To the op: I know
exactly what you are talking about - not feeling motivated to start reading a book even though you know it will make you more intelligent, knowledgable, well rounded, et cetera, and just opting to lay back and watch mindless television instead. Or, even if I'm enjoying a book, I only really want to pay attention for so long. I believe I have an interesting take on this dilemma to share. Now, in saying what I'm about to say, I'm not suggesting you have any of my problems, but I've suffered from extreme anxiety and elements of depression for years now, and I believe that factors such as those are a big reason for at least me feeling unmotivated to start reading a book.
Here's the interesting part. Before last summer, I hadn't been on an airplane in years. I had a really bad flight, and am a paranoid in general (to a degree), so after the flight I refused to fly anywhere for about five years. Finally, this summer, I decided I wanted to travel, so I got this drug called Klonopin prescribed to me; it's basically the same as valium, but much stronger so the doses are much less. Anyway, Klonopin is described as stricly a sedative by most doctors, but some also use it as an anti-stress agent. To my surprise, I found that when I took it at a lower dose, it (ironically enough) gave me a certain kind of new found energy. If I took four pills at once, or two every two hours over the course of four hours (four total), it would give me this new-found energy, whereas if I took two every two hours over the course of eight hours, the effects would continually double up (it's a pretty long lasting drug), and at a certain point it would actually help me go to sleep. (I'm not suggesting you try any of this if you by any chance have possession of this drug. There are different dosages for everyone, and there are different strengths of the pill. You could have .5mg pills or 2mg pills, or who knows what other strengths, you please - check with your doctor before deciding on a ***safe*** dose).
Anyway, I found that at a lower dose it really only acted as an anti-stress agent, and even gave me energy, as opposed to making me sleepy at a higher dose. When I took a lower dose of the klonopin, or after I woke up from a long sleep due to a higher dose and only the anti-stress effect of the drug was still lingering (like on the plane for example), I found myself much more inclined to start a new book. I brought Transparent Things by Vladimir Nabokov on the plane with me, which is far from a light, entertaining novel. When I travel, I
always listen to my ipod. I very rarely turn off my ipod and read a book.
But, while on the klonopin, this anti-stress pill, not only was I extremely motivated to turn off my ipod and better my mind by reading a book, I even underlined EVERY. SINGLE. WORD. I didn't know (and there were like five a page), and asked my mom who was travelling with me if she knew the word, and for all the ones she did I would write the definition down on the page, which is also something I never do. I was also motivated and interested in talking about the book with my mom, discussing possible meanings of different sentences and passages, which I
never do either.
I'm not a psychiatrist or anything, and even the psychiatrist I was seeing at the time didn't really give me a great answer for why I reacted to the drug that way, but what I
think is that it's not only, for example, the human brain only being able to handle so much reading a day. I think anything can tax the brain and take away a person's energy and motivation, and many factors in a person's life can negatively affect that person's motivation in regards to picking up a book, or really doing anything that requires attentiveness and work. I still have trouble picking up books most of the time, and when I do, it's (usually, but not always) much easier for me to put it down than it was to pick it up.
So, I'm not suggesting you have anxiety or depression if you feel that way about books, but I will say that when I read the Op's post I felt completely like he or she'd just described my relationship with books 99% of the time, and that I suffer from these problems, and that I've realized through using Klonopin (as well as other factors) that anxiety and depression negatively affect my willingness to read a book, or really do anything productive if I'm faced with choosing between spending my time on an easy, yet non-productive option, such as television, versus a productive option, yet one that requires work, such as books.
My two cents. Anyone else experience anything like I've described? Just curious
