Reading With ADHD: Let The Book Work For You
If you have a stack of half-read books on your nightstand, you’re in good company. In my coaching practice, it’s the norm, not the exception. Reading with ADHD can feel slow and heavy, and every unfinished book can start to feel like proof that something is wrong with you.
It isn’t. On our podcast episode with Misty Stinnett, who has read hundreds of self-help books for her show Go Help Yourself, she shared a line I keep coming back to: the book works for you. You don’t work for the book.
Here’s what that looks like in practice.
Why is reading with ADHD so hard?
For many adults with ADHD, the challenge is spontaneous mind wandering. Your eyes keep moving down the page while your brain is somewhere else entirely, planning dinner or replaying a conversation.
Research also shows adults with ADHD go back to reread words more often, which makes reading slower and more tiring. That has nothing to do with effort. It has to do with friction, the small things that make a task harder than it needs to be.
Once you know where the friction is, you can start working with your brain instead of against it.
Do audiobooks count as reading?
Yes. Across studies, listening and reading lead to about the same comprehension.
If you took it in, you read it. Some people focus best with a book in hand, some with a tablet, and some with earbuds in on a walk or while doing the dishes. Format is a preference, not a measure of how serious you are.
The right format can also reduce friction. In a 2025 study, college students with ADHD understood more when words appeared one at a time in the center of a screen, so their eyes didn’t have to travel. Larger text on a tablet can help for a similar reason.
Start with “so what?”
Before you pick up your next book, ask yourself one question: so what? What problem do I want this book to help with, and what changes for me if it does?
That question gives a book stakes, the same thing that keeps you turning pages in a good novel. When you know why a book matters to you, it’s much easier to stay with it. If you can’t find an answer, that’s useful information too.
What if I don’t finish the book?
Then you didn’t finish the book, and that’s okay. One idea that sticks is a success.
I see this often. Someone reads the first chapter, something lands, and then life gets busy. They walk away feeling like they fell short. The truth is, that chapter moved them, and that counts.
It’s also okay to let a book wait. Pete and I say this in our own book, [Unapologetically ADHD]: it will be there when you’re ready to come back.
A few other thoughts tend to keep books stuck on the nightstand:
“I have to start at chapter one.” You can jump to the chapter that fits your life right now.
“Everyone loves this bestseller, so something must be wrong with me.” Some books are padded, and some just aren’t for you.
“I’ve read this page three times.” That’s your cue to bookmark it and come back another day.
How do I hold on to what I read?
Capture the moment, then give yourself a way back to it.
Highlighting feels productive, but highlighted ideas tend to stay in the book. With ADHD, out of sight is often out of mind. When something resonates, write it on a sticky note, save it in your notes app, or set a reminder to revisit it when you need it.
Misty’s favorite way to remember something is to teach it. Explain the idea to a friend. If you can answer their questions, the idea is yours. If you can’t, you know exactly what to go back and reread.
Let the book work for you
Our free companion guide, Let the Book Work for You, takes this further. Inside you’ll find:
A “so what?” filter for deciding what to read next
Reflection questions to help you notice when reading goes best for you
Kinder reframes for the thoughts that keep a book stuck on the nightstand
A few questions to sit with
Which books am I keeping out of guilt instead of interest?
What’s one idea from a book that stuck with me, and why do I think it did?
There’s no right answer. Just notice what comes up.
P.S. If you’d like a place to work through these questions, they’re waiting for you in the free guide, Let the Book Work for You.
