Adults

It is difficult to talk about adult dyslexic readers as one group. They all have their own highly personal mix of skills and weaknesses, with a few shared traits. Some dyslexic adults will have received a lot of help with their reading at school, some will have had none. There are dyslexic adults who naturally want to read for pleasure, even though this is difficult. Others with dyslexia avoid reading as much as possible, even if they can read more easily. Remembering what they have read might be the main problem for one dyslexic adult while another might find longer books off putting. A third might love longer books and have no trouble recalling what they read, instead stumbling over character names.

In general, literary fiction is the hardest genre to read. Chic lit, thrillers and crime (we particularly recommend books by Agatha Christie) are some of the easiest genres to read. Anything described as a beach read will be easier to read and understand.

Collections of short stories are also a good option as they can be read in a few sittings. They can be particularly good for dyslexic adults who enjoy science fiction or fantasy. These are genres with some of the longest books and series. Luckily science fiction and fantasy authors write lots of short stories which can be found in collections, anthologies or specialist magazines.

Another option are Quick Reads, these are a range short books for adults, made to be easy to read but exciting. They are all by well known authors, and new ones tend to be published close to World Book Day. This is when they are easiest to find in bookstores, at other times of the year they can be found online. Bookshops can sometimes order them in for customers.

Graphic novels, comics, magazines and manga tell stories with images and so have much less text than a standard novel. Even if you find reading difficult the artwork means you can still understand what is going on. They can be nice to read for their own sake, or after something more challenging. Our Founder, Sarah, often reads them when she is sick as she finds reading slightly harder when she is unwell but likes the comfort by a good story.

Many books are released as audiobooks and ebooks. The obvious advantage of the audiobook is that there is no reading required, you can just sit back and listen. University texts can sometimes be found as audiobooks (make sure to get the same unabridged version as the physical copy used on the course if you can) and these can be used alongside physical copies to make course reading easier. With ebooks the advantages change a little depending on the type of ereader being used but most let you change the font and font size. Some ereaders let you change the background colour, though the options available are limited at the moment.

Barrington Stoke publish books for adults with dyslexia who have greater difficulty reading but who want to improve their skills or to enjoy books.

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