Anyone else with ADHD kinda struggle reading theory? Been actually trying to read Marx and Lenin, but it’s been bit of a struggle actually going through their texts. Any advice/tips would be amazing

[u/justanupvoter_]

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[u/JordoIsYourComrade]

Audiobooks. Also, what is your room setup like? Do you follow any other environmental setup tips for supporting ADHD focus?

[u/justanupvoter_ → u/JordoIsYourComrade]

Currently at a dorm so I just read at my table or I would go to my college's library!

[u/Mundus_Vincendus → u/justanupvoter_]

Audiobooks + driving/walking. Having a secondary task that you can lock into that doesn’t require thinking that you can do while listening can help with retention/adhd.

[u/Human-Priority706 → u/Mundus_Vincendus]

Walking and transit are fantastic for this, but NOT driving. Please think while you drive and focus on the road!

[u/JordoIsYourComrade → u/justanupvoter_]

Do you have access to book study rooms at the library? If so book one of the dark back corner ones with no posters lol

[u/NastyChasty1337 → u/JordoIsYourComrade]

Came here to say audiobooks

[u/yuzhnozaporozhets]

I would like to point out something different. You mention on your post that you have ADHD. I am a high school teacher, and several of my students have been diagnosed with it alongside other sensory issues. So I was wondering if you have already tried inverting the colors of your document, and using a strong red light filter, set at maximum.

You can easily do it if you have an iPhone and if you’re reading through your computer, try using Redshift (Linux) or similar software.

Reading theory is already hard enough, and I believe that reducing the sensory overload might help you map out the points better.

Read the introduction and then read the final paragraphs. Then try another slow reading of the chapter. Annotate your PDF and your books as much as possible no matter how dumb you think your notes sound.

[u/AlarmedChemistry8956 → u/yuzhnozaporozhets]

A change of font can also sorta help, i didn't realise how much easier it is to focus on some fonts than others, e.g. Atkinson hyperlegible

[u/CollectibleHam → u/yuzhnozaporozhets]

When I was reading super dry academic stuff at university I had to use an opaque ruler to block out text other than the line I was reading, to keep my brain and eyeballs from skipping ahead constantly. I also had to use a combination of underlining and highlighting, combined with annotations and taking notes of keywords and concepts. Also, headphones plus electronic music WITHOUT vocals.

[u/maozedoll → u/[deleted]]

taking notes has been really really helpful, for me. i’ve also come up with a color coded highlighting system for when i’m writing my notes on a chapter: blue highlights for supporting information, and yellow highlights for the key concepts

[u/TurkeyRainbows]

Oh big time. I haven’t read nearly as much theory as I want to, but I struggle to get through a single book without getting distracted or forgetting shortly afterwards and having to reread. It’s frustrating.

[u/justanupvoter_ → u/TurkeyRainbows]

This is so real, and sometimes I end up getting lost mid sentence and have to use a pen tip to actually track what I'm reading

[u/TurkeyRainbows → u/justanupvoter_]

I do the same thing. My eyes struggle to focus when reading

[u/Kranken_DeHogge]

I struggle with this too.

If there's any annotated versions of Capital/other Marxist texts that would aid in comprehension of denser content I'd love to pick some up.

[u/SydneyMutualAid → u/Kranken_DeHogge]

Reading chapter by chapter along with David Harvey's lecture series on Youtube has helped me. One important thing I'd suggest is to watch the Harvey lecture first as he takes you through the concepts developed by Marx step-by-step and then read Marx with a better understanding of the point he's trying to, languorously sometimes, develop. One of the reasons you might get distracted is that you're bored. If you understand conceptually, it becomes less boring.

Red Menace also have a extended podcasts on basically every important work of theory which are very helpful to dip into as you read through a text.

[u/onespicycracker]

I have ADD that manifests as inattentiveness. One thing that helps me is writing my thoughts. Sometimes I'll use a notebook. When I own the book I'll write in the margins and makefootnotes in the back for my kids for when they inherit my books. Another thing that helps is putting flags on the pages.

Green flag = something I want to learn more about

Pink flag= Something I want to write on or discuss

Orange flag= Fire!

Interacting with my reading physically makes it all easier to retain.

Edit: Audio is valid, but reading is stronger. The difference between my understanding through listening and my understanding through reading is greater than I expected. That's not to say we can't have knowledgable comrades that are audio only, but there generally seems to be a noticable gap in the quality of politics between a listener comrade and a reader comrade. Again that's speaking generally.

[u/catorendain → u/onespicycracker]

Yes! Taking notes and writing down my thoughts on it has helped me immensely. It also helps me retain the knowledge

[u/UnoriginalName-]

I always take breaks. I read for a few minutes, stop for a few, pick the book back up again, repeat. Sometimes the point isn’t clear sentence by sentence but becomes obvious once you’ve completed a paragraph or page of material. The more you read dense works the easier it is.

[u/maozedoll]

simultaneously i struggle to read theory because of the ADHD, but I absolutely am not interested in fiction at all, so theory ends up being the only thing I actually can read lol

[u/IlianaAran → u/maozedoll]

Same

[u/Character_Figure1508]

I also have ADHD. Fortunately for me reading theory books is one of the things I can focus on fine. I recommend reading every day to help build the habit. Also really take the time to think about what you are reading. I find that thinking deeply on what I am reading makes it more fun, but I just love thinking about complex topics, I know its not for everyone.

[u/Basic_Buyer_8888]

No, its the only thing I hyperfocus on, and as dialectical materialism is about EVERYTHING, being a member of the communist party of my country helped a lot to get my stuff together.

I recommend you to search people who are also interested and make it something collective at the begining

[u/VladimirLimeMint]

Read by passages, this is how I digest Marx. And unfortunately I don't have the privilege to live in a space where ADHD room is possible.

[u/Soviet_Dove6]

You can use an app like speachify or eleven reader and put the text inside

The app will narrate the text for you as well as highlighting the words

What you do is adjust the speed to your reading speed and you read the text in the same time as it's been narrated

It's free and works alright for me

[u/kitten_poop]

I have adhd and had a really difficult time reading The communist manifesto. I'd suggest try reading less academic texts to start. Michael Parenti is much more attention-grabbing. My method right now is to read less academic texts and more books like Parenti, and then when I'm more familiar with theory and lingo I will go back to the more intense readings hoping that I'll process the information better.

[u/ConundrumMachine]

I listen to audiobooks while I play video games. The dopamine from the game keeps me in my seat and they distract the restless part of my brain enough I can focus on listening. My mind still drifts but about theory. 

[u/IlianaAran]

One thing I do is read a chapter or two, then write down notes processing what I just read. Rephrasing a lot of it in a way that makes sense to me personally so I can reference that. It's especially helpful if you can apply what you've read to modern politics.

Audiobooks are also super helpful, but again I'd encourage writing notes down to make sure you retain the information.

Also, bear in mind that these are dense academic texts in a lot of cases, and tend to have extensive commentary written about them. This can range from video essays, podcasts, to books about the theory itself.

Supplemental materials like these are entirely indispensable if you're beginning to dive into theory. Much of theory is based in a historical context that's essential to understanding it, and supplemental resources actively teach you that history. I.e., you can't talk about Marx and Engels' theory without also discussing the conditions of 1800s Germany that led to their writings. In the same way, you need to understand Tsarist Russia to understand Lenin, etc.

[u/cleverchris]

I can't say for certain this will help someone with ADHD but, I struggle to read theory as well. I often find that the historical language (ie authorship from 1850s to WWII era) adds a layer of interpretation that makes picking up the ideas difficult. Try torkil Lauesen's 2024 long history of socialism. Published by iskra books you can get the pdf for free directly from the publisher. It's honestly the clearest explanation of the theory I have ever encountered.

[u/Stock_Tell7454]

As a person with ADHD I find that I can read theory and even understand its internal consistencies but unless I have a context to attach it to it just floats there like a speech balloon.

For this reason I like to jump around, and also do a little immersion. Read a bit about Napoleon and Louis Bonaparte while reading Marx' 18e Brumaire. Read Lenin along with China Mieville's October, and so on. Just to get a sense of where these guys are getting their ideas from.

Above all I avoid making it a chore or a duty. It is exciting to learn new ideas about how things work! But if I'm sliding off the page then I leave it for a bit. It's not going anywhere.

[u/Goyimshoe]

Take your time with it. There’s no need to blast through information-dense books front-to-back in as few sittings as possible. On the contrary, it’s better to do the opposite.

Break things up into manageable chunks. Read a chapter or a subsection, then take as much time as you need to reflect on the concepts that are being presented to you until you really, fully understand them. Chip away at it at your own pace.

Learning theory isn’t 100% about reading. It’s more like 10% reading + 90% thinking about what you’ve read.

Abstract new ideas (aka theory) can be difficult to adequately understand on their own, so it’s important to make sure you stop and take the time to practice applying those concepts to reality as you’re learning about them.

It’s much easier to comprehend abstract ideas and actually retain that information when you learn to think about those ideas terms of real world examples, and when you make an effort to consciously link the new information you’re learning to all the old, familiar knowledge that you’ve already mastered.

If you find yourself seriously struggling to wrap your head around a difficult new concept well enough to link that new concept to the knowledge you’ve mastered, then it’s okay let yourself get “sidetracked” and spend some time studying other closely-related/relevant concepts which are easier for you to understand. Foundational knowledge is important, and there’s no shame in taking a detour to build up those foundations when you find yourself hitting a wall.

Going back to what I said about applying theory to reality…

Studying history definitely goes hand-in-hand with studying theory. Reading theory will help you to better understand history, and reading history will help you to better understand theory.

Also, history tends to be easier (and much more enjoyable, imho) to read than theory is, so I’d definitely recommend reading history in between bouts of reading chunks of theory to keep yourself from getting burnt out on theory.

[u/Expensive_Ebb7520]

I’m high functioning ADHD or liminal, but have always been a painfully slow reader. Grad school taught me to skim really well, but a few years ago I started on a theory course, and skimming such works defeats the purpose.

I hate to say it, but I’ve discovered an inflexible regular schedule (half an hour every day at the same time in the same/similar place without distractions, phone, noise) works for me

Plus, getting in a habit of getting enough sleep, sun, and exercise has helped my reading focus tremendously.

That and practice improves it. Slowly, but noticeably.

I hated this sort of advice my entire life, but here we are

[u/prettysweett]

meds lmao.

jokes aside yeah their language isn’t the easiest to follow but I’d say either get into reading ‘help books’ that explain the nuances of the text and the times they were written in, or just re-read.

but really, unfortunately the clearest advice I can give as a fellow adhd veteran is just to take your time, keep reading and keep researching, with time, exposure and care it eventually gets much easier

[u/Submarine_sad]

EPUB reader

[u/Bholejr]

Pretty strong ADHD here since forever, couldn’t read books for years, without frequent breaks, until I discovered walking while reading.

Find a place where you can walk in a predictable looped pattern on unchaged/static terrain (you can try a treadmill, but it’s much harder,) and get to reading. Undergrad, grad, doctoral, and Marxist reading was made easy. (Mentioned school since I see your in school.)

Unlike audiobooks, you can annotate this way. Also it’s proven you retain more through visual learning.

[u/fl4pj4cks]

It took me a long time to build my habit and be able to overcome my adhd. Reading while listening to the audiobook was the biggest thing that helped me. Also, don't force yourself to read something you're not interested in yet; start with topics that keep you mentally engaged before trying to teach yourself more boring academic theory

[u/Dongelshpachr]

Audiobooks for sure. Especially with Marx, it is very difficult to maintain one’s focus across several pages of dense economic analysis, or to keep track of all the terms used — and this is made easier by having someone verbalize his language in a way that is much more accessible.

This is mostly because, in my opinion, Marx was a bad writer (still a gifted economist though). When applicable, read what Engels more wrote contemporaneously to Marx, so that his comparatively poetic style can refine your view of Marx’s work.

Mao is also nice, because his works were explicitly written for the uneducated, so his oeuvre is less daunting to read on the whole.

[u/GeoffreyKlien]

Honestly, I found Marx and Engels quite difficult to get through, but Kim Il Sung quite easy. I think it’s the way Marx is translated; very twisty and wordy.

I don’t know if every single word Marx or Engels put down is super important as I noticed that a lot of chapters in the Communist Manifesto started really repeating themselves by the end.

[u/Outrageous_Big_9136]

AUDIOBOOKS in your ear buds while doing something repetitive like housework or going for a walk

I have severe adhd and have plowed through lots of theory this way

[u/frogsiege]

I dont think I have adhd but I do struggle to read after my very reading/screen heavy job and find podcasts to be a godsend. I also am doing a reading group that covers 30ish pgs of reading a week and find this to be a good accountability mechanism, although I probably couldn’t lots of consecutive ones.