The joys of reading

Having increased health and wellbeing, better sleep, improved confidence and increased emotional intelligence have all been cited as benefits of reading, amongst others.

Fortunately there are many accessible ways to continue your joy of reading.

Using your local library

You have free access to e-books, audio books and large print books from your local library. You must be registered with the library in order to access the service.

To access some of the audio and e-books, you will need to download the Libby app or the BorrowBox app and, as normal, the books will need to be returned at the end of the loan period.

Audible by Amazon

You can listen to audio books, which have been narrated by actors, via the Audible app or a Kindle device. Subscription is £7.99 per month which allows you to have one book each month. You can also listen to podcasts through Audible.

RNIB Talking Books

With over 34,000 fiction and non-fiction books for adults and children, you can borrow up to six books at a time. You can get your books for free by post, as a digital download, through an Amazon Alexa enabled device, on DAISY CD or USB stick. Find out more here.

Calibre Audio

Calibre Audio is a national charity providing a collection of over 13,000 free audiobooks. They can be streamed directly from their website or downloaded to your mobile, tablet or computer. You can also listen via a memory stick or through the RealSAM voice-operated Samsung smartphone.

Kindle

If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download the Kindle app, which can be installed on a device you own. The accessibility features make it easy to enlarge the text and have it read out loud. If you have an Amazon Echo, Alexa can read your books out loud. Kindle e-books are purchased from Amazon and use synthesised speech (a robotic automatic voice), although you can upgrade some books to a narrated version for an additional cost. Kindle Unlimited has a monthly subscription of £7.99.