How do you finish library books on time with ADHD?

Why library books suit ADHD readers

They are free, so quitting a book that is not working costs nothing; see permission to quit. They come with a deadline, which many ADHD readers find easier to work with than open-ended time. And with an app such as Libby, you can borrow ebooks and audiobooks from your library on your phone, without a trip. (Libby Help)

Where it goes wrong

• Too many at once. Five holds arrive in the same week, and you read none of them.
• The mid-book return. The loan ends at page 200, the next hold has a waiting list, and when the book comes back to you months later the story is gone.
• Fines and guilt. Many libraries have dropped late fines, but the guilt of an overdue book can still make you avoid the library altogether.

Six rules for borrowing with ADHD

1. Keep two loans, not ten

One book to read now and one in reserve. Everything else stays on a hold list or a wish list. A short stack is easier to finish than a tall one is to face.

2. Manage holds so they do not arrive together

In Libby you can place holds and see your place in the queue; when a hold is ready you can usually borrow it, or delay or suspend it so it arrives later. (Libby Help) Suspend the holds you are not ready for, so that books arrive one at a time.

3. Put the due date where you will see it

Write it on your bookmark card. A date you can see is a deadline; a date in an app you never open is a surprise.

4. Read the long book in audio, the short book in print

A 600-page book on a two- or three-week loan is a lot of reading time. The audiobook edition moves at walking speed, which makes the deadline realistic. Many libraries carry both.

5. Renew early, not on the last day

Your library sets its own rules for renewals. If renewal is not possible because others are waiting, place a new hold before the loan ends so you are back in the queue.

6. Leave a note before the book goes back

This is the one that saves the most books. Before a loan ends, write three lines: the page you reached, where the story stands, and what you wanted to find out. Put it in your reading log or a note on your phone titled with the book's name. Three lines today replace a reread of 200 pages in three months.

When the book comes back to you

For the recap, it helps that the copy does not need to be the same one. Magic Bookmark works with print, ebook, audiobook or library loans of a supported title, any edition: you give it the page you reached, or the last line you heard, and it recaps up to there. (magicbookmark.com) If you borrowed Kindle ebooks through Libby in the US, Kindle's Story So Far may work for that title too. (Amazon) Our Magic Bookmark guide has the details, and Coming back to a book you abandoned has the whole method.