Getting Back Into Reading as an Autistic Adult
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- čas přidán 24. 08. 2024
- I mentioned I might make this video if anyone was interested and one of you said you were, so this is literally just for you and me thank you for wanting it
/ dana_._andersen
/ danaoandersen
carryonbeautif...
ko-fi.com/dana...
also running a secret library is great
I had similar experiences to yourself Dana, I was a voracious and early reader with a bag of books that I would constantly dip into rather than interact with other people; often even with my own family. My parents complained throughout my childhood/youth that I always had my nose in a book rather than looking around me. Books helped me to disassociate when needed; other worlds and lives to hide within rather than dealing with the disappointing/traumatising one that I lived in.
My primary school (I attended 25 years before yourself) actually had to buy in extra, older-themed, books for their library - as I had already read most of what they had and had a reading age many years above (even if I often didn't understand context/emotions). I was reading "adult" novels - if they interested me - by the age of 8. This was in the era before the advent of YA literature as a genre (although there are many examples of such stuff amongst the classics - check out Tom Brown's School Days for a truer portrayal of British "Public" (private/boarding) Schools than anything by JK Rowling, but which is its basis). Unfortunately, due to the era it is set in, it has male protagonists and so is probably of no interest to you.
Since adulthood, I still read almost constantly - from looking at street signs/adverts/shop displays when in public (a way of dealing with the anxiety engendered from being around others) to reading - and often re-reading - books. The only times that I have stopped reading have been those preceding burn-out (when other demands have exceeded my resources/coping mechanisms) or when (more happily) IRL events/ people/activities have become strong (but tiring) interests.
I re-read those books that I have previously enjoyed/got lost in when recovering from meltdowns/burn-out as a form of therapy/self-care, but read new ones when I need new ideas/input but cannot deal with getting this from other people.
I have always preferred the Sci-fi, fantasy, genres - so, again I apologise if not of interest/use to Dana (although I believe these are mainly settings in which other genres are often played out - such as the Hunger Games as a series about politics as much as love/identity/etc.)
If those in the community do like these sort of settings for their reading pleasure - and are looking for strong, female authors/voices and protagonists (with a touch of snark/moxie/chutzpah) - always recommend Sheri Tepper or C J Cherryh as older, classic, authors - and in Elizabeth Moon's "Vatta" books - Kylara is awesome!
I don't have a lot of memories about learning to read "Dick and Jane" (if I recall), just knowing how to read. Reading was a refuge at home. It was one thing I could do and not get in trouble for. My older sister read voraciously. If she was awake her face was buried in a book. Libraries were a sanctuary. A place of quiet reflection and without the hounding bullies.
At times of strife and struggle I could transport myself to another world, time or place and be utterly invisible. Reading provided perspective, and a window into other's lives. On occasion resonating so strongly that it seemed to validate my own existence. Like in van Goghs letters to his brother when he wrote:
"A great fire burns within me, but no one stops to warm themselves at it, and passers-by only see a wisp of smoke"...
Nowadays less maudlin and leaning towards personal accounts of dealing with being neurodivergent. Although it isn't reading in the sense of "literature", the creative writing and exposition found online in blogs, comments and essay, etc. has been a wondrous discovery. A departure from the practical, non-fiction and technical writing that are my mainstay.
After accepting I had neither the patience or inclination to subject myself to the formal rigors of University study, I realized that with the easy access of the online world I could study and accomplish whatever I set my mind to. That whatever enquiry I may posit, I can pursue at will.
Whether by pursuing understanding of how others navigate the complexity of their lives or how it may relate to my own, my recluse life has been illuminated. Thanks Dana, for another engaging soliloquy.
Haven’t finished the video yet, but I just wanted to say that it’s totally okay to also still read YA as an adult! It doesn’t have to be all school related either. I read a wide variety, but I still enjoy a good fantasy YA and have had some of my happiest, most hand-flappiest reading times reading them as an adult.
Also! I have a book recommendation. Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby. She’s an autistic comedian and that’s her memoir. :)
Personally, I've begun to enjoy in-depth academic books about my interests. They aren't the same light-hearted fantasy stories about love and war, but they're still very interesting to me :)
As a child/ teenager I was also obsessed with reading. When I was 16/ 17 years old I really loved the Shadowhunter-books by Cassandra Clare (City of Bones, City of Ashes, etc.), and I can really recommend those books for anyone who likes fantasy novels! I'm thinking about re-reading them soon.
being able to remember the page number (and having the memory to recall things perfectly like that) has it's own issues, so don't feel bad :)
I understand losing touch with reading when a genre becomes irrelevant to your life. I read Star Trek almost exclusively in my teens but it became less enjoyable and I got a PlayStation and discovered video games. I have loved many hours of gaming because it’s been an escape from my depression and anxiety but it’s not exactly taught me anything like reading does so I regret how much I played games and I am trying to get really into reading with my audible subscription. If anyone hasn’t claimed a free audiobook from them I recommend it because they let you keep it even if you cancel your membership and if you don’t cancel your membership you can take advantage of the many sales and offers that they have. I never thought I could listen to books and enjoy them even though I struggle with physical books I always favoured them. It’s actually been very exciting discovering audiobooks for me. Watching these videos had led to me getting some recommendations for a few educational books but I got the impression that you wanted some light fiction, although he’s obviously a man Richard Osman writes from the point of view of a woman although he has male characters as well. It’s not great literature but I find it fun to listen too for a couple of days, the audiobooks are read by a lady who is easy to listen to. You mentioned feminist literature the only book I have in that vein is Feminists Don’t Wear Pink and other lies. It’s a collection of essays so some are better than others but overall I have kept it in the hope that one day some essays will be of relevance to my sisters kids.
I think you can download the kindle app to your phone or computer to get the really old free books or they often have 99p books available. I’m not a huge Amazon lover but it seems hard to get books online without them coming up as they seem to own everything. I genuinely don’t know how you get pirated books but I understand that libraries are difficult. It’s why I end up buying books, audible do let you swap books if you don’t like them but not if you do it too often. I actually don’t have a lot to say on reading relative to other topics but I will read other peoples comments with interest. Dana thank you for the video
i had a similar problem in middle school/high school, when i didn't know what to read anymore and got bored of fantasy (that i've read a lot of up to that point) and my librarian at school couldn't really help me, cause she recommended things like Nicholas Sparks... and gurl... i dont care about this toxic badly written heterosexuality. So for a few years I mainly read school required reading only. What helped me find a passion for books again was joining services like goodreads and storygraph (great for finding recomandations) and watching booktubers (like paperbackdreams and uncarley). From what you're saying I think you might enjoy "The haunting of hill house" (not very scary and I get easily scared) I found great metaphors for my life in this book. Also "Fried Green Tomatoes" my personal fave (lesbians!) and Ciara Smyth's books (lesbians!)
Oooh thank you for the recs, I loved the show Haunting of Hill House (but preferred Bly Manor bcus lesbians! 😂) and remember thinking I should read the book, so a great prompt to get back to my good reads account! I won’t lie, I hated the movie fried green tomatoes, but the book is always better 🤔
I also used to read a lot as a child, nowadays almost nothing. But for me that's because so many other things have me occupied most of the time.
If I read nowadays it's probably either high fantasy or a long fanfiction. With high fantasy I can completely leave this world behind and experience things I never could. With fanfiction I can escape my life and experience comfort, nice people and relationships.
I also used to read e.g. classics, textbooks or generally non-fiction, but I found it, especially the latter, to be too depressing. I'm already thinking about the world too much as it is, reading about it really doesn't help. So I either want to escape it completely or experience a better/perfect version of it (or just my life).
I was never really into reading partly because I struggle with reading fiction and most of what I was told to read as a kid/teenager was fiction. It's hard for me to differentiate the characters and understand their intentions and tone, and I tend to visualize and imagine stuff as I read but in a way that often comes in contradiction with what the author writes further in the book. It gets really tiring and feels like a fever dream that's constantly morphing into something different. Manga was a great solution for this, especially since I was already an anime fan and was very familiar with this culture. When it comes to text only books, during university I really got into reading books that focus on analysis or learning about something's history. In this context my vizualisation becomes a helpfull tool for understanding instead of an obstacle for immersion.
I always hated to read, I have the attention span of a goat XD. I only read science/opinion articles because they're short or can be understood with scanning/skimming, but literature? Most of the time I miss the references or meaning behind things and it becomes tedious.
I always joke about how I forgot how to read in 2nd year of uni, and being the only member of my family that joined a STEM career with both my parents having a master's degree in literature I often get made fun of, not in a bad way though.
if you like audiobooks you might be able to download audiobooks from you local library online