I had hard time getting a good reading after changing oil as well. The napkin tip helped, when you check the oil multiple times in row, some oil stays in the dip stick tube and will throw off the reading. This is worse with brand new clear oil. I stopped by one of the 5 min oil change places on my way home, and they checked it and it was right below the max line. I added exactly 6qt and drained with the only the drivers tire on a ramp.Thanks for the tip! Just made a grocery run and tried it when I got back. Finally was able to confirm my oil level is spot on.
They showed me another trick of spraying off the dip stick with WD-40 and wiping it clean. Then check the oil level. The WD-40 residue left on the stick prevents the oil stuck in the tube from attaching. It gave a really clear reading. This will get a lot easier as the oil gets darker.