Give them their books back.
Reading to Ruth is an audiobook player with one big button, for someone who is older, blind or hard of hearing. You give it once, and the whole family keeps adding to it.
You choose the books from your own phone, wherever you live. They press Play.
Each time someone in the family adds a book, the player says who it is from, reads their message aloud, and begins the story.
I built it for my grandmother Ruth, who is 101, almost completely blind and hard of hearing. Now our family gift her books to listen to, and send voice notes, poems and articles.
Works on the tablet, phone or laptop they already have. No subscription. 30-day money-back guarantee from the day they first use it. Founding price until 31 December 2026, £74.99 from 1 January.
From Tara Button, a Marie Claire Future Shaper and author of A Life Less Throwaway. About the founder
A present the whole family keeps adding to
A player they can work
One big Play button on a tablet, phone or laptop they already have. No app, no password and no menus for them: the settings sit behind a corner only the family and carers know about. It keeps their place in every book and says each title aloud.
Books from all of you
Anyone in the family can add a book from their own phone, with a few words to go with it. Tell us the book and we do the rest, at the normal shop price. When it arrives, the player announces it and the book begins.
“You've been given a present! Tom hopes you'll enjoy Persuasion, by Jane Austen.”Your voices
Record a message on your phone and it plays before their story. Paste in a letter, a poem or an article and it is read aloud. They can hear any of them again.
This is the real player
Press the big button.
Oliver Twist begins, read by Mil Nicholson. Press again to pause; press once more and it steps back a little, so nothing is missed. The two small buttons go back a bit and move to the next book.
That is all they ever see. For someone who can't manage three buttons, the one-button player turns the whole screen into Play. Button size, colours and voice are chosen by you, behind the scenes.
Four steps. Nothing comes in the post.
Pay once
£49.99 by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. We ask for your name, your email and their first name. That's all.
Fill it before the day
Your email arrives with your family page and a four-digit PIN. Add the books they love and record a message, so both are waiting the first time the button is pressed.
Print the card
Something to hand over, or to put under the tree. Add their name and yours, then print it. See the card.
Open it together
On the day, open the player on their tablet and add it to the home screen: allow ten to twenty minutes, once. The email shows each step. If you live far away, forward the email to whoever is with them.
All the books you love, on one big button. We have chosen the first ones for you, and we will keep adding more.
Your first book is waiting. Press the button and listen.
A card for under the tree
Type their name, yours and a few words of your own, then print it at home. Put it in an envelope beside the tablet, with their first book already waiting.
Is it right for them?
It suits someone who…
- loves stories, and finds apps, remotes and smart speakers too much
- has little or no sight: the one-button player makes the whole screen the Play button
- is hard of hearing: it plays through a speaker, headphones or Bluetooth hearing aids, and the reading can be slowed down
- forgets where they were, or has shaky hands: it never loses the place, and a mis-press does no harm
- lives alone or in a care home, with family who are not always nearby
It needs…
- a tablet, smartphone or laptop. None is included, and one they already own is fine: iPads (old ones too), Android and Amazon Fire tablets all work. No tablet? A basic Amazon Fire tablet is about £100
- wi-fi where they live
- one person to open it on their device the first time, for ten to twenty minutes
Reading to Ruth is new. The person behind it isn't.
I'm Tara Button, Ruth's granddaughter. Since 2016 I've run Buy Me Once, which finds and sells things that are built to last, and I wrote A Life Less Throwaway about why that matters. Reading to Ruth is the same idea, made for my grandmother: something that works, and keeps working.
We have only just opened, so there is no wall of reviews yet. What you have instead is my name on it, an answer from a real person when you write, and a 30-day money-back guarantee from the day they first use it.
- Marie Claire Future ShaperFuture Shapers Award, 2019
- Author, A Life Less ThrowawayHarperCollins in the UK, Penguin Random House in the US
- Founder and CEO, Buy Me OnceThings built to last, since 2016
- Co-founder, BeagleCertified as a B Corp in 2023
One payment. No subscription.
- The player, on any tablet, phone or laptop they already own.
- The family page for everyone who loves them. One family, unlimited relatives.
- A ready-made library of classics, free. Any other book: tell us which one and we'll do the rest, at the normal shop price with nothing added.
- Unlimited voice messages, and two hours of text read aloud.
- Help from a person, on a video call if you'd like one, and on the end of an email.
30-day money-back guarantee, from the day they first use it. If they can't get on with it, tell us within 30 days of the player first being opened and we refund the £49.99 in full, so a present opened on Christmas Day is covered well into January. Any books you bought are yours to keep.
Giving it as a present
Does anything arrive in the post?
No. Reading to Ruth is a website that goes on a device they already have, so there is nothing to wrap. That is what the printable card is for.
I live a long way away. Can I still give it?
Yes. You can add books and record messages from anywhere. Someone needs to open the player on their device once, so forward the email to whoever is with them, or do it together on your next visit.
Who can add books and messages?
Everyone you share the family page and its PIN with: children, grandchildren, friends. Each book and message says who it is from.
Will they see anything complicated?
No. Once it's on the home screen the player fills the whole screen: one big Play button and, if you choose, two small ones. No address bar, no menus, nothing to tap into by mistake. The settings sit behind a corner only the family and carers know about.
They don't have a tablet. What then?
It works on iPads, Android and Amazon Fire tablets, phones and laptops. If they have none, a basic Amazon Fire tablet costs about £100 and works well; one of our founding families uses one. Amazon Echo Show isn't tested yet, so email us first.
What if they can't get on with it?
Tell us within 30 days of the player first being opened and we refund the £49.99 in full, so a present opened on Christmas Day is covered well into January. Any books you bought are yours to keep.
Who is behind it?
Tara Button, Ruth's granddaughter: an eco-entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Buy Me Once, co-founder of Beagle (certified as a B Corp in 2023), a Marie Claire Future Shaper and author of A Life Less Throwaway. We set each family up personally. Write to hello@readingtoruth.com and you'll hear back within a day.
Is there someone you'd like to read to?
One payment of £49.99 (£74.99 from 1 January), with a 30-day money-back guarantee from the day they first use it. Not sure it is right for them? Tell us about the person you have in mind and we'll be honest about whether it is.
Reading to Ruth is run by Tara Button, Ruth's granddaughter: an eco-entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Buy Me Once, co-founder of Beagle (certified as a B Corp in 2023), a Marie Claire Future Shaper and author of A Life Less Throwaway.