>>7841516
>It's not even that I'm not interested in the subjects I want to read
that's your problem. it has to be interesting to you. as paul goodman saif about how children learn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlbhIqmM_oE

>>7841518
*said

>>7841518
but I said that it is interesting to me, or at least, I'm interested in the idea of learning it... which I guess might not be the same thing. But then, how do I evaluate this dissonance between what I want --or think I want-- and what I feel? I feel envy those with innate discipline.

>>7841528
indeed, you did. didn't see that double negative there. well, then, ignore everything i said.

Same way you got used to reading fiction. It's slow and jerky at first, but it gets smoother and easier with time until such a point that your interest in the material overshadows any difficulty, after which point you're pretty much good. When you go all ADD and drop the book, just pick it back up. It won't take long until you can do some programming in C. Once you have a little knowledge, do a lot of programming, which should Stoke your interest in the material.

There's a difference between nonfiction and a textbook. Textbooks, if you want to benefit from them, require application and repetition of knowledge acquired. Otherwise it's sand in your fingers.