I'm likely mildly dyslexic. I get my left and right mixed up. I am horrible at spelling, even after practice. I'm nearly 39. I share much of the same habits as the poster - reading is much better if I've gotten the basics introduced orally. Reading in a quiet library? I hear every paper shuffle and I have to start the paragraph or page over again. I already have to read some texts a few times to get a bit of substance from it. Some things, I simply can't learn by myself from reading, even if I'm interested in the subject.

And I actually enjoy reading. It just goes slowly and takes a lot of mental effort especially if it is something long or involved.

Learning to focus attention correctly is only part of the issue for some of us. For myself, I wish they would have caught my stuff when I was a kid instead of figuring this stuff out trying to learn the language of a country I moved to.