Here's a really good short pamphlet written by Engels specifically designed to explain Communism/Marxism in as simple terms as possible. I found it really helpful when I first read it, plus it will form a solid basis for tackling more advanced works.
Don’t ‘read theory’, because that stuff is huge. Instead, commit to 2 minutes reading theory. Then if you wanna stop, you can. On the other hand, if you feel the hyper focus grip you, then keep going.
A lot of Christians do a daily devotional and read a few chapters of their Bible every morning and sat a prayer. Theory is not dogma, but the idea of reading a small excerpt (3 pages or so) of something and spending a few minutes digesting it is worthwhile.
An enterprising comrade could consider publishing a collection of such excerpts, with commentary and cross references to go with it.
This was exactly what I was gonna say. Read a page before bed, maybe jot down how you feel about it on a piece of paper or a journal. Then go to sleep and re-read your notes when you wake up. Maybe re-read the page if you're feeling up to it. Maybe revise your notes. These books are often decades or over a century old. They're not going anywhere. If you're "reading theory" but blazing through it so fast you retain none of the knowledge you're just reading it the same way you'd read it for some boring highschool style test. Nobody's going to test you on this, except gatekeeping assholes that you should be ignoring to begin with. Read it for yourself, at whatever pace suits you.
Edit: And if your notes just say "didn't like this page, it was boring" that's a valid note! Keep it! You are entitled to your opinions. Like I said, there's not going to be a test. Do it for yourself.
The book Dynamics of Social Change: A Reader in Marxist Social Science, from the Writings of Marx, Engels and Lenin (entire book on archive.org), or a book like it, might be a good idea. It's excerpts from Marx, Engels and Lenin organized thematically, so you can find topics that interest you in the table of contents and it might lead you to essays or further reading once you've finished those excerpts. A bit like spectre's suggestion of a Marxist devotional, I suppose. The only downside of the book I linked is that it was published back in 1970 and that you are reading an edited collection of excerpts, so it's good to be aware of where the authors are coming from (in this case, International Publishers is a publisher affiliated with the Communist Party USA). Still, it's free and and, as someone who easily gets distracted, it's harder to get distracted if you've just set yourself the goal of reading a single short-ish excerpt.
Do y'all have any tips for someone who desperately wants to read theory but has a hard time doing so? my adhd fucks me up trying to read anything
Here's a really good short pamphlet written by Engels specifically designed to explain Communism/Marxism in as simple terms as possible. I found it really helpful when I first read it, plus it will form a solid basis for tackling more advanced works.
https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/11/prin-com.htm
Don’t ‘read theory’, because that stuff is huge. Instead, commit to 2 minutes reading theory. Then if you wanna stop, you can. On the other hand, if you feel the hyper focus grip you, then keep going.
Podcasts? Revolutionary Left Radio and Red Menace have some good episodes, i find it good supplemental info.
https://redmenace.libsyn.com/ep-20
https://redmenace.libsyn.com/the-communist-manifesto-karl-marx
https://redmenace.libsyn.com/what-is-to-be-done-vi-lenin
https://redmenace.libsyn.com/imperialism-the-highest-stage-of-capitalism-vi-lenin
https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/contradiction
https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/state-and-revolution-marx-lenin-the-dictatorship-of-the-proletariat
A lot of Christians do a daily devotional and read a few chapters of their Bible every morning and sat a prayer. Theory is not dogma, but the idea of reading a small excerpt (3 pages or so) of something and spending a few minutes digesting it is worthwhile.
An enterprising comrade could consider publishing a collection of such excerpts, with commentary and cross references to go with it.
This was exactly what I was gonna say. Read a page before bed, maybe jot down how you feel about it on a piece of paper or a journal. Then go to sleep and re-read your notes when you wake up. Maybe re-read the page if you're feeling up to it. Maybe revise your notes. These books are often decades or over a century old. They're not going anywhere. If you're "reading theory" but blazing through it so fast you retain none of the knowledge you're just reading it the same way you'd read it for some boring highschool style test. Nobody's going to test you on this, except gatekeeping assholes that you should be ignoring to begin with. Read it for yourself, at whatever pace suits you.
Edit: And if your notes just say "didn't like this page, it was boring" that's a valid note! Keep it! You are entitled to your opinions. Like I said, there's not going to be a test. Do it for yourself.
deleted by creator
Get on the audiobooks and listen while you do stuff with your hands
The book Dynamics of Social Change: A Reader in Marxist Social Science, from the Writings of Marx, Engels and Lenin (entire book on archive.org), or a book like it, might be a good idea. It's excerpts from Marx, Engels and Lenin organized thematically, so you can find topics that interest you in the table of contents and it might lead you to essays or further reading once you've finished those excerpts. A bit like spectre's suggestion of a Marxist devotional, I suppose. The only downside of the book I linked is that it was published back in 1970 and that you are reading an edited collection of excerpts, so it's good to be aware of where the authors are coming from (in this case, International Publishers is a publisher affiliated with the Communist Party USA). Still, it's free and and, as someone who easily gets distracted, it's harder to get distracted if you've just set yourself the goal of reading a single short-ish excerpt.