For the Love of Books

Time

4 3 2 1 All Stages

Benefits

Participants

One to One, Self Led or Group Activity

What you need

A selection of books or short stories (the latter is better as people will struggle to follow a long story over a number of weeks)
Audio books
Some book ideas below to read:
Stories by Roald Dahl appeal to young and old alike and are easy and fun to read
The Jeeves & Wooster Series by P G Wodehouse
Just William Books by Richmal Compton – again young persons books but to read older people can have fun hearing about Williams exploits
Adrian Mole Stories by Sue Townsend
Or for more moral and heart-warming Aesop’s Fables
Chicken Soup for the Soul range of books

Intro

Reading a whole book alone is often too much for people living with dementia. That’s why reading aloud is such a wonderful way to help them devour tales of love, adventure and adversity once again.

Book clubs aren’t just about enjoying great books, though – they’re also a space to socialise, and talk with friends about the story and characters.

Just take your time, digest the books slowly and let the conversation flow.
You could do this as a one to one activity also

Top tip

Prepare a series of prompt questions to help lead the discussion. For example, if the book was about a holiday, you could ask questions about their favourite holiday as a child. “What holiday did you enjoy most as a child?”, “Where did you go?”, “Who did you go with?” etc.

The Activity

Gather everyone together in a quiet room
Read a short story or a chapter to the group, or play it
Encourage people to read the chapter or story aloud, if they wish
Once you’ve read the story or chapter, allow time to discuss it. Ask things like, “What did you like best?”, “What other books did this remind you of?”, “Which character would you most like to meet?”, “Who is your least favourite character?”, “How did the book make you feel?”