Abstract Extensive reading has been one of the popular approaches to learning and teaching English. Several quantitative studies have investigated the impact of extensive reading on language development. However, this qualitative study explores the attitudes of first-year Saudi female students at the English department at Al-Imam University towards reading simplified materials extensively. In this study, 8 participants were selected to read a variety of simplified English texts extensively for a 5-week period. For follow-up activities, the participants were required to give brief oral and written summaries about what they had read every week. After that, the researcher interviewed the participants for approximately 20 minutes each, and took some notes during and after the interviews. After that, each interview was transcribed and analyzed into different themes. The findings showed that participants had positive attitudes towards extensive reading using simplified materials. In addition, the participants reported that they gained more confidence and felt more motivated to read in L2. The findings also showed that extensive reading helped them develop and improve their L2 vocabulary knowledge, grammar, spelling, reading speed, speaking, and writing.