Penguin Random House has revealed a new project that brings free ebooks to straphangers in New York.
Subway Reads is an “in-transit reading experience” that is aimed to deliver short commuter length reads. The series includes five free digital short stories, as well as short snippets from more than 175 books. The books are all related to New York: Many are set in the city, some were written by New York authors.
Each sample is identified by how long it takes to read based on its length. Most of the pieces take 5-30 minutes to read. The collection includes: fiction, nonfiction, sci-fi & fantasy, Children’s & YA. Authors represented in the series include: Harlan Coben, Lee Child, Lisa Gardner, Alexander McCall Smith, Colson Whitehead, Junot Díaz, Jacqueline Woodson, Elizabeth Gilbert and Sonia Sotomayor, among others.
“For millions of New Yorkers, having a few minutes to get lost in a great book is one of the true pleasures of riding the subway,” stated Markus Dohle, CEO of Penguin Random House CEO. “This fun promotion provides commuters with a new twist on that classic – and classically New York – pastime, with great short fiction, and the chance to access extensive samples of some of the very best, and most entertaining books in the world.”