Intergenerational book clubs provide the opportunity to connect seniors with younger age groups and allow book discussions to have a wide variety of opinions based on life experiences. These activities are both social and cognitive in nature and have a variety of positive benefits for all participants.

Benefits of an Intergenerational Book Club

The National Institute of Health recognizes that social interaction and cognitive activities can delay the onset of dementia. As our population ages, keeping individuals healthy and independent for as long as possible is important to our society as a whole. Social activities with cognitive requirements have a dramatic reduction in the onset of dementia. The act of reading and discussing books is both a social and a cognitive activity.

Regular social interaction also reduces depression among all participants, both young and older.  They feel included. The younger members of the group can learn about history and why their parents and grandparents may have particular viewpoints. Reading novels can help increase attention span in younger readers used to short snippets on social media. 

Participants who live at some distance from the other generations of their family can develop relationships with generations that they do not otherwise encounter.

Book club meetings can also present an opportunity for senior members to learn about digital technology.

Who Should Participate?

There are many age groups that can be paired with seniors.  Students in middle school or high school can be great participants.  The younger members of the group can enlighten seniors about the latest trends and seniors can give students a historical perspective. Sharing a book can create a bridge between generations.

If you are wanting to work only with adults, a senior parent/adult offspring is a great mix to get a variety of opinions and encourages all participants to understand each other better and create common experiences. Book discussions provide the opportunity to discuss a variety of topics which might not otherwise come up in day-to-day family conversations.

You can also recruit members from the general community in places where a variety of ages come together like libraries, fitness clubs, and community centers.

Book clubs are a great activity for individuals with any physical disabilities.  This activity can easily be done with a wheelchair if required.

 How to Make Book Selections

If your book club includes young adult readers be sure to include books that are age appropriate for your younger readers.  By selecting books with universal themes like identity and love, participants can bring their own experience to the discussion.  Choosing a book set in an historical era that the seniors lived through allows them to bring that era alive for the younger readers. A mix of both classics and contemporary works makes for a varied book list. 

Select books available in a variety of formats.  Participants may prefer print, or digital or audiobook formats.  Using a variety of formats allows both for personal preference and inclusion of participants who may have a disability which requires them to use a particular format.

Be sure to pay attention to the length of the book.  Members may prefer shorter titles or a more in depth review of a particular topic or era.  In your first few meetings pay particular attention to the feedback of members about the positives and negatives of the books that have been selected so that future titles can be tailored to the likes of your members.

Be sure to tell your participants that they are under no obligation to finish the entire book in preparation for a meeting.  A book about a particular era may trigger unpleasant memories and be upsetting to a participant.  A reader may find a book boring, while the next book could be very enjoyable to them. Letting your participants call it quits with a particular book encourages them to continue on to the next book. Let your participants make reading suggestions. Technology savvy students can help seniors navigate through online library catalogs to look for book selections.

How To Structure an Intergenerational Book Club

Of course, your book club can meet in person with all participants meeting in the same room.  You can also have an all-digital format with virtual meetings.  In addition you could use a variety of hybrid formats.  If your book club is centered in a senior community, the seniors could attend in person and the younger participants join in virtually.  If your book club is centered out of a school, then the students could meet in person and the seniors join in virtually.  If the book club is headquartered out of a library anyone available could meet in person and others join in virtually.

How to Run the Meeting

There are lots of ways to run a book club meeting.  You can use a single moderator for all meetings, often a teacher or librarian who is knowledgeable about the book and author and can prepare a list of questions as springboards for discussion.

Volunteers can take turns choosing and preparing to present information about the book and author and incorporate why this particular book appealed to them. Whatever meeting format is used, discussions should be respectful and inclusive. If your group takes turns leading there are lots of online resources available to find information about the book and author, plus discussion questions.  If any of your members are unfamiliar with online searching, they can pair with other members who are technology savvy.  

Time at each meeting can be devoted to digital literacy.  Demonstrating how to use e-readers, searching online resources and how to sign out digital resources at the local library.

In Conclusion

Book club members report an increased quality of life and are more likely to suffer reduced levels of depression and dementia. Participants read more widely, moving out of their comfort zone.  For some members it can be a return to reading after decades of work and child rearing. A book club can also help senior members to increase their digital know how.

Additional Resources:

Creating Connections: Intergenerational Book Clubs

https://programminglibrarian.org/programs/creating-connections-intergenerational-book-club

How an Intergenerational Book Club Can Prevent Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: A Pilot Study

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9869223/