EXHIBIT 23
                                
                                
                                
                 CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS



To  The  Board  of Directors of The Reader's Digest  Association,
Inc.:

We  consent  to  incorporation by reference in  the  registration
statements (Registration Nos. 33-37434 and 33-56883) on Form  S-8
of  The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. and subsidiaries of our
reports  dated  August  13, 1996, relating  to  the  consolidated
balance  sheets  of  The  Reader's Digest Association,  Inc.  and
subsidiaries  as  of  June 30, 1996 and  1995,  and  the  related
consolidated  statements  of  income,  changes  in  stockholders'
equity,  and  cash flows for each of the years in the  three-year
period  ended  June  30, 1996, which reports  appear  in  or  are
incorporated by reference in the June 30, 1996 Annual  Report  on
Form 10-K of The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.


/s/ KPMG PEAT MARWICK LLP
KPMG Peat Marwick LLP



New York, New York
September 26, 1996