The phrase "a simple reading" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when referring to an interpretation or understanding of a text that is straightforward and easy to grasp.
Example: "After reviewing the article, I found that a simple reading reveals the author's main argument clearly."
Alternatives: "an easy interpretation" or "a straightforward understanding".
One cannot, on a simple reading of the Koran, learn how to pray.
Billy Idol also apparently felt he needed to give more than a simple reading from his recent memoir, Dancing With Myself.
It is not merely dangerous but fundamentally erroneous to generalize about what Muslims must and must not do based on a simple reading of the Koran.
"A simple reading machine which I can carry or move around, attach to any old electric light plug and read hundred-thousand-word novels in 10 minutes if I want to, and I want to".
So the job here was to push the story in the direction of "more mystery" (i.e., make it less reducible to a simple reading), which (it turned out, after all those years of work) meant: make Eva's decision more problematic.
A simple reading of the Koran does not suffice: not only is the study of Koranic science a necessity, but knowledge of segments of the prophetic tradition is essential.
Now her warning looks prescient.But a simple read-across from the solution to the 2008 financial crisis would be mistaken.
And the writing is just stunning – it's not always a simple read, but more than repays the effort.
Mitchell's book is not a simple read, with its interlocking stories and a multitude of characters, distributed across centuries and continents.
This is not a simple read – the Northern Irish Troubles, jihad and inter-agency rivalries among the Intelligence Services all feature – but it grips.
As with most first rehearsals, usually spent on a simple read-through of the script, the mood was one of nervous expectation.
