Stormzy describes reading as a ‘superpower’ and supports the Accessible Books campaign books

Stormzy described reading as a “superpower” as he backed an initiative aimed at encouraging people who don’t consider themselves readers to pick up a book.

Music publisher #Merky Books, part of Penguin, is publishing one of this year’s six speed-reading books — short, accessible books created “specifically for non-readers, lapsed readers, people with short attention spans, and neurodivergent readers,” according to the Reading Agency, which has run the speed-reading initiative for 20 years.

The #Merky Books title is Hunger Pains by Derek Owusu, which will go on sale for £1 in April, along with five other quick reads.

“Reading helped me when I was young, and it still does today,” Stormzy said. “Books have the power to carry you through life.” The rapper said he was “really proud” of Owusu’s involvement in the initiative. “His words will reach the people who need them most.”

He added: “I would encourage anyone who doesn’t usually read to pick up a speed reading book – because reading truly is a superpower.” “Music and books are about finding your voice. We are all made of stories – they define us.”

Oso’s 128-page book focuses on Ray, a fitness enthusiast whose “obsession takes a toll on him” — he turns to “a dangerous online community for support,” while his partner, Timmy, a journalist, watches anxiously, according to the publisher’s description.

“Because I never read a book until I was 24, I wish I had found the speed-read book sooner,” Owusu said. “It is accessible, affordable, and gentle in style, allowing new or discontinued readers to find their way to the joy and fulfillment of reading fiction and nonfiction.

“I’m excited to be a part of their legacy and add my voice to something that helps people feel confident enough to pick up a book and look forward to spending time with it,” he added. Owusu is also the author of This Reminds Me, Losing the Plot and Frontier Fiction, and the editor of Safe: 20 Ways to Be a Black Man in Britain Today.

This year, the reading agency will launch Quick Reads as audiobooks for the first time, as well as delivering half a million Quick Read books to prisons across the UK. All speed reading titles “go through a rigorous accessibility review process, including testing for readability, concentration and appropriateness for adults to rebuild reading confidence,” according to the charity.

Besides Owusu’s Hunger Pains, other speed reading titles to be published this year are The Last Bench by Carmel Harrington, The Girl in the Picture by Rachel Hoare, The Woman Next Door by Louise Jensen, Sweet Charity by Rosie Goodwin, and Cell One by Lee Adenle.