Want To Devour Some Classic Literature? The Serial Reader App Breaks Long Novels Up Into Easy-to-Read Chunks

Some people who struggle to finish a novel may have no problem reading hundreds of Tweets in one sitting. If you can relate, you don't need to trade in your smartphone for an e-reader; an app called Serial Reader encourages you to consume more fiction by presenting classic literature in easy-to-digest packages.

With Serial Reader, users have access to more than 800 free books in the public domain. Instead of linking to the full text, the app breaks up novels into bite-sized “issues” that can be read in 20-minute increments. Users receive a new chunk every day until the book is complete.

For readers who like to spend hours curled up with a book, the idea of stopping after 20 minutes may be frustrating. But according to the app's creator, Michael Schmitt, there are benefits to approaching reading as a sprint rather than a marathon.

"I built the app to improve my reading habits by slowing down: limiting myself to digest smaller parts of dense literature over many days helped me think more critically about the work and retain more of the story," he wrote on the app's website. "Others find it's a great way to work through otherwise daunting books, or to luxuriously re-read old favorites." And if you're looking for a distraction on your phone that isn't news or social media, Serial Reader is a great alternative.

Classic tomes like War And Peace, Moby-Dick, and Pride and Prejudice are just a few of the titles in Serial Reader's extensive library. You can start reading them today by downloading the free app from the App Store or Google Play.