I think book covers have been going through an ugly phase over the past decade. They were also ugly in the 80s. In the 90s and early 2000s, they were usually pretty good

My attention span was far better than that of most of my peers all through school. It’s been totally destroyed lol

You’re not alone OP. I’m an elder millennial. Elder enough to remember a mostly analog world. In my childhood and teen years, even my early 20s, I could get lost in a book for hours. I would be fully absorbed in it. I got my first smartphone at age 26, and after a year or two that definitely changed, and now in my late 30s it’s worse than ever. Just like you, it doesn’t matter if I’m reading a dry Victorian novel or a fast paced modern thriller or horror novel, I cannot stay focused on it. Even if I love it. I do a lot of the same things. Checking to see how many pages are left in a chapter, etc. I’ve tried doing “digital detox” before but I can’t seem to stick with it very long. I used to read 20 or more books a year. Now I’m lucky if I get through 4. It’s somewhat embarrassing and also makes me kinda sad. At the end of the day we’re just monkeys chasing dopamine hits. I don’t think our brains were “built” to contend with unlimited high speed internet access at our fingertips 24 hours a day.