Library
Isabella Scollard
73
2026 is the National Year of Reading, and to accompany this initiative, we are excited to welcome a new collection to Augustine House Library, revolving around reading for pleasure.
The ‘Read and Relax’ collection is, as its name suggests, full of books that are not directly tied to your studies but are meant solely for enjoyment. The likes of which include fiction, such as fantasy, science fiction, romance, award-winning contemporary works, poetry, graphic novels, and more. There is also an array of non-fiction, ranging from well-being to cookbooks to biographies.
The books are categorised as standard 4-week loans and will count towards students’ book borrowing limit of 20 books at once, so you have ample time to savour and enjoy the stories.
Photo taken by staff of the Read and Relax Space
We hope to embrace a vibrant reading culture, as threaded in the very heritage of Canterbury and the likes of Chaucer and Aphra Benn. Therefore, the collection truly wants to emphasise inclusivity through translated fiction, LGBTQ reads, diverse authors, settings, and topics, both to encourage exploration beyond your usual interests and to reflect our student population.
We have intentionally sourced books beyond prestigious literary awards to further celebrate books that have been popular across media like TikTok, Substack, and YouTube – the communities on these platforms are rife with recommendations that feel more personalised and reflect the popular trends of late. (Yes, we do have some Romantasy!)
Grow our Collection!
Throughout April and May, we displayed some ‘Grow our Collection’ trees and Post-it notes in the foyer and ground floor collaborative zones.
We asked students to jot down some recommendations and books on their to-be-read lists for us to incorporate into the collection.
Photo of our Grow our Collection trees, taken by library staff.
Thank you for all the great input, particularly with the manga, fantasy, and non-fiction suggestions such as student cooking and budgeting. You’ll spot these lurking on the shelves!
Where is the collection?
This new collection will be located in the ground-floor collaborative zone with comfy seating for you to lounge and read in. We want the area to feel distinct from a typical academic atmosphere, with beanbags, cosy armchairs, a chessboard, and plants scattered throughout to create an open but intimate and inviting sanctuary.
We hope this reading nook offers comfort and escapism, but also serves as a friendly ‘third space’ to interact with your student peers.
In fact, libraries are an amazing example of a communal third space. I think many people today, across all ages, are craving community, and this Read and Relax space can offer that. A cultural shift away from the intimidating libraries of the past, full of ‘shushing’ librarians, we hope this new spot becomes a hub for recharging and rest, but also conversation and curiosity.
Photo taken by staff of the Read and Relax Space
To browse the collection digitally on LibrarySearch, simply leave the search bar blank and press Enter. Then you can tick the ‘Read and Relax’ checkbox under the ‘Location’ tab on the left side of your screen and finally click ‘Include’. This will list the books in our collection.
Use a keyword in the search engine if you have a specific genre or topic in mind, and this will narrow your results down to more relevant books.
Can we tempt you with a prize?
To coincide with ‘Read and Relax ‘, we are running a competition for our students to win a CCCU teddy bear (always a fan favourite) and a £30 bookshop voucher. You can spend this on merchandise or purchase the rest of the series you have started from the collection!
Photograph of CCCU teddy bear, taken by CCCU bookshop staff
For a chance to win, simply borrow a book from the Read and Relax collection, fiction or non-fiction, and fill out the form through our QR code or button linked below.
This QR code will also be displayed in the Read and Relax area.
All you need to do to enter is provide your name and university email, which book you have borrowed, and what you would like to see next in the collection.
One lucky winner will be chosen through a randomised draw and contacted via their university email.
The competition will close on November 20th this year (20/11/26) and is only open to our CCCU students.
There is only one entry per person, not per number of books borrowed, but if you love to keep your mind busy and roam across different topics, don’t let that stop you from borrowing multiple books at a time!
We want this collection to be shaped by you…
We don’t want this collection to be a static capsule of 2026 literary trends. It should keep evolving and reflecting our readers’ tastes.
We hope this collection feels celebratory and inclusive of our university membership’s voice, but if you feel a gap in representation, we want to hear from you and grow!
Get involved with the competition and recommend a favourite book or one you have been eyeing up to read. After the deadline closes, we would still love your ongoing input and will create other routes to share your recommendations – perhaps a feedback box or QR code on an upcoming Read and Relax bookmark… stay tuned.
Additionally, our library champions have suggested and reviewed some books to spy amongst the shelves. We will post their poster reviews on our social media platforms and dot them around the space.
Poster created by CCCU staff and students on Canva.
We will regularly update our book displays, offering curated selections like sweltering summer reads, LGBTQ gems, or a dark academia spotlight. If you would like to jump in and contribute to your university community, you can always volunteer as a library champion and watch your impact blossom.
Poster created by CCCU staff and students on Canva.
We are really excited to watch this collection grow, so it’s up to you to water it and send us your next book picks.
Discover more books on Libby!
Libby is an incredible app that offers a range of e-books, audiobooks and magazines. We would love to expand our CCCU collection on Libby, and with your suggestions we can offer a range of different formats to savour your favourite stories.
The e-books are perfect for reading on the go; however, I’ve particularly enjoyed exploring the audio-books this summer– they are great company for some long dog walks or sunny hikes. Particularly after the exhaustion of studies and work, I find my eyes are often too tired to read, so audio-books are a saviour. With my headphones on, my body may be physically in the train carriage during the journey home, but my mind has transcended elsewhere, wandering through stories.
If you enjoyed the recent Odyssey film by Christopher Nolan, then the audiobook of Troy, retold by Stephen Fry, may be a tempting next pick…
Screenshot from Libby with CCCU library access.
…And with an inspired Greek mythology kick, maybe you would want to suggest the Odyssey or Mythos retellings to add in our collection!
To enjoy Libby, you can download the app on a phone or tablet. It’s available across Apple, Android, Amazon, and more. You can browse and borrow items as well as download them to read or listen offline. Sign in first with your CCCU account as your library card, and you’ll have access to all of our resources.
You can also access Libby via LibrarySearch BY selecting Libby on the A-Z databases.
Screenshot of CCCU LibrarySearch homepage.
The accessibility features of Libby are another benefit of this avenue for reading. Many of us love the feel of physical pages in our hands, but the customisable formats on Libby open up so many more possibilities for consuming stories. Libby works with screen readers like NVDA and Voiceover, but there are also adjustable playback speeds, text scaling, colour filters and font designs such as the OpenDyslexic font with larger spacing.
Below are some popular reads of late from our CCCU Libby collection:
Screenshot from Libby with CCCU library access.
Now it’s time for you to venture into the shelves…
Keep an eye out for our follow-up blog post in the Read and Relax series exploring why reading is so important and how that’s reflected in our modern culture today!
All book covers included in this blog are in the public domain.
Main image created by lucasgeorgewendt, sourced by Pixabay, Content License – Pixabay. Downloaded September 2026.
