Reading to Ruth › Advice for families
A UK guideAudiobooks for someone who is blind or partially sighted
There are wonderful audiobook libraries in the UK for people with sight loss, and some of them are free. This guide sets out what each one offers. It also covers the thing that defeated my own grandmother, which was not finding the books but working the player.
The libraries to know about
Details and prices were checked in October 2026. Each service's own website has the latest.
RNIB Talking Books
Free, from the Royal National Institute of Blind People, for anyone who struggles to read because of their sight. It has tens of thousands of titles. Books can be downloaded to a phone, tablet or computer, played through an Alexa smart speaker, or posted on CD or USB stick. Register at readingservices.rnib.org.uk, or ring the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 to ask for books by post.
Calibre Audio
A charity library of more than 25,000 audiobooks for anyone with a disability or condition that makes print hard to read, including sight loss. You don't need to be registered blind. Adults pay £3 a month or £30 a year, and under-18s join free. Books are streamed, or played in the Libby or Dolphin EasyReader apps. See calibreaudio.org.uk.
Listening Books
A charity lending more than 10,000 audiobooks to people who find reading print difficult because of an illness, disability or learning difficulty. Membership is £25 a year, and free if the fee would be a barrier. Books are streamed online or downloaded in the Libby app. See listening-books.org.uk.
Your public library
Most UK library services lend audiobooks free through an app, usually BorrowBox or Libby, to anyone with a library card.
| Service | Cost | How you listen |
|---|---|---|
| RNIB Talking Books | Free | Download, Alexa, or CD and USB stick by post |
| Calibre Audio | £3 a month or £30 a year | Streaming, Libby or EasyReader app |
| Listening Books | £25 a year, or free | Streaming or Libby app |
| Public library | Free | BorrowBox or Libby app |
When the books are easy and the player is hard
Every one of those services is good. Every one also needs an app, a smart speaker or a dedicated player. For someone who has lived with sight loss for years, that is no trouble. For someone losing their sight in their eighties or nineties, it can be the whole problem. An app has to be found on a screen they can't see. A smart speaker has to be heard. A talking-book player has to be learned by touch.
My grandmother Ruth is 101, almost completely blind and hard of hearing. She found the blind book player too complicated, and she couldn't hear her smart speaker well enough. So I built her a player with one button.
A player with nothing to find
Reading to Ruth runs on a tablet, phone or laptop they already have. Choose the simplest player and the whole screen becomes one Play button: press anywhere to listen, press again to pause. For anyone with some sight left, there are high-contrast colours such as white on midnight or yellow on black, and buttons as big as you like.
- It says each title aloud, slowly, in a clear British voice.
- It keeps the place in every book, and steps back a little each time Play is pressed, so nothing is missed.
- The family fill it from their own phones: a free library of classics, any book you ask us for at the normal shop price, and audiobook files you already own.
- Your voices come too. Record a message and it plays before their story. Paste in a newspaper article or a poem and it is read aloud.
Using it alongside RNIB and the library
Keep them. RNIB Talking Books are supplied for the member's own use, and library loans play only in their own apps, so neither can be moved onto a Reading to Ruth player. If they manage those happily, carry on. Reading to Ruth is for everything around them: the family's voices, articles read aloud, books they own outright, and a player that is one button.
The whole screen is one Play button.
An audiobook player for someone who can't see the screen, set up and kept full by the people who love them.
Price from 1 January: £74.99 Founding price now: £49.99 once
Founding price until 31 December 2026. One payment for the whole family. No subscription.
Get started — £49.99Try the player first
60-day money-back guarantee, from the day they first use it.
Questions people ask
Are audiobooks free for blind people in the UK?
RNIB Talking Books is free for anyone who struggles to read because of their sight, and public libraries lend audiobooks free through apps such as BorrowBox and Libby. Calibre Audio and Listening Books are charities that charge a small membership fee; Listening Books waives it for people who can't afford it.
Do you have to be registered blind to use these services?
Calibre Audio says you do not need to be registered blind or provide evidence when you apply. RNIB's service is for anyone who struggles to read because of their sight. Check each service's website for its current rules.
Can RNIB Talking Books be played on Reading to Ruth?
Not at the moment. RNIB Talking Books are supplied for the member's own use, so keep listening to those the way they already do. Reading to Ruth plays the free classics in its library, books bought through the family page, and audiobook files you own.
What is the easiest audiobook player for a blind person?
It depends on the person. Someone comfortable with technology may be happy with a smart speaker or an RNIB player. For someone who finds those too much, look for a single button, a player that keeps the place and speaks the title, and a way for the family to add books from elsewhere.