For the one in six UK adults who struggles with reading, and for those learning English as a foreign language, Quick Reads provides an invaluable service. Before it was set up in 2006, unconfident readers were forced to make do with patronising pamphlets, abridged classics or children's books. Quick Reads, on the other hand, publishes books by authors you'd actually want to read: Kathy Lette, Lynda La Plante, Minette Walters. Oh and Jeffrey Archer too.

Last month the charity published the results of a survey into how technology is shaping our reading habits: nearly half (48%) of UK adults who use technology to read said it had made them read more; 41% said that being able to look up words they didn't know has made reading easier while half said that being able to adjust the appearance of the text has helped; 62% said that being able to access free ebooks has meant they have read books they would not otherwise have read.

It's great to see more research being done into technology and reading, an area where evidence has l argely been anecdotal. And it's clear that e-readers – with their inbuilt dictionaries and text-to-speech facility, not to mention access to free or low-cost titles – could be of massive help to the millions of people who find reading difficult. Cathy Rentzenbrink, project director of Quick Reads, said: "The potential impact of technology on less confident readers is tremendous… [E-reading] allows adult learners to engage with books on their own terms, aiding their learning and boosting their confidence too."

Writing this in a house where there are at least two old (but perfectly serviceable) Kindles gathering dust in a drawer, it occurs to me: wouldn't it be good if there were a way of donating them to people who might have a greater use for them?