RealSam UK

27/02/2026

World Book Day is less than a week away!

To celebrate, we’re hosting a live online RealSAM BookClub discussion on the day (the 5th of March)—open to anyone who loves books, stories, and accessible reading.

Join us for a shared conversation about reading, listening, and how stories connect us, whatever format we read in.

This month, RealSAM BookClub has been reading All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr.

We will discuss how the protagonist’s blindness is represented, and how it influences the shape of the story. However, the discussion is designed to be accessible to everyone, so please join in, even if you haven’t read the book.

Make sure to register your attendance via this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/IQzT2MqVTO2dmcpwuOvy-Q

26/02/2026

We’ve all been there: you want to help, but you don’t want to make it awkward.

A simple rule of thumb: ask first, and let the person lead. If they’d like guiding, offer your arm so they can hold you (rather than being grabbed or steered). Small details help too: say if you’re stepping down, and don’t walk away without telling them.

We’ve put together a short UK guide on what to say, what not to do, and how to guide respectfully, which you can read via the link below. 💛

https://realsam.co.uk/how-to-help-a-blind-or-partially-sighted-person-without-making-it-awkward/

26/02/2026

RNIB is marking 90 years of its Talking Books service, one of the longest-running accessible reading programmes in the world. To celebrate, they have brought together a group of well-known voices to record a very special edition of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

The service has evolved from gramophone records to digital downloads, USB sticks, DAISY CD formats, and now even through Alexa, allowing tens of thousands of blind and partially sighted people to access their favourite stories.

This creative retelling of such a cornerstone piece of British literature is a beautiful reminder of the power that stories can hold, and a credit to an organisation that has been making them accessible for almost a century.

🎧 If you haven’t experienced it yet, Pride and Prejudice is now available in this special recording for Talking Books users and for the public via the RNIB website, which you can access via the link below.

https://www.rnib.org.uk/living-with-sight-loss/independent-living/leisure/reading-and-books/talking-books/rnib-celebrates-90-years-of-our-beloved-talking-books-service/

Images pictured originally accessed via the RNIB website.

19/02/2026

Join Us for Our First Ever Live BookClub Discussion!

This World Book Day (the 5th of March), we’re hosting our first-ever live BookClub discussion — and we’d really love you to be part of it. ❤️

The session is designed to bring people together in a relaxed and welcoming space, where they can listen, reflect, and connect. There’s no pressure to finish the book and no expectation to speak — you’re just as welcome to join and listen along.

If you haven’t already, please make sure you’re registered. Your presence helps shape what BookClub becomes, and this first discussion is an important step in building something shared.

Register to join our live discussion via this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/IQzT2MqVTO2dmcpwuOvy-Q

We can’t wait to see you there!🌷🌷

07/02/2026

We’re often asked how RealSAM BookClub fits alongside services like RNIB Talking Books. It’s a fair question, and the short answer is: BookClub isn’t here to replace existing libraries, it’s here to bring them together and add something extra.

BookClub combines multiple trusted sources in one voice-first experience, including audiobooks, newspapers, and podcasts, all accessible through simple voice commands and across multiple devices. You can start listening on one device and pick up where you left off on another.

It also adds something libraries can’t: community.

Alongside listening, BookClub offers an online space where people can read alongside others, curated monthly picks, and interesting discussion prompts (plus our first live Zoom discussion on the 5th of March!).

Importantly, RealSAM has worked in partnership with RNIB since 2017. For every BookClub subscription, 20% goes directly back to RNIB, helping support their vital work for blind people across the UK.

If you’d like to understand how it all works — and why BookClub exists — we’ve written a full blog post explaining it in more detail.

👉 Read the full post here: https://realsam.co.uk/more-than-a-library-what-makes-realsam-bookclub-different/

03/02/2026

Looking for an easier way to enjoy reading if you’re blind or partially sighted — or supporting someone who is?

With RealSAM BookClub, your Alexa can now give you access to over 45,000 talking book titles.

You can also listen to your favourite newspapers and magazines, including all UK national broadsheet papers such as The Guardian, The Times, and The Daily Telegraph.

RealSAM BookClub: Your mornings just got easier.

03/02/2026

Our February Pick...

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, Narrated by Julie Teal | Playing time: 17 hours 03 minutes

We chose this for a few reasons. It’s well known (so the conversation can be open to more people), and it features a blind protagonist, Marie-Laure, whose perspective shapes how the story is told.

What it’s about
Set in occupied France during the Second World War, the novel follows two young people on different sides of the conflict: Marie-Laure, a blind French girl who must navigate a changing world through touch, sound, memory, and sheer determination, and Werner, a German boy with a talent for radios, drawn into something far larger than himself.

To encourage par,ticipation we have also decided to host our first-ever live discussion forum over Zoom. The live BookClub discussion will take place on World Book Day, Thursday 5 March, which gives everyone plenty of time to listen.
We will use the space to talk about All the Light We Cannot See, but we also want to make the discussion bigger than one title. We’re inviting everyone to talk about one book that has impacted them, whether it helped during your sight loss journey, changed how you saw yourself, or simply kept you company when you needed it.

Register to join our live discussion via this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/IQzT2MqVTO2dmcpwuOvy-Q

03/02/2026

This month we’re trying something different in BookClub: one shared read, and one live conversation.

Why? Because we want more people to join in, whether you’ve listened to ten minutes or ten hours. No catching up, and no pressure.

Our February book is All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.
Narrated by Julie Teal | 17 hours 03 minutes.

It features a blind protagonist, and it’s well known enough that even if you’re still at the beginning, you can still join the discussion.

We’re also building towards a live Zoom discussion on World Book Day (Thursday 5 March). Bring your thoughts on the book, or simply bring one title that has stayed with you, helped you, or been a comfort.

Most importantly, bring yourself!

Register to join our live discussion via this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/IQzT2MqVTO2dmcpwuOvy-Q

29/01/2026

This month, we’re really encouraging everyone to get involved in BookClub discussion — no matter how much (or how little) of the book you’ve read.

You don’t need to have finished. You don’t need to write a lot. One word, a quick thought, or a first reaction is more than enough to get the conversation going.

So if you’re already in BookClub — or you’ve been thinking about joining — this is your sign to jump into this month’s discussion. Click the link in our bio to find BookClub 💬

And keep an eye out… in February, we’ll be trying out an exciting new discussion format, and we’d love you to be part of it.

22/01/2026

22/01/2026

We are so excited to share the full video case study from our collaboration with RNIB, Samsung Electronics UK and Virgin Media O2!

The film showcases RealSAM Pocket in real life — a voice-first accessible mobile solution that helps blind and partially sighted people stay connected, informed and independent without the barriers of traditional interfaces.

Hear from our CEO and partners, and see how accessible technology works when it’s grounded in lived experience and practical design.

10/01/2026

Release the pressure of the new year!

January arrives with a familiar kind of pressure. New habits, new routines, new versions of ourselves we’re supposed to become overnight.

BookClub was never meant to be a resolution or a challenge. You listen when you can, join the conversation when you want, and come back when it suits you. No pressure, no falling behind — just stories and people moving through the month together.

As we head into the New Year, BookClub is growing too. Our BookClub app is coming soon, making it even easier to listen, reflect and stay connected — all in one place, built with accessibility at its heart.

Start the year slowly. Start it together. 📚✨

Read the full article via the link in our bio.