How We Read Now

An engaging and authoritative guide to the impact of reading medium on learning, from a foremost expert in the field

We face constant choices about how we read. Educators must select classroom materials. College students weigh their textbook options. Parents make decisions for their children. The digital revolution has transformed reading, and with the recent turn to remote learning, onscreen reading may seem like
the only viable option. Yet selecting digital is often based on cost or convenience, not on educational evidence. Now more than ever it is imperative to understand how reading medium actually impacts learning--and what strategies we need in order to read effectively in all formats.

In How We Read Now, Naomi Baron draws on a wealth of knowledge and research to explain important differences in the way we concentrate, understand, and remember across multiple formats. Mobilizing work from international scholarship along with findings from her own studies of reading practices,
Baron addresses key challenges--from student complaints that print is boring to the hazards of digital reading for critical thinking. Rather than arguing for one format over another, she explains how we read and learn in different settings, shedding new light on the current state of reading. The
book then crucially connects research insights to concrete applications, offering practical approaches for maximizing learning with print, digital text, audio, and video.

Since screens and audio are now entrenched--and invaluable-platforms for reading, we need to rethink ways of helping readers at all stages use them more wisely. How We Read Now shows us how to do that.

"The digital revolution has transformed reading. Onscreen text, audiobooks, podcasts, and videos often replace print. We make these swaps for pleasure reading, but also in schools. How We Read Now is a ringside seat to the impact of reading medium on learning. Teachers, administrators, librarians, and policymakers need to make decisions about classroom materials. College students must weigh their options. And parents face choices for their children. Digital selections are often based on cost or convenience, not educational evidence. Current research offers essential findings about how print and digital reading compare when the aim is learning. Yet the gap between what scholars and the larger public know is huge. How We Read Now closes the gap. The book begins by sizing up the state of reading today, revealing how little reading students have been doing. The heart of the book connects research insights to practical applications. Baron draws on work from international researchers, along with results from her collaborative studies of student reading practices ranging from middle school through college. The result is an impartial view of the evidence, including where the jury is still out. The book closes with two challenges. The first is that students increasingly complain print is boring. And second, for all the educational buzz about teaching critical thinking, digital reading is inherently ill-suited for cultivating these habits of mind. Since screens and audio are now entrenched - and valuable - platforms for reading, we need to rethink how to help learners use them wisely"--

"A well-researched, accessible treatise on all the ways we experience and absorb words... Educating tomorrow�s generations is of urgent importance to all of us, and for that reason, How We Read Now is must reading. Baron does not prescribe particular reading platforms, but rather enables us to
better assess all the possibilities... Baron's light, conversational style makes for enjoyable reading - whether in print or on a screen. " -- B�rbara Mujica, Washington Independent Review of Books

"How We Read Now is a wonderful guide to the complicated landscape where our minds meet the written word; it helps us understand how we read, how we learn, and how we navigate a changing world of text, information, stories, and connection, for ourselves and for our children." --Perri Klass,
Professor of Journalism and Pediatrics, New York University, and author A Good Time to Be Born

"Naomi Baron has done a huge service to everyone involved in the study, teaching, and practice of reading-which means all of us. Written in a friendly and informal style, with well-placed signposts and summaries, her succinct synthesis of research findings provides a wealth of timely and relevant
advice for policy-makers, teachers, students, parents, and children." --David Crystal, Honorary Professor of Linguistics, Bangor University, and author of Let's Talk

"Naomi Baron has done it again. She has enticed us to take a long, hard look at reading in this technological age. How We Read Now brings the advantages and disadvantages of each medium into the light, and guides us on what, when, or why to read in one medium or another. This eye-opening book is
truly a 'must read' for educators, parents, and students." --Patricia Alexander, Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland

"Dr. Baron clearly synthesizes the issues surrounding how we read from printed and screen texts. Everyone needs to read this book." --Larry D. Rosen, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, California State University, Dominguez Hills, and co-author of The Distracted Mind

"Naomi Baron expertly presents the latest research on the cognitive and behavioral facets of 'reading to learn' in multiple formats. She offers an accessible translation of points and strategies for policymakers and educators, including parents, to consider for readers at all levels. This book is
essential reading in a time of transition to digital publishing." --Diane Mizrachi, UCLA Library, and Alicia Salaz, Carnegie Mellon University Libraries