Our leisure reading collections are all of the books, eBooks and audiobooks in our collections that are not directly related to your University studies. Choose from a wide range of genres including contemporary fiction, classic fiction, wellbeing and self-help books, themed reading lists such as LGBT+, BAME, award-winning books, and more!
If you’re feeling like you need a break from your recommended academic reading, why not explore our leisure reading collections to try something a little lighter, read a new popular novel or to learn about a new topic? Don’t forget, you can also browse our collections magazines and newspapers, free online films and even TV shows. We welcome your suggestions - recommend a title.
Many of our leisure reading titles are available to read online or download in accessible formats on RNIB Bookshare. To find out more about whether you are eligible for a University of Liverpool Bookshare account, or how to make the most of your membership, have a look at our Bookshare FAQ. If you already have a RNIB Bookshare account you can login and read online.
Download Dolphin EasyReader to use Bookshare on your mobile device.
We have several community reading collections available. We welcome your suggestions - recommend a title.
Have a browse through our list of online collections of ethnically diverse titles. As part of our collective responsibility we are also collating an Anti-Racist Reading List, inspired by the work of Layla F Saad, and the Chicago Public Library.
Check out our LGBTQ+ Collections to help you to learn more about LGBT+ history and culture in more detail and from a wide range of perspectives and experiences. You can also browse our Transgender Visibility Collection to raise awareness of transgender rights around the world and celebrate the resilience and success of transgender and gender non-conforming people.
Our Liverpool Reads Collection features local history, music, sport, culture and places to visit in our great city and local area, as well as a selection of novels written by Liverpool authors.
Browse our Menopause Support Collection, filled with books for students and staff who are experiencing (or know someone who is experiencing) the menopause.
If you are an international student, why not help the Library to create our Window on the World reading list? Our goal is to create a reading list which focuses on the homelands and regions of our international students and staff by inviting them to recommend books about their homeland and region, or authors living there, for our “Window on the World” collection. So, whether you want to recommend works about music, or works from Argentine archaeologists to Zimbabwean zoologists, we want to receive suggestions to create a reading list full of their diverse voices.
View our International Reading List for a selection of print and electronic international titles.
Many of the titles featured in these collections are also available in a variety of accessible formats via your RNIB Bookshare account. We have created Reading Lists to make them easier to find.
Main Menu - Manage Libraries, select RNIB Bookshare, login and go to My Reading Lists. Whilst this will be a busy time for academic work, it's important that you also factor in some time away from your studies. Below we've listed some free online sources for recreational reading:
Don't forget about the eBook collections available via your local public library. Read Liverpool is a fantastic service providing eBooks, audiobooks, magazines and comics to download to your phone or tablet.
Thousands of films, from blockbusters to documentaries as well as a great selection of classic films and World cinema. All available to stream free on Kanopy.
Once you are logged in, take a look at our playlists to get you started:
Grab some snacks and put your feet up - see our top film picks from Libraries, Museums and Galleries staff on Box of Broadcasts (BoB).
Available free to all UoL students and staff living in the UK.
You will need to login to BoB to view the playlist:
See Something Different.
Stream critically acclaimed classic, cult and contemporary cinema hand-picked by the British Film Institute.
Free to all University of Liverpool students and staff.
Browse some of the most popular audiobooks in our collections and listen along while you work, from home, in the car, or wherever you want!
Favourite songs recommended by students at UoL.
Download the Libby app to browse and read on your mobile device.