Northampton General Hospital · A&E waiting rooms

A little reading can make the wait feel lighter.

Welcome to the Free Reading Hub. Explore newspapers, magazines, books and comics while you wait, visit or take a break. Open a section and choose something to read on your phone, tablet or computer.

Free to accessAdults & childrenNo library card needed for the links below

Choose what you’d like to read

These links lead to free-to-read publisher pages and public-domain or openly licensed libraries. Some sites may offer optional donations or ask you to accept cookies; you do not need to buy anything to use the free resources listed here.

Newspapers & news

Latest headlines and reporting

Catch up with UK and world news from established news organisations, including free online reporting.

BBC News ↗ The Guardian ↗ Sky News ↗ The Independent ↗

Magazines

Features, hobbies, ideas & culture

Explore free digital magazines and current features. Full-issue availability varies by publisher; the links here do not require a paid subscription to browse the free reading offered.

Standpoint – free magazine archive & new writing ↗ Towpath Talk – free monthly issue ↗ Irregular Magazine – free digital issues ↗ Smithsonian Magazine – free features ↗

Children’s reading

Stories, learning & discovery

Enjoy age-friendly stories, illustrated books, science and fascinating facts for younger readers.

StoryWeaver – children’s books ↗ Project Gutenberg – children’s classics ↗ National Geographic Kids – facts & activities ↗ Unite for Literacy – picture books ↗

Books for adults

Classics, fiction & non-fiction

Read books online or download free editions that are in the public domain or shared with permission.

Project Gutenberg – 75,000+ free ebooks ↗ Standard Ebooks – carefully formatted classics ↗ Potha – free books, no account ↗ PublicDomain.co.uk – UK-checked classics ↗

Comics & graphic stories

Illustrated adventures

Browse public-domain comics and independent stories that creators have made available under open licences.

Old Comics – public-domain & open-licensed ↗ Comic Book Plus – classic comics to read online ↗ Pepper&Carrot – free open-licensed webcomic ↗

Explore more free reading

More topics and discoveries

Find additional reading, science, nature, history and culture from trusted public-interest organisations.

NASA – free ebooks & publications ↗ The Conversation – expert articles ↗ British Library – explore collections ↗

A note about free accessAll links are selected for free reading or free-to-access content. Some publishers offer a mixture of free and paid material, and individual titles or features may change. This hub does not provide paid subscriptions, bypass paywalls or require patients to share personal information.