Digital publishing is rapidly becoming a haven for struggling
writers—but it turns out the format might hold similar potential for struggling
readers too.
A new survey
by UK charity Quick Reads indicates that adult readers tend to read more and
stick with books longer if they’re using an e-reader. According to the survey,
48 percent of UK adults who use e-readers say the technology gets them to read
more. In addition to that, 41 percent of respondents reported that being able to
look up words they don’t know makes reading easier, and over half say that being
able to change the size and appearance of text helps as well.
The survey also found that 62 percent of e-reader users say
that access to free digital books has led them to titles they otherwise wouldn’t
have picked up. That’s an important finding for Quick Reads, which since 2006
has produced free ebooks for less confident adult readers.
And Quick Reads’
approach doesn’t stop at availability: They also commission books from
bestselling authors like Barbara Taylor Bradford and James Patterson. Their
lineup includes fiction and nonfiction across a range of genres, as well as two
licensed Doctor Who novels—all tailored to beginning and intermediate
reading levels. It’s a notable break from the limited fare available to most who
struggle with reading and often find themselves learning from children’s books
or what the Guardian describes as “patronizing pamphlets.”
But don’t expect to
see Quick Reads’ ebooks supplant their print program. Literacy correlates
closely with income, and therefore also with access to technology—as much now as
three years ago, when author Seanan McGuire’s impassioned argument for the
persistence of print, “Across the Digital
Divide,” went viral. And print books, which Quick Reads’ prices at a
reasonably affordable £1 (about $1.66 U.S.), are critical for expanding access
to the many households without e-readers and regular internet access.
So even though a nice Kindle might not help every struggling
adult reader, it could help some burgeoning bookworms stick with the habit.
from: Wired
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