They pick the last of the readers (8)
I believe the answer is:
electors
'they pick' is the definition.
Although both the answer and 'pick' are nouns, they are not in the same form of the noun.
'last of the readers' is the wordplay.
'last of' suggests the final letters.
'readers' becomes 'lectors' ('lector' can be a synonym of 'reader').
The last letter of 'the' is 'e'.
'e'+'lectors'='ELECTORS'
'the' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for electors that I've seen before include "They choose people for office" , "Voters" , "Those eligible to vote" .)