My grandmother (79) has age-related dementia. She LOVES to read, always has and is the reason I love books. Unfortunately, she is struggling to follow the plot lines and stories as her dementia progresses with age. I am wondering if anyone can recommend some simpler titles that she may be able to request at her local public library (United States). She really enjoys a good character, and a good story. Her interests are fairly wide but definitely fiction- she likes mystery, some fantasy and sci fi. She likes a story that makes her feel good in the end, but it doesn’t need to be overly fluffy. She likes fantastical elements, but has been struggling with complicated plots and “big word” writing. I’ve noticed she likes strong female characters, a smaller character list, and non-traditional coming of age arcs. Some titles I’ve given her that she has enjoyed are:
The Secret life of Bees (Monk Kidd)
The Buried Giant (Ishiguro)
Wish you Well (Baldacci)
She also loves the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, although I’m not sure if she would take to them now if she hadn’t read them multiple times in years previous. She would also be open to YA writing, but is not very interested in romance or teen drama. If it matters, she is a very liberal lesbian (she’s never shown an interest in queer literature particularly). Sorry for the long post, my grandma is my everything and as she lives alone off-grid, it breaks my heart that she can’t fill the time with her favorite activity as she once did.
by sweetkatyalee