The Reading Agency

Reading Well supports you to understand and manage your health and wellbeing using helpful reading.

Reading Well books are all recommended by health experts, as well as people with lived experience of the conditions and topics covered and their relatives and carers.

Reading Well books are free for you to borrow from your local library. You can be recommended a title by a health professional, or you can visit your local library and choose a book to take out. Many titles are also available to borrow as e-books and audiobooks.

The following Reading Well schemes are available:

Reading Well for dementia
Provides information and support to help people understand more about dementia including people living with dementia, carers and family members.

Reading Well for mental health
Provides information and support for managing common mental health conditions or dealing with difficult feelings and experiences.

Reading Well for teens
Provides information, advice and support for teenagers aged 13-18 years old to help them better understand their feelings, handle difficult experiences and boost their confidence.

Reading Well for children
Provides information, advice and stories, for children aged 7-11 years old and families, focused on coping with feelings and worries, daily life and tough times.

It’s easy and free to join your local library if you are not already a member. A member of library staff can help you join. Once you have a library card you can borrow books, including large print and talking books, as well as ebooks.

Reading Well is developed by The Reading Agency in partnership with Libraries Connected and Society of Chief Librarians Cymru and is delivered though public libraries. It is funded by Arts Council England and Welsh Government.