Reading to Ruth

Reading to Ruth › Advice for families

Presents that don't need to be seen

Gifts for a parent or grandparent who is losing their sight

Most presents are chosen with the eyes: a picture, a book, a jumper in a good colour. When someone you love is blind or partially sighted, the best presents are the ones that arrive through the other senses, and the ones that give back something sight loss has taken away.

By Tara Button, Ruth's granddaughter and the founder of Reading to Ruth · Updated 11 October 2026

Things to hear

  1. Their books back. I am biased about this one, because I make it. Reading to Ruth is an audiobook player with one big button, on a tablet they already have. You add the books and voice messages from your own phone. On the simplest player the whole screen is the Play button. How to give it as a present.
  2. A recording of you. Read a favourite poem, a chapter or a family story aloud on your phone. It costs nothing, and nobody else can give it.
  3. A talking clock or watch. Press the button and it says the time. The RNIB shop sells several.
  4. A radio they can work by touch. Look for a few large buttons and preset stations, so there is no tuning to do.
  5. A smart speaker, if their hearing is good and they are happy to talk to it. It can play the radio, say the time and read the news. RNIB Talking Books can be played through Alexa.
  6. Help joining a free audiobook library. An afternoon spent signing them up, and showing them how it works, is a present in itself. Our guide lists the UK services.

Things to touch, taste and smell

  1. Something soft and warm. A good wool blanket, a cashmere scarf or sheepskin slippers.
  2. Their favourite food, in a size they can finish: proper shortbread, good marmalade, the chocolates they always liked.
  3. Scent. Hand cream, soap or a plant with a scent they know, such as lavender, hyacinths or a pot of herbs for the windowsill.

Things to do, and small things that help

  1. An outing with audio description. Many theatres, and some cinemas and museums, offer audio-described performances and tours. Go together.
  2. A small gadget that solves a daily problem. A liquid level indicator beeps when a cup is nearly full. Bump-on stickers mark the right button on the microwave or the cooker. Both are sold by the RNIB shop.
  3. Your time. An hour reading the post aloud, or the newspaper, or the letters that came at Christmas.
A quick test for any present: could they open it, understand it and use it with their eyes shut? If not, it will need you there each time.

Why I made the first one on this list

My grandmother Ruth is 101, almost completely blind and hard of hearing. We both love books and poetry, but she found the blind book player too complicated and couldn't hear her smart speaker well enough. One day she told me, “I'm just so bored.”

Now our family give her books to listen to, and send voice notes, poems and articles. When someone adds a book, the player says who it is from, reads their message aloud and begins the story.

Ruth's iPad on a tartan blanket on the arm of her chair, showing the player: one large play button and two small ones
The player on Ruth's own iPad: one big Play button, and two small ones.

Giving Reading to Ruth as a present

Reading to Ruth

Give them their books back.

A present the whole family keeps adding to: books and voice messages, on one big button. Nothing comes in the post, and there is a card to print for the day.

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

What is a good gift for an elderly person who is going blind?

Something that arrives through the other senses or gives back an everyday pleasure: audiobooks on a player they can work, a talking clock, a radio with large buttons, favourite food, a soft blanket, or your time reading aloud.

What do you buy a blind person who loves reading?

Audiobooks, and a way to play them that they can manage alone. RNIB Talking Books is a free library for people with sight loss. Reading to Ruth is a one-button audiobook player the family fill from their own phones.

Can Reading to Ruth be given as a present?

Yes. You pay once, fill it with books and a message before the day, and print a card to hand over. The gift page explains each step.

More to read

Audiobooks for someone who is blind or partially sightedThe free and low-cost UK libraries, and what to do when the books are easy to find but the player is the problem. Gifts for someone in a care homeTwelve ideas that take up little room, ask nothing of the staff, and get used. A simple audiobook player for an elderly parent or grandparentWhat families usually try, why it so often ends up in a drawer, and what to look for instead. All our advice for familiesGuides to audiobooks, players and presents for someone who is older, blind or hard of hearing.