MTA offers e-books to read on subway

Whether it is waiting on the subway platform or riding the train, subway commutes may have just become a little smoother, or at least may feel a bit shorter, with free e-books to read – at least for the next few weeks.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority, or MTA, is offering riders to download short stories and book excerpts to read on their cell phones or tablets. The offer is part of the “Subway Reads” program, designed to promote Wi-Fi in the underground tunnels, and expected to run through late October.

The stories and excerpts come in various lengths, to match the varying times of commutes, with choices of 10-, 20- and 30-minute reads.

But slow readers need not fear they would be left staring at an accidental cliffhanger: The reads will not disappear when the rider gets off the train.

“Bringing Wi-Fi into underground stations helps riders stay connected throughout their commute, allowing them to check in with friends or family and access news or entertainment,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. “We’ve made tremendous progress in modernizing the system, and Subway Reads is a fun way to introduce riders to the new Wi-Fi experience.”

The ‘Subway Reads’ program is a result of the MTA’s partnership with Penguin Random House and Transit Wireless.

Five short stories have been made into separate e-short editions specifically for the program. They include Lee Child’s High Heat: Jack Reacher Novella, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, and Edgar Allen Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue.

There are also 175 long excerpts from books by authors from around the world, and from works that have a special focus on New York. Selections include Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton and Jonathan Lethem’s Motherless Brooklyn. Some of the Spanish language readings are Paulo Coelho’s Manuscrito Encontrado en Accra and Isabel Allende’s El Cuadermo de Maya. Additional choices include poems by New Yorkers Walt Whitman and Billy Collins.

With the click of a button, riders who enjoy the excerpts can buy the full-length version. The MTA will receive a portion of the sales.

Materials can only be downloaded at stations with access to the Transit Authority’s Wi-Fi. But once the content is downloaded, it can be accessed from anywhere, MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said in emailed comments.

So far, 175 subway stations are equipped with underground Wi-Fi – a milestone number the promotion is timed to celebrate. By December, all 278 underground subway stations will be connected, according to the MTA.

For more information or the full list of free subway reads, visit www.subwayreadsny.com.