Read to a stranger - a meaningful platform for book lovers

Years ago, I was producing a book and one of the writers was late submitting their essay. I kept calling and asking, 'Is the essay ready? It's overdue.' It was becoming obvious they were writing the essay in their own time. No amount of my calling and questioning was going to hurry it along.


One day, the writer called. He said, 'I'm waiting at the train station. I've finished the essay. I just want to fix a thing or two. Can I read it to you?'


In my head, I was thinking, no, just email me the damn essay. But of course, I couldn't say this. So I said 'Sure, read me the essay.'


It was a lovely essay. But more than that, it felt like the most incredibly intimate experience - to have a stranger reading to me over the phone. I hadn't had anyone read to me since I was a kid. I sat at my desk, listening intently, and I found myself blushing - because it was so far out of my realm of recent experience.


So when someone contacted me recently from Read with Audrey - a new platform that connects strangers to read to each other - and asked whether I'd be happy to have my novella Bequest on the site, I said yes straight away. Book lovers are paired up and either read or listen to a story over an audio or video feed. Afterwards, they are encouraged to discuss the story together - creating a meaningful human connection.


I asked Read with Audrey founder Rob Paul more about the platform:


How did you come up with the idea for Read with Audrey?


I spent a number of years as a Teacher of Psychology. There are two aspects to my teaching which have influenced my thinking and contributed inspiration for the idea.


Firstly, my students taught me the value of peer-to-peer learning as a powerful way in which people, meeting as equals, can share and exchange knowledge and experiences. As a teacher, I also learned how valuable simple peer-to-peer mentoring programmes can be at creating meaningful friendships and supporting wellbeing.


Secondly, through my teaching of psychology I became interested in what are called the ‘Common Factors’. These are a set of therapeutic elements that are common to all types of talking therapy. There are diverse forms of talking therapy, each relying on different psychological techniques, yet their effectiveness is strongly influenced by a set of shared ingredients known as Common Factors.  Personal warmth, compassion, empathy, authenticity, active listening, mutual respect and human connection make up some of these Common Factors. If they’re present in the atmosphere of talking therapy they play a powerful role in helping people to deal with the challenges they face.


I asked myself the question, in what other situations do we experience the sense of the Common Factors outside of a therapeutic setting? Where else do we experience the presence of these ingredients in our ordinary day-to-day lives?


For me, one example is when I read aloud to my children, which is something I love to do. The simple stuff of a book, a voice, and a little time creates a wholesome energy for the heart, mind, and imagination. Reading aloud together each night is both calming and uplifting.


And so then I asked myself … how could I try to emulate some of the positive energy from this experience and recreate the closeness, the moment of shared humanity, and the genuine emotional connection with others I don’t know?


These insights are the seeds of the Audrey idea, fuelled by my own love of reading and an appreciation that immersion in a great book can help comfort and reinvigorate the mind.


Practically speaking, how does the platform work?


People with shared interests are paired via a short introductory profile and on signing up, users can choose to read aloud, listen or do both. The Audrey team curate books and short stories for them to read aloud together. Reading sessions take place in real time online. The experience includes fiction and non-fiction texts specially formatted to be read aloud over the internet on a desktop, tablet or phone for 10-15 minutes at a time.  Following the reading session, pairs are free to share in conversation. Please see https://readwithaudrey.com/faq/ for more information.


How do you hope the experience of reading or listening with a stranger helps to tackle social issues and foster connectedness?


I hope that reading together with a stranger will spark interesting conversations, and in turn meaningful friendships, between people from around the world. By reading aloud together I hope people will be moved to talk about their own stories and emotions that have shaped who they are. By lifting this veil between strangers and understanding each other’s stories, hopefully people will be reminded how much they have in common. I believe this encourages compassion and enables people to develop a strong sense of connectedness with someone outside of their usual circle.


I also hope that through reading aloud together people are exposed to new ideas, enabling them to see the world through the eyes of others.


We curate stories for users to read which are thought-provoking, to inspire conversation between the reader and listener. We search for stories that inspire fresh perceptions and encourage the reader and listener to consider how it feels in someone else’s shoes – helping them relate to their circumstances.  A good example is ‘Because We Are Bad’. This is Lily Bailey’s charming and poignant memoir about her childhood battle with debilitating obsessive compulsive disorder


We choose stories with universal themes (relationships, adversity, loss). Through reading stories that resonate, with relatable themes, conversation flows more easily and we’re reminded how much we have in common. As such the right story can build bridges and foster connectedness.


Just like a book shop or library, Audrey is open to everyone who loves books and enjoys reading. However we believe Audrey can have an especially positive impact on the wellbeing of people with print disabilities, those feeling lonely and as a mode of support for those people with long-term physical conditions, mental health issues and other life difficulties.


How do you see Read with Audrey growing in the future?


Our mission is to inspire diverse groups of people to read one hundred million stories aloud together. We want to use stories as a way to build real and meaningful relationships between people meeting as equals. We believe the power of reading can have a transformative impact by bringing people closer together from all walks of life.


Find out more about Read with Audrey:  https://readwithaudrey.com/