About North Somerset Reading Friends
Reading Friends is a national reading befriending programme to connect people who may be feeling lonely or isolated. It brings people together to read, share stories, make new friends and have fun. Reading Friends uses books, magazines, newspapers – or anything else – to start a conversation. It’s completely free and open to anyone. Participants will be matched with trained library volunteers based on shared interests for regular one-on-one chats over the phone.
If you’d like to take part, contact us by emailing library.volunteers@n-somerset.gov.uk or calling 01275 888 864. We will ask you a few questions about your interests to match you with a trained Reading Befriender.
Reading Friends is part of the new Read, Talk, Share campaign from national literacy charity The Reading Agency.
About the Read, Talk, Share campaign
Read, Talk, Share is an initiative to combat loneliness and promote wellbeing through the proven power of reading during the COVID-19 pandemic, delivered by national literacy charity The Reading Agency in partnership with public libraries. Enabled by a £3.5 million award by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), Read, Talk, Share expands The Reading Agency’s already successful Reading Well and Reading Friends programmes to more public libraries in England, with the charity’s work to tackle loneliness and support mental health and wellbeing identified by the Government as a key aspect of the nation’s Covid recovery.
About Reading Well
Reading Well titles help you understand and manage your mental health. They are endorsed by health professionals and people with experience of the conditions covered. Reading Well titles are already available in North Somerset libraries and can be reserved free of charge for contact-free collection.
The Read, Talk, Share campaign will provide additional copies of the Reading Well mental health booklists for children, young people, and adults in our libraries, including copies in e-book and e-audio format.