Why do I read things different from what they appear?

Maybe you are not paying attention, like me...Whenever I read a book, I will sometimes skim through the page really quick. And when I am on the second page, it might say, "the side character died." But in my memory, I thought I read in the previous page that the main character had a knife sticking out of his chest. And when I flipped back the page and read it again, I realized that it was actually the side character that is dying, not the main.

Sorry if it is confusing, but my point is that basically, you are reading faster than your brain can process. Or another explanation is that your brain must have seen the same word over and over again that it mistakes other words who have similar structure as the word.

If it happens all the time, it could be dyslexia. If it happens once in a while, it's your brain filling in when you didn't read carefully enough, or read without paying attention.

I find that I mis-read discussion topics that mention "Breaking Bad" as "Baking Bread" and vice versa, but if I take a second and actually look, I see what's there.

Stupidity

This an indication of a learning disorder. Treatment will help. Ask your school or doctor for testing.

It sounds like you're just reading far too quickly and not paying attention.

Maybe you have dyslexia.