Needless to say, I don’t read a lot. Once in a while I find a book that interests me, and usually it takes me around a week or two to complete (when reading around 30 - 60 minutes a day).
At the same time I'll bounce around on the web and voraciously read a wide spectrum of things on a daily basis. Anything from programming topics to spending an afternoon reading a neurology systemic review.
I think it's the format. With books I really have to have a singular focus, and I can't periodically task switch or indulge in nervous tics like repeatedly clicking the page background as I read.
Definitely used to read a lot more physical books. Guessing prolonged computer/internet/smartphone/game use tends to fracture one's attention span in weird ways.
This is a problem. For few weeks I am trying to conquer it by focusing eyes onto infinity while looking at the computer. It helps me wade off thoughts other than whats printed (and I just read) on the screen. So read a line, focus to infinity (and picturise what was said in the line), read next line.
Experiment is on only for a few weeks now, but it surely helps in attention and wading off extraneous thoughts.
The same thing works for many repetitive activities. Wear headphones while doing dishes. Listen while driving, walking, anything of the sort. The important thing is to have something that takes up a bit of brain, but not too much.
"I don’t read a lot" this might be the "problem". Likely because of bad digital reading habits I completely lost the ability to focus while reading for pleasure.
Last year, I needed a few weeks (if not months) of a daily grind until I recovered the ability to read for prolonged periods of time without getting distracted.
That said I know I can speed read and retain information even if I'm rather rusty for things outside of information lookup/skimming. But I find if I speed read and can recall information about it that doesn't mean I've developed any insights or enjoyed what I read as an experience.