[Publib] Bibliography of Books Suitable for Reading to Seniors

[Melissa K. Davidson]

I asked a similar question a while ago and compiled the responses below.
I also read recently A guide to the birds of East Africa and decided I
will read that first.

 

Ann B. Ross's Miss Julia books 

Joan A. Medlicott's Covington, NC books

Adriana Trigiani is not Southern but you may like her Big Stone Gap
books

Curtiss Ann Matlock's Valentine, Oklahoma books: 

*         Love in a Small Town, 

*         If Wishes Were Horses, 

*         Lost Highways, 

*         Driving Lessons, 

*         Cold Tea on a Hot Day,

*         At the Corner of Love and Heartache, 

*         Recipes for Easy Living

*         Sweet Dreams at the Goodnight Motel

Deborah Smith
Jan Karon's Mitford series
Red Bird Christmas by Fannie Flagg 

They seem to love the Chicken Soup books.

Philip Gulley's HARMONY series fit this category

 

Do not overlook Louis L'Amore.
http://www.louislamour.com/community/guests7.htm 

I've only read a few....but some of my guy friends LOVE his work.

http://www.louislamour.com/community/readersguide.htm has a listing for
WOMEN READERS!

 

A book that will capture you & not let go is LONESOME DOVE by Larry
McMurtry.  

The others in the "series" are not as strong.

My only reservation to re-reading this book is the section with Blue
Duck (the REALLY bad guy) is written so powerfully, I have not had the
gumption to re-read the book.

 

A bit edgier & less politically correct & stronger language (than Karon
or Ann B. Ross) are the writings of

Bill Bryson & David Sedaris & even Sarah Vowell's writings.

All have segements so funny, you'll need a bathroom break in the mist of
reading.

Garrison Keillor would also fit this collection.

 

If you have not read "the classics" in a long time, some of my favorites

Jane Austin

Mark Twain

Louisa May Alcott (I am also finished listening to LITTLE WOMEN - it is
superb!)

 

Finally, I ALWAYS recommend NEVIL SHUTE
http://www.nevilshute.org/biblio_new.php 

Shute wrote from mid 1920's thru 1961.  

HE WAS VERY POPULAR but I never hear of him until about 1980 when
Masterpiece Theatre presented A TOWN LIKE ALICE.


Garden Spells and Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for
recent titles, Walk Across America, Cheaper by the Dozen and anything by
Miss Read for old standbys.  



Also, Philip Gulley's HARMONY books are fun.

 

Alexander McCall Smith's trilogy PORTUGUESE IRREGULAR VERBS is also
quite funny.  I did not realize the 3rd title was the 3rd title of a
series...so I listened to them in reverse order...the 2nd one is
probably my favorite.  The humor is like the inane, ridiculously
triteness of FRAZIER episodes.

 

Finally, Bill Bryson's books are laugh-out-loud hilarious.....sometimes
the language is a bit strong, if that is a concern.

           NOTE: I personally did not really like his "history"
one...but WALK IN THE WOODS and I'M A STRANGER HERE MYSELF will have one
crying tears of mirth

 

George Dawson.  Life Is So Good.

  Biography of the son of sharecroppers who learned to read at the age
of 98.

 

Bob Greene.  Once Upon a Town.

  About the North Platte, Nebraska Canteen which served every soldier
who passed through on the train, heading east or west, during World War
II.

 

Paul Auster.  I Thought My Father Was God.

  True stories by everyday folks, submitted to the NPR Story Project.
Some wonderful stories.  You could pick and choose among them those you
want to share.

 

I used to run a program like this at a senior facility in Chelsea,
Michigan. My group was in an Alzheimer's ward, so if yours are more
mentally alert, you might have more leeway. In general, I found that
short pieces were best or, for longer pieces, I stopped frequently and
asked some questions to engage the audience and try to get them to
relate to the topic of discussion.

A couple of things I remember working well were Erma Bombeck (but NOT
Dave Barry), Robert Fulghum, and a woman named Effie Leland Wilder who
writes about life in a retirement home. A Christmas Carol by Dickens was
also popular. Sometimes I did not read a story so much as talk about a
theme. For example, on Martin Luther King Day, I read the I Have a Dream
speech and talked about his life, and some of the senior shared stories
they remembered from the civil rights era of the 60s.

Things that didn't work well were anything with a lot of slang or
complicated language. I was excited about Mark Twain, but it was
difficult for people to understand.

Have you explored Bifolkal kits? http://bifolkal.org/ These have lots of
hands-on activities that can supplement a senior program. They aren't
cheap, but you can often borrow them from your regional liibrary for the
blind to test them out. I did not tend to use them as the core of the
program but rather a supplement.

Another thing that I found worked well was to give people a little
souvenir, like a color printout of a relevant picture or a copy of a
poem you're reading. It's definitely best to have multiple copies rather
than just one to pass around because some people don't have the capacity
to remember to share.

And one thing that didn't work was children's books, which the seniors
found offensive. I did once read James Herriot dog stories and used the
children's version of "Only One Woof," but it was originally written for
adults, so that was OK. Pets are always a great topic.



My most popular readings were poetry, especially the classics, Keats,
Longworth, Shelley, etc. The audience also enjoyed James Whitcomb Riley,
done in dialect. 

 

In my previous job I did bimonthly booktalks at one of the local nursing
homes for about 15 years.  Everything I took was in large print.  As I
remember, celebrity bios, cozy mysteries, & light fiction or history did
OK.  Sex, violence, controversy, any book that was too big and heavy,
and anything overly British (we had a lot of old Ulverscroft titles)
didn't go as well.  

 

Melissa Davidson

Adult Services Librarian

Staunton Public Library

1 Churchville Ave.

Staunton, VA 24401

540.332.3902

www.stauntonlibrary.org
<http://www.staunton.va.us/default.asp?pageid=48BD7E6B-787C-49EE-A7C1-8D
D714653A32> 

 

 

 

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