I used to read a lot when I was a child. My parents kept the house full of books, my school had a huge library, and in primary school I had friends who took it as seriously as I did. We would cycle our library checkouts, burning through three books in the time most kids did one.
All of this intensity evaporated during high school and university. Academics and adulthood are not conducive to reading for joy. It took me years to get back into the groove, and if you're in the same boat, try this:
One
Ignore the popular books you see at bookstores or in bestseller lists. Instead, pick a book on a topic or theme that you care about. It could be anything: a specific city, swooning romance, parenting, Japanese watches, whatever. Ask your local bookstore for something well reviewed on that topic, or if you're feeling shy, just ask the internet.
It's not that you don't care about reading. You (probably) just don't care about the things that people around you are reading. Also, if your friends judge your reading choices, find new ones.
Two
If you can't get through a book for any reason, give it up. It is not a competition, so don't treat it like one! DNFing is cool. Reading should feel like fun, and not like homework.
Three
Find a used book store near you, or even better, a library. Look at the books your friends own and borrow them if you can (but please be super careful with them, because book hoarders have a habit of being irrationally attached to their paper).
If you live in Bangalore, here's a protip: Blossoms and Bookworm on Church Street are two of the greatest bookstores in the world. They stock tens of thousands of used books which are quite cheap, but even new books get a flat 20% discount. If that hasn't impressed you enough, both of them will also buy books back from you and give you store credit in return!
Four
Use something (notes, goodreads, etc.) to track what you want to read so you're not overwhelmed at the bookstore/library. Some years ago, I reached a point where I had to split my to-read list into:
- to-read: books I own but haven't read
- acquire: books I don't own and need to borrow/steal/buy to read
Five
Try reading different types of books in parallel. This is intentionally the last point because I know it isn't everyone's cup of tea. I read one fiction and one non-fiction book together, and stick to one for a few days before switching. Why? Because I realized it helps me focus and process better.
YMMV, but I think it's worth a shot and you should at least try it.