The Survival of Engaged Reading in the Internet Age: New Media, Old Media, and the Book

This article explores questions of paratext and spin-off text through an investigation of websites and other forms of satellite texts relating to three series of novels for young people: the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling, His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, and the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett. Much of this material, which is often perceived as competition to the book, actually trades on a powerful assumption that the reader has already read the books in question. Extended reading is supported rather than undermined by many of these associated texts.