The dementia-friendly book club aims to meet at Puke Ariki library once a month. Photo: RNZ/Robin Martin
A book club with a difference is turning heads at Puke Ariki in New Plymouth.
The lively discussion and chuckles emanating from a corner of the library comes from a dementia-friendly book club busy discussing the merits of the Kennedy family.
The book club - which focuses on people living with early symptoms of the disease - has met for about five years, inspired by research that found reading offers significant benefits for people with neurological conditions.
Dr Sally Rimkeit's 2017 study revealed, not only did reading evoke memories, but it facilitated social connection, self-expression and feelings of self-awareness.
Jimmy Biesiek's health took a turn for the worse, when he suffered a heart attack and stroke about six years ago. The 81-year-old was a fan of book club.
"What I like about it is the topics that come up that I've sort of heard about, seen about them and it's brought it all back again to memory," he said. "So, like the Kennedys now, I saw all that on TV."
Lance Raxworthy lives with Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The 70-year-old loved the social aspect of book club.
"It's just a chance to get together with and meeting other people, exploring books and it just gets the brain thinking a bit more," he said. "Yeah, just a good bunch of people to be around."
Librarian Louanne Rielly said the trick was choosing subjects members could relate to.
"The goal is to try to get them to interact and discuss some of what we're talking about, so we just kind of go with a topic.
"Sometimes we do a short story, sometimes we just research stuff on the internet, sometimes it's a chapter from a book, and we try and read a bit, talk about something that happened in it and read a bit more."
Alzheimer's Taranaki field worker Anne Fletcher said book club opened doors to the past. Photo: RNZ/Robin Martin
It was hugely satisfying.
"Oh, the rewards for myself, I just feel really good about it," she said. "I like doing the research for it and I feel really good, when somebody gets excited about the topic and gets going, and telling us stuff that they remember."
Alzheimer's Taranaki field worker Anne Fletcher said book club opened doors to the past.
"With folk whose memories are declining, they usually have good storage, a bank of information in their long-term memory," she said. "That's why some of these topics go back, like the Kennedy assassinations... Lance would've been how old?
"People can actually retrieve that information more easily than something that's happened recently."
Book club was also a lot of fun.
"It gives them a chance to relive some funny stories. Jimmy's told us some great ones about the cops and his little Fiat Bambina, when he was a young dude about town, and things like that.
Joley Ham says book club has provided precious moments to share with mum Geraldine. Photo: RNZ/Robin Martin
"It's humorous, and we go away and we talk about it, and talk about in the car on the way home."
Joley Ham was at book club with mum Geraldine. For her, these moments were precious.
"It's important that we make the most of the time that we have," she said. "Make the most of every minute, because the minute before is lost, so we're just in the moment now.
"Anytime we can stimulate mum and put a smile on her face is good, and this group helps a lot. It helps me."
The dementia-friendly book club aimed to meet at Puke Ariki once a month.
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