“I believe that reading literature is one of the best things you can do. Even five minutes of deep reading can transform you: cognitively, imaginatively, and emotionally. Reading can calm your mind, and yet reading can also create positive challenges. It is great for your mind, and more than this, reading is also social: it opens up new ideas, and it brings you together with other people both on and off the page.
“Over the past four years, we have been developing a way for you to find great literature to read and to find it quickly and easily, drawing insight from digital reading, publishing technologies and innovations, machine-learning and natural language processing to help LitHits develop its library. It’s a journey that has made us one of the first business ventures from the Humanities Division of Oxford University.
“Truly great literature means questioning what we know, and whose work we are reading. We approach the idea of 'great literature' with a critical eye and with the aim of inclusivity and diversity. Great literature comes from all backgrounds, points of view, orientations, and experiences.
“We are on a mission to break down barriers to reading, not only for those who struggle to find the time for books, but for those with disabilities or in situations which make reading difficult or currently impossible.
“We want to connect with and inspire those who yet to discover the joy of reading, be that younger generations or people who have never had the opportunity to cultivate a passion for books and benefit from the pleasure it can bring."
Prof. Kirsten Shepherd-Barr
Professor of English and Theatre Studies, Faculty of English, University of Oxford
