Learning Resources: Love2Read: Reading Well

What is Reading Well

'Reading Well' is an initiative from the Reading Agency which helps you to understand and manage your health and wellbeing using helpful reading. Research shows that reading for pleasure can reduce the symptoms of depression, build empathy and help us build relationships with others. Reading for just 10 minutes a day can make a difference to your mental health and well -being.

Reading Well for Teens was launched in 2022 and is a collection of books and digital resources aimed at young adults to help young people understand feelings and boost confidence.

Here's a selection of books available from the LRC. For more information, and more titles, try the Reading Well and Mood Boosting Books links. If you would like to see some of the titles added to our collection, just let us know.

Reading well recommendations

Reading Well

Calm by Arlene K. Unger
ISBN: 9781845436391
This little book contains 50 mindfulness and relaxation exercises to help you unwind and de-stress. Written by Dr Unger a clinical psychologist, an excellent guide to a calmer life.
The curious incident of the dog in the night-time. by Mark Haddon
ISBN: 9780099450252
Christopher Boone is fifteen and has Asperger’s Syndrome. He knows a great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour’s dog murdered he sets out on a journey which will turn his whole world upside down.
Quiet the mind by Matthew Johnstone
ISBN: 9781780331188
This beautifully illustrated guide is an inspiring and practical book which shows you how to meditate without the need for uncomfortable lotus positions or prayer beads! Matthew's guide to meditation will enable to you to feel more present, have more energy and greater concentration, improve your mood and sleep more soundly.
The teenage guide to stress by Nicola Morgan
ISBN: 9781406353143
Publication Date: 2014
The Teenage Guide to Stress clearly explains the biology behind stress and a huge range of strategies and suggestions to deal with it and prevent negative symptoms. A list of useful resources completes this fantastically wide-ranging, reassuring, eye-opening and comprehensive guide for young people.

Mood boosting books

Mood Boosting Books

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz; Mark Brabant (Cover Design by)
ISBN: 9781442408937
Publication Date: 2014-04-01
Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship--the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.
Am I normal yet? by Holly Bourne
ISBN: 9781409590309
Evie wants to be normal. Now she’s almost off her meds and at a college where no one knows her as the-girl-who-went-nuts, there’s only one thing left on her list… But relationships can mess with anyone’s head – something Evie’s new friends know only too well. But if Evie won’t tell them her secrets, how can they stop her making a huge mistake?
I'll give you the sun by Jandy Nelson
ISBN: 9781406326499
A novel that will leave you laughing and crying.once. For fans of John Green. Jude and her twin Noah were incredibly close – until a tragedy drove them apart, and now they are barely speaking. Then Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy as well as a captivating new mentor, both of whom may just need her as much as she needs them. What the twins don’t realize is that each of them has only half the story and if they can just find their way back to one another, they have a chance to remake their world.