Listening Books

Listening Books provides an audiobook library service to adults and children who find it difficult to read or hold a book due to an illness, disability, learning or mental health difficulty. They are passionate about making books accessible to everyone and for many of their members, audiobooks not only provide a link to the wonderful world of literature but can be a relief from pain or anxiety, lifting them out of what are often challenging circumstances. The service caters for children and adults with a wide variety of print impairments. They have a huge library of over 6,000 titles in a wide selection of genres, as well as a large educational library for those still at school. Whether you are interested in history titles, such as The Island Race by Winston Churchill, or a good fantasy novel such as the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, they have something for everyone.

They stock many of the latest commercial bestsellers in the Listening Books catalogue from popular authors such as David Walliams, Philippa Gregory, Patrick Ness and Roald Dahl with readers including Benedict Cumberbatch, Penelope Keith, Bill Nighy and many more. They also stock some excellent titles from our patron, Stephen Fry, including his autobiography The Fry Chronicles. As Stephen says “The companionship and delight of a voice telling stories is incomparable”.

Members can enjoy MP3 CDs delivered straight to their front door or can choose to listen to titles online via internet streaming or alternatively, can download titles to a portable device such as an iPod or smart phone via our website www.listening-books.org.uk.

It’s a fantastic service for those whose illness or learning difficulty makes it difficult or impossible to hold or concentrate on reading a book. Our subscription rates are incredibly good value at £20, £35 and £45 depending on the service required and they are able to help those who would struggle to pay the subsidised membership fee, but who could still benefit from access to the service.