Reading a book is something you do on your own.  Developing a private relationship with the characters, the writer, or the voice coming through the book is part of the intense pleasure reading can bring.  There are times, though, when you want to share your reading experiences; bubble over about the mind-blowing novel you're reading, convert everyone to the fantastic new thriller writer you've discovered or just let someone else know that you did manage to get to the end of that 500-page literary endurance test.  And it's not only positive emotions that may drive you to want to talk about what you're reading; if you feel baffled or infuriated by a book, you keep wondering whether anyone else had the same reaction or if something's wrong with you.

Reader development is about creating opportunities to do this - sometimes face-to-face in reading groups, sometimes on slips of paper inside a book passed from reader to reader, or on readers' noticeboards.  Reader to reader communication is the most powerful form of promotion there is.  If another reader tells you a book is good, that's much more likely to persuade you to read it than rave reviews, media hype or literary prizes.