I used to be an avid reader, but years of high school and depression completely ruined that. I haven’t been able to complete a novel since senior year six years ago. It’s frustrating to me and I want to know how I can overcome my lack of focus and anxiety. I’ve heard I’m not alone when it comes to this sort of thing at least.
E: I wasn’t expecting so many replies. Thank you, all of you, for the ideas.
Definitely agree with this advice. Much better to start with something that you can see yourself finishing rather quickly, then starting a huge epic. So maybe something lighter, faster paced and possibly funny. Maybe in the range of 100-150 pages?
Another suggestion i’d make is to start with a book from your favorite genre. Doesn’t have to be based on past books, but maybe also current tv shows or movies.
As an example for me that would be sci-fi. So in that case something like “All Systems Red” (first book in the murderbot series) could be fun. Or maybe a short story collection like “i, robot” or “Stories of Your Life and Others” that allows to read one story at a time. “World war Z” would also be an interesting mix of the two, since it has an overarching narrative but is structured in seperate story lines.