  As reading on mobile devices is becoming more ubiquitous, content is consumed
in shorter intervals and is punctuated by frequent interruptions. In this work,
we explore the best way to mitigate the effects of reading interruptions on
longer text passages. Our hypothesis is that short summaries of either
previously read content (reviews) or upcoming content (previews) will help the
reader re-engage with the reading task. Our target use case is for students who
study using electronic textbooks and who are frequently mobile. We present a
series of pilot studies that examine the benefits of different types of
summaries and their locations, with respect to variations in text content and
participant cohorts. We find that users prefer reviews after an interruption,
but that previews shown after interruptions have a larger positive influence on
comprehension. Our work is a first step towards smart reading applications that
proactively provide text summaries to mitigate interruptions on the go.
