galaxy of subtext

This was me reading basically anything in English class years ago.