EXHIBIT 99.4


Contact:   News Media:  William Adler, (914) 244-7585
           Financial Analysts:  Richard Clark, (914) 244-5425


              READER'S DIGEST ASSOCIATION AUTHORIZES
        REPURCHASE OF $100 MILLION IN SHARES OVER TWO YEARS

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y., April 28, 2005 -- The Reader's Digest
Association, Inc. (NYSE: RDA) today received approval from its
Board of Directors to repurchase $100 million of the company's
common stock over the next two years.

      "We believe our stock is an excellent investment, and its
current price does not fully reflect the true value of our
business," said Thomas O. Ryder, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer.  "Share repurchase programs are an important way to
enhance shareholder value.  With our strong free cash flows, we
are well positioned to repurchase shares while also servicing our
debt and continuing to fund investments to grow our business.  We
have paid down our debt significantly and now are in a position
to allocate more cash to shareholders.  This effort is consistent
with our move in January to double our stock dividend.  Together,
we expect these initiatives to return about $90 million in cash
to our shareholders annually."

      The authorization to purchase about $100 million in shares
would retire 6 million shares, or 6 percent of shares
outstanding, if executed fully at the stock price as of March 31,
2005.  The repurchases will be made in open-market transactions
from time to time as market conditions warrant.  Reader's Digest
Association currently has approximately 100 million shares of
common stock outstanding.

      The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. is a global publisher
and direct marketer of products that inform, enrich, entertain
and inspire people of all ages and cultures around the world.
Global headquarters are located at Pleasantville, New York.  The
company's main Web site is www.rd.com.

           This release may include "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual future results and
occurrences to differ materially from the forward-looking
statements.  The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.'s filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its reports on
Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, contain a discussion of additional
factors that could affect future results and occurrences.
Reader's Digest does not undertake to update any forward-looking
statements.
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