| Keyword |
Description |
| Platform |
A digital space or app where users can access content or services, like Skeelo for e-books |
| Virtual shelf |
A digital space inside the app where the books you get each month are stored and organized |
| Encouraged |
To motivate or support someone so they feel more interested in doing something, like reading more often |
A new Brazilian platform called Skeelo has arrived in Mexico to help people read more using their phones. The app gives users one free e-book every month, a bit like a simple book club where everyone gets the same chance to read. Its creators want to change the idea that Mexicans do not read and show that, with easier access, more people can enjoy books. Instead of offering thousands of titles that nobody touches, Skeelo focuses on helping each person finish just one good book every month.
Skeelo started in Brazil in 2019 and now has about 2.7 million users there. In Mexico, it works together with big internet and TV companies like Izzi and Sky, so their customers can receive a free e-book each month without paying extra. Every new book appears on a virtual shelf inside the app, where users can see and keep all the books they have collected. The Skeelo team says books give strong prestige to these companies because reading is seen as something smart, educational, and culturally important.
The app is launching at a time when reading in Mexico is facing serious problems. INEGI data shows that among people 12 and older who do read, the average is about 3.2 books per year, and the percentage of readers has fallen more than 12% since 2016. Many people who do not read say they were never encouraged to visit libraries or bookstores and that their parents are not readers either. Skeelo’s goal is to help people go from reading maybe two books a year to 12, and the company plans to invest 200 million pesos in Mexico in 2026 to grow its Spanish-language catalog and reach more young readers.
Bridging words
These words sound similar in English and Spanish: Why not practice them now?
| English |
Spanish |
| Person |
Persona |
| Percentage |
Porcentaje |
| Reader |
Lector |
Time to discuss
- Would a free e-book every month make you want to read more?
- Do you think phones make it easier or harder to read books?
- Should schools promote apps like Skeelo to their students?
Let's write
Answer the following questions in one paragraph:
- Write about a time when someone encouraged you to read and how it made you feel.
- Explain how an app like Skeelo could change reading in your family or community.
