READING MADE SIMPLE FOR YOU

Undoubtedly one of the criteria than can be used as a yardstick for judging whether a society is evolving or not is its reading habit. In other words, does the said society read regularly or does it not. Obviously, in order to be a society that reads regularly, that society must be first and foremost literate, which is to say they must be able to read and write in the first place. Even so, the focus of the present article is reading, rather than literacy.

Among the factors that may lead to a community not reading are whether reading material is readily available and whether even when it is available, it is also affordable. There is a third aspect which is that of sustainability. In other words, if members of a community who have material which feel can boost reading, is there a forum where they can make this available to eager readers, either through sales or even free of charge?

Well, one organization has decided to take the bull by the horns and set up an international forum that addresses all the three areas of concern. The organization is the Canada-based body known as <sumbola.com>, with the term being coined from a Latin expression that means “to Share and to Contribute in a celebration”.

Sumbola offers the public a forum on which interested persons can publish literary and journalistic works as well as other genres without paying for the service. Yet authors can get remunerated in the sense that through Sumbolo, their works get marketed worldwide and they get a share of the revenue that by far exceeds that which Sumbola retains for itself.

While articles that are published as a rule are read without the author being paid, most books that are published on the platform and are sold by Sumbola on behalf of the author. There is a second category which is that of books that can be read free of charge. This happens either because Sumbolo arranged for the book to be offered free of charge or because an author specifically asked that his or her book should be published for free reading. Among the books that are available for free reading are longstanding classics such as `Sons and Lovers` by D.H. Lawrence, `Kim` by Rudyard Kipling, `Where Angels Fear to Tread` by Edward Morgan Forster, `Wuthering Heights` by Emily Bronte, `Aesop`s Fables` by Aesop, and `A Midsummer Night`s Dream` by William Shaespeare.

Prices of books published on the platform range from about USD$1.00 to over USD$20.00. Published books for sale on the website are advertized to the general public in summary form, a snapshot of its cover in full cover and a biography of the author. Interested readers simply click on the product and then follow instructions on how to proceed. However, for someone just browsing, only a birds-eye-view of the book is revealed, after which the reader is then shown how to move on and purchase a copy.  Payment can be made through recognized international methods such as Credit Card. However, management says it is working towards buyers being able to purchase in their local currencies.

Once a book is purchased, full access to it is given to the buyer who can then access it and read it either on a computer, on a laptop or through a telephone that has the facility. Material from the book cannot be downloaded or transferred to a third party.

The services thus offered by Sumbola are ideal for people who want to read for personal pleasure as well as those doing so for scholarly reasons such as teachers, students and researchers.

Further details can be obtained from  info@sumbola.com. Otherwise, the website is www.sumbola.com.