Digital technology has created opportunities for new learning habits and strategies. This study examined how university students engage with emerging digital reading formats and multimodal texts. It explored their digital reading habits, strategies, and associated challenges. Data were collected in two rounds from 34 students at the entry level of a program in English language and literature. In the first round, this cohort completed a survey on digital reading materials, devices, habits, and strategies. In the second round, sixteen participants were singled out from the overall sample for a reading task. Survey results indicated a set of selective reading strategies, including goal setting, skimming, and bypassing non-essential content such as ads and external links. Participants indicated that they employed such strategies while reading web pages, social media content, and the like. In the reading task, students who completed the reading more quickly had previously reported stronger reading habits and strategies. However, only half of those reading from screens provided responses that demonstrated full comprehension of the text in question. These preliminary findings raise concerns about the cognitive demands of multimodal ensembles and underscore the need for further research to clarify how digital reading platforms can be optimized to reduce cognitive load and enhance engagement with digital reading.