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Book Club

15th July 2021,    
18:00 - 19:00

Is the only reason you never judge a book by its cover because you can’t read the cover in the first place? With three rooms to suit different ability levels, the Book Club is a welcoming group who meet every week to answer each other’s questions regarding reading using refreshable braille and to practice reading amongst friends. You don’t have to choose your group in advance, and you can move to another group at any time if you think it would be more suitable.

We are currently reading Just William, by Richmal Crompton. It can be found:

  • In ahrd copy in the UK from RNIB, in both grade 1 and grade 2
  • In grade 1, in the “Children g1” folder on the RNIB Orbit Reader SD card from April 2020 or April 2021
  • In grade 2, in the “Children Stories” folder on the RNIB Orbit Reader SD card from April 2020, or the “Children Stories 2” folder on the card from April 2021
  • For download in the UK from RNIB Reading Services
  • For download in the US from BARD, the Braille and Audio Reading Download facility of the National Library Service for the blind and print disabled (NLS)

This week’s starting places are as follows:

  • Beginners: Page 11
  • Intermediate: Page 40
  • Advanced: Chapter 9

An Introduction to Grade 3

20th July 2021,    
19:30 - 20:30

Most of us know about grade 2, of course, with its 180 contractions designed to make braille quicker to read and write and occupy less space.

Grade 3 extends this concept still further with over 300 additional contractions, rules to allow vowels to be omitted, and provisions for reducing spaces and new lines. Whilst it’s not an officially recognised code, it has a loyal following amongst long-time braillists, who have used it very successfully to take shorthand notes or transcribe passages of text for reading aloud. It’s especially useful in conjunction with a hand frame or slate and stylus.

James Bowden will be leading this session. Whilst he won’t be able to cover all of the 300+ contractions in an hour, he’ll explain the concepts used to form them, introduce some of the most useful ones and the rules which govern their use, and signpost to resources with more information.

A handout will be made available after the session, but if you’d like to follow along live, you are encouraged to have a means of writing braille to hand, such as a slate and stylus or Perkins brailler.

Grade 3 is not easily back-translatable, so if you wish to follow along on a braille notetaker, please ensure that braille translation is disabled or set to computer braille (preferably US). If your notetaker has a B RF editor, you are strongly encouraged to use this. You could also use Perky Duck or BrailleZephyr on your computer.

The pace of the session is likely to be quite brisk.

Book Club

22nd July 2021,    
18:00 - 19:00

Is the only reason you never judge a book by its cover because you can’t read the cover in the first place? With three rooms to suit different ability levels, the Book Club is a welcoming group who meet every week to answer each other’s questions regarding reading using refreshable braille and to practice reading amongst friends. You don’t have to choose your group in advance, and you can move to another group at any time if you think it would be more suitable.

We are currently reading Just William, by Richmal Crompton. It can be found:

  • In ahrd copy in the UK from RNIB, in both grade 1 and grade 2
  • In grade 1, in the “Children g1” folder on the RNIB Orbit Reader SD card from April 2020 or April 2021
  • In grade 2, in the “Children Stories” folder on the RNIB Orbit Reader SD card from April 2020, or the “Children Stories 2” folder on the card from April 2021
  • For download in the UK from RNIB Reading Services
  • For download in the US from BARD, the Braille and Audio Reading Download facility of the National Library Service for the blind and print disabled (NLS)

This week’s starting places are as follows:

  • Beginners: Page 15
  • Intermediate: TBC
  • Advanced: Chapter 10

Braille Bar

27th July 2021,    
19:30 - 20:30

Our popular braille-related drop-in session. No registration required – just turn up and ask your braille questions.

Book Club Social

29th July 2021,    
18:00 - 19:00

Is the only reason you never judge a book by its cover because you can’t read the cover in the first place? With three rooms — Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced — the Book Club is a welcoming group who meet every week to answer each other’s questions regarding reading using refreshable braille and to practice reading amongst friends.

This week, we’ll be joining our usual reading rooms for the first part of the session, then mixing things up from there on by going into different rooms with a random selection of people in them. This is a nice way to get to know people who you might not have spoken to before.

Book Club

2nd September 2021,    
18:00 - 19:00

Is the only reason you never judge a book by its cover because you can’t read the cover in the first place? With three rooms to suit different ability levels, the Book Club is a welcoming group who meet every week to support each other with the ups and downs of mastering the braille code, answer each other’s questions regarding reading using refreshable braille and practice reading amongst friends. You don’t have to choose your group in advance, and you can move to another group at any time if you think it would be more suitable.

Here is what we are currently reading and our starting places for this week:

Beginners: Paddington Turns Detective and Other Funny Stories, by Michael Bond

This book is available:

  • In grades 1 and 2 and in double line spacing from the RNIB Library
  • On the RNIB Orbit Reader SD card from April 2021 in the “Children Stories 1” folder for grade 2, and the “Children G1” folder for grade 1
  • For download in grades 1 and 2 via RNIB Reading Services

This week we are starting on page 13.

Intermediate: Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell

This book is available:

  • In grade 2, single line spacing from the RNIB Library
  • On the RNIB Orbit Reader SD card in grade 2 in the “Classics” folder (April 2020 version) or the “Classic” folder (April 2021 version)
  • For download in grade 2 via RNIB Reading Services

N.B. the file on the Orbit Reader SD card begins with the letter N, not the digit 1.

This week we are starting on page 259, having read the Prologue over the summer.

Advanced: The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, by Phaedra Patrick

This book is available:

  • In grade 2, single line spacing from the RNIB Library
  • On the RNIB Orbit Reader SD card from April 2021 in grade 2 in the “Humorous Fiction” folder
  • For download in grade 2 via RNIB Reading Services

N.B. the file on the Orbit Reader SD card begins with the letter T, not the letter C.

This week we are starting with chapter 1.

To order books from the RNIB Library in hard copy, call the helpline on 0303 123 9999.

Using Braille on the Internet

7th September 2021,    
19:30 - 20:30

We’re delighted to announce our first Masterclass after our summer break: Using Braille on the Internet. Dave Williams, Chairman of the Braillists, will explore how to use braille displays with various combinations of screen reader and web browser, unpick some of the jargon that appears on the display, and explain how to navigate without a QWERTY keyboard or touch screen.

Book Club

9th September 2021,    
18:00 - 19:00

Is the only reason you never judge a book by its cover because you can’t read the cover in the first place? With three rooms to suit different ability levels, the Book Club is a welcoming group who meet every week to support each other with the ups and downs of mastering the braille code, answer each other’s questions regarding reading using refreshable braille and practice reading amongst friends. You don’t have to choose your group in advance, and you can move to another group at any time if you think it would be more suitable.

Here is what we are currently reading and our starting places for this week:

Beginners: Paddington Turns Detective and Other Funny Stories, by Michael Bond

This book is available:

  • In grades 1 and 2 and in double line spacing from the RNIB Library
  • On the RNIB Orbit Reader SD card from April 2021 in the “Children Stories 1” folder for grade 2, and the “Children G1” folder for grade 1
  • For download in grades 1 and 2 via RNIB Reading Services

This week we are starting on page 16.

Intermediate: Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell

This book is available:

  • In grade 2, single line spacing from the RNIB Library
  • On the RNIB Orbit Reader SD card in grade 2 in the “Classics” folder (April 2020 version) or the “Classic” folder (April 2021 version)
  • For download in grade 2 via RNIB Reading Services

N.B. the file on the Orbit Reader SD card begins with the letter N, not the digit 1.

This week we are starting on page 266.

Advanced: The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, by Phaedra Patrick

This book is available:

  • In grade 2, single line spacing from the RNIB Library
  • On the RNIB Orbit Reader SD card from April 2021 in grade 2 in the “Humorous Fiction” folder
  • For download in grade 2 via RNIB Reading Services

N.B. the file on the Orbit Reader SD card begins with the letter T, not the letter C.

This week we are starting with chapter 3.

To order books from the RNIB Library in hard copy, call the helpline on 0303 123 9999.

Braille Bar

14th September 2021,    
19:30 - 20:30

Our popular braille-related drop-in session. No registration required – just turn up and ask your braille questions.

Book Club

16th September 2021,    
18:00 - 19:00

Is the only reason you never judge a book by its cover because you can’t read the cover in the first place? With three rooms to suit different ability levels, the Book Club is a welcoming group who meet every week to support each other with the ups and downs of mastering the braille code, answer each other’s questions regarding reading using refreshable braille and practice reading amongst friends. You don’t have to choose your group in advance, and you can move to another group at any time if you think it would be more suitable.

Here is what we are currently reading and our starting places for this week:

Beginners: Paddington Turns Detective and Other Funny Stories, by Michael Bond

This book is available:

  • In grades 1 and 2 and in double line spacing from the RNIB Library
  • On the RNIB Orbit Reader SD card from April 2021 in the “Children Stories 1” folder for grade 2, and the “Children G1” folder for grade 1
  • For download in grades 1 and 2 via RNIB Reading Services

This week we are starting on page 18.

Intermediate: Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell

This book is available:

  • In grade 2, single line spacing from the RNIB Library
  • On the RNIB Orbit Reader SD card in grade 2 in the “Classics” folder (April 2020 version) or the “Classic” folder (April 2021 version)
  • For download in grade 2 via RNIB Reading Services

N.B. the file on the Orbit Reader SD card begins with the letter N, not the digit 1.

This week we are starting on page 273.

Advanced: The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, by Phaedra Patrick

This book is available:

  • In grade 2, single line spacing from the RNIB Library
  • On the RNIB Orbit Reader SD card from April 2021 in grade 2 in the “Humorous Fiction” folder
  • For download in grade 2 via RNIB Reading Services

N.B. the file on the Orbit Reader SD card begins with the letter T, not the letter C.

This week we are starting with chapter 5.

To order books from the RNIB Library in hard copy, call the helpline on 0303 123 9999.