'I'LL just wait for them to make the film' - we've all heard the excuse for not reading a popular book, but now that lazy approach could actually take longer.
Slow readers will finally be able to keep up with the folk that burn through novels and newspapers in minutes if a new gadget lives up to the hype.
Spritz is a new speed-reading app which could see you zipping through texts at up to 1,000 words a minute, which would mean you can get through the Da Vinci Code in under three hours and only five minutes longer than watching the film.
The app is coming your way from this month and is perfectly designed for small screens so the squinting and zooming is out of the window.
It works by flashing up one word at a time, with the optimal viewing point of the word in red and in the middle, meaning time-consuming eye movements and scanning are out of the equation.
It will come on the Samsung Galaxy s5 and the Samsung Gear 2 watch, but developers are also looking to bring it to other devices.
Six books you can read (at 1,000wpm) in less time than it takes to watch the film
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone - book 77 mins, film 152 mins
The Hobbit – book 95 minutes, film 182 mins (and that’s just The Unexpected Journey!)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – book 30 mins, film 115 minutes
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – book 36 mins, film (2005) 150 mins
The Great Gatsby – book 47 mins, film (2013) 143 mins
Atonement – book 123 mins, film 123 mins
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