Free Voluntary Reading

This thin volume condenses research that Krashen has previously published. Through his discussion of the topic, he also addresses second-language reading, rewards for recreational reading, and web-based reading. Discussion between chapters would better connect the ideas, but the introduction does a sufficient job of piquing interest and framing the research. The conversational tone and the ideas shared in the introduction may initially appeal to casual readers, but this book is not necessarily the one for practitioners. It will more likely brief researchers on the latest in free voluntary reading. Readers must have some reference point in statistical analyses to access the information in one of the eight chapters. Overall, the information presented is useful and convincing, but the disorganization of the chapters and unfocused topic are a bit awkward to follow.—Lindsay Persohn, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL