Newsletter Subscribe to our blog via email. Opt out any time - please see our Privacy Policy
Jessica Stone presents Dear Reader for Canterbury's Community and Student Radio. In her spare time, she also volunteers for Listening Books. She tells us why she does reading challenges!
May 8, 2018
0 Comments
If you've seen the news at all recently, you might be aware that there's been a lot of royal stories about! The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is less than a month away, and then the birth of Prince Louis stole the headlines. All in all, interest in the royal family is at a high. If you're just as obsessed as we are, check out our five picks of books about royalty below.
April 30, 2018
0 Comments
On 8th March every year women around the world celebrate International Women's Day. If you're looking for some great feminist books to read to celebrate, then look no further!
March 8, 2018
0 Comments
November 2017 marks 100 years since the Battle of Passchendaele ended. To commemorate this we recommend a list of First World War books, from must-reads to forgotten classics.
November 6, 2017
0 Comments
Sarah Perry is the author of After Me Comes the Flood and The Essex Serpent. She has a PhD in creative writing from Goldsmiths University. Her thesis was about the Gothic, and her books are written in this style. Her first book was shortlisted for the Guardian 'First Book Award' in 2014, while The Essex Serpent went on to win multiple awards including Book of the Year and Fiction Book of the Year at the British Book Awards 2016, The Waterstones Book of the Year 2016.
October 16, 2017
0 Comments
This year, the UK is celebrating Banned Books Week to highlight the history of censorship. One of the most famous examples is Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence. The book was famously banned in the UK because of its explicit content. In 1960, Penguin Books won a court case to publish it due to the 'Obscene Publications Act'. This act said that any book considered obscene but with "redeeming social merit" could be published. After six days, the jury found the book was not obscene. It sold out across the UK on the first day of publication, with 200,000 copies bought. Almost 60 years on, this is considered a landmark case that represented the end of an era.
September 25, 2017
0 Comments
The story concerns warring families in the fictional land of Westeros. They compete to be the ruler of the seven kingdoms and sit on the Iron Throne against a backdrop of dragons, zombies and giant direwolves. But how do you decide what books to read after Game of Thrones? Whether you relate more to the conniving Cersei Lannister, headstrong Arya Stark, or mother of dragons Daenerys Targaryen, here are books to read based on each family to tide you over until the next series.
September 18, 2017
0 Comments
If you're finding reading difficult, school can be particularly daunting. There always seems to be so many things to read! This is where our Sound Learning service comes in. We record educational audiobooks from ages 7 and up so that at least getting through the reading doesn't have to be difficult. We've collected some of the best back to school audiobooks in our library, so get a head start on listening!
August 23, 2017
0 Comments
It’s the final day of our book recommendations, and we’ve saved the best for last with six sensational stories to listen to! From crime to dystopian speculative fiction to humour, whatever you’re looking for, we’ve got an audiobook for you.
June 22, 2017
0 Comments
It can always be difficult to pick your next title to listen to. Whether you've just come off the back of listening to a book you loved or one that you're not sure was quite right for you, or if you've never listened to an audiobook before, how do you pick from the vast range of books out there?
June 5, 2017
0 Comments