In Brazil, an advertising agency took the free reading app for Whatsapp.The initiative “Leitura de Bolso” (Pocket Reading) has already taken more than 10,500 subscribers who receive messages with book excerpts.
The initiative came after the survey which revealed that in 2014, 70% of Brazilians said they had not read a book or the year. Thus, with the mission to encourage the habit of reading, change this number and promote authors, the initiative sends daily by messenger, texts that can be read within 5 minutes.
Here’s how to register in Pocket Reading:
Step 1. Enter the page Pocket Reading browser for the mobile phone or PC. There will be the presentation of the platform and the operating rules.
Step 2. The site also offers short presentations about the guest writer with a short biography and photos.
Step 3. Still in the Pocket Reading page, fill out the registration form with your name, phone number (same as WhatsApp) and e-mail. Also remember to check the “I accept the terms of use”.
Step 4. At the end of the record, a message will appear on the site indicating the success of the register.
Step 5. In addition, an email will be sent to the registered address, announcing the registry in service and with the number of counted Pocket reading in WhatsApp. The texts will begin arriving in your messenger within 48 hours.
Step 6. Calls “pípulas” literary arrive every day from 8 to 11 am and will be chronic, excerpts from books, poems etc., accompanied by a varied multimedia content.
The project was launched in November by two creatives from design agency Isobar Brasil. Pocket reading will deliver a free book excerpt every Wednesday, which can be read in five minutes or less. Readers can register to start receiving the bite-sized readings on the Leitura de Bolso website. Readings may also feature multimedia components, like music, videos or images. A different author is invited to participate in the project each season, with work by Brazillian writer Robert Klotz to launch the series.
Paulo Santos, a cofounder of pocket reading, told Diverta-se that the project is meant to democratize the reading process and make it more accessible to everyone. Picking up a hefty 700-page-volume from the library might be intimidating, but signing up online to receive weekly, miniature reading installments delivered to an app you already use is far less so. And, as most of us always have our smartphones on hand, there’s little excuse not to do a bit of reading while we can.
Seventy percent of Brazilians did not read a single book in 2014. Leitura de Bolso is a small step toward getting people excited about and addicted to joy of reading, five minutes at a time. The founders hope that the project will grow, and eventually be able to launch new works by renowned authors.
We think they will not deliver a book in English.
