Topics
Guide topics
The guide is split into four topics, and each one answers its own question for readers on the go. Formats is about what to take with you: a paper book, an e-reader, a phone or an audiobook. Where to get books covers the legal routes: libraries, bookstores, swapping and the public domain. Habit is about reading a little at a time, keeping notes and not losing the thread. On the go deals with comfort and safety in transit, along with reading with children. Each topic gathers cards with links to pages, and at the bottom there is a tip on where to start if you have only just decided to read while you travel.
The best format for the road is the one you actually take out of your bag. Everything else can be adjusted later, trip by trip.
Selection criteria: the advice works for any trip, whether by bus, streetcar, commuter rail or long-distance train; it does not require buying a particular device and does not name services, apps, shops, libraries or cities; it covers only legal ways to get a book; it does not replace medical advice and says plainly when it is time to see a doctor.
Formats
Paper books, e-readers, phones and audiobooks: what works better in a crowded car and on a long trip, standing or seated, in general terms, without models or price comparisons.
- Answers about formats and devices
What to choose if you read standing up, how to avoid distractions on your phone and when an audiobook comes to the rescue.
- Format terms
Paper book, e-book, e-reader and audiobook in the guide's glossary.
- Audiobooks on the go
A collection for anyone who wants to try listening to books while traveling for the first time.
Where to get books
The library and its e-services, the bookstore, swapping with friends or in a book club, and public-domain works, with no dubious sources and no service names.
- Answers about where to get books
What library e-lending and the public domain are, and how to tell a legal source from a dubious one.
- Rights and access in the glossary
Exclusive right, public domain and library e-lending in plain words.
- Where to get the classics legally
A short answer on the home page: the public domain and libraries.
Habit
Reading a little every day, keeping a to-read list, making notes and copying out quotes, and returning to an abandoned book without guilt.
- How to read in transit and stick with a book
A practical article with steps, illustrative examples, common mistakes and a checklist.
- A week of reading on the go
Five steps on the home page: one book, always with you, one time slot, a bookmark with a thought and a weekend decision.
- A book for a single trip
A collection on choosing something short: a story, an essay, a novella or a collection.
On the go
Light and font size, breaks, the handrail, stairs and escalators, headphone volume, staying alert at your stop and reading with children while traveling, in general terms, without medical advice.
- Answers about habit and the commute
How to adjust font and light, what to do if it is hard to focus, and how to return to a book you put aside.
- Reading with a child on the train
A collection for parents before a long trip.
- Archive
Every page of the guide by date and topic.
Related pages
- How-to
How to read in transit and stick with a book. Plus a catalog of upcoming articles.
- Questions
Short answers about formats and devices, legal sources of books, the reading habit and the commute.
- Collections
Reading paths: a book for a single trip, your first audiobook, reading with a child on the train.
Sources
- Metroreader editorial materials
- Public transit rules of conduct, general provisions
Information is current as of the date it was prepared. Each library sets its own terms for its services, including e-lending, and each transit operator sets its own rules of conduct, so check the rules in force. Copyright terms outside Russia may differ.