The Reading Agency launches new Reading Well for dementia book collection
Recommended reading for people affected by dementia endorsed by people with lived experience, health professionals and leading professional organisations.
A new Reading Well for dementia collection will launch in public libraries across England and Wales during Dementia Action Week 2024 (13-19 May). The scheme – run by national charity The Reading Agency and delivered in partnership with Libraries Connected and SCL Cymru – will support people living with dementia, carers and family members including younger children to understand more about dementia.
There are around 900,000 people living with dementia in the UK, and this number is expected to rise to over 1 million by 2025.1 Alongside this there are around 700,000 unpaid carers for people with dementia2 and more than half the UK public know someone with a diagnosis.3
Within this context, Reading Well for dementia adds value to existing services by providing information and support for people affected by the condition, supporting them to understand and manage their health and wellbeing.
Evidence shows people find Reading Well helpful with over 9 in 10 people saying they found their book helpful and over 8 in 10 people saying their book helped them to understand more about their health needs. Alongside this, 9 in 10 health professionals say that books help support people outside of consultation time.
The booklist features 20 books in England and 21 books in Wales (due to the inclusion of an original Welsh language title) and a selection of digital resources that provide quality-assured information, advice and support to help people living with dementia, carers and family members understand more about the condition. The scheme includes books providing information and advice, personal stories and children’s fiction. The books can be borrowed for free from public libraries or they can be recommended by GPs, nurses, counsellors, link workers and other health care and dementia professionals. To ensure the books are accessible to a range of people they are also available as e-books and audiobooks.
In partnership with Books Council of Wales, Reading Well schemes are available bilingually in all 22 Welsh library authorities with books translated into Welsh language and published in Wales. Reading Well for dementia is the first Reading Well scheme to include an original Welsh language title.
“I’ve become very involved in the world of dementia awareness after caring for my late mother who had the disease. I’m delighted The Reading Agency has developed this book collection to encourage people to read about dementia. When my mother developed dementia 20 years ago, I knew very little about it. I needed a great deal of help to learn how to cope and to help my mother live well with the disease. I believe Reading Well for dementia will be a step forward. The books are going to be the catalyst that will bring people together, inform them and educate them to become much more aware and most importantly, less frightened of what a future with dementia holds.”
Angela Rippon CBE, award-winning journalist and broadcaster and Reading Well for dementia Champion
“The launch, during Dementia Action Week, of our new book collection, is a significant new development of The Reading Agency’s health and wellbeing offer. Written specifically for those living with dementia, their carers and loved ones of all ages, we believe that this unique, new, quality-assured book-based resource available from public libraries could play an important role in supporting the wider community affected by dementia.”
Karen Napier, CEO, The Reading Agency
The full Reading Well for dementia list is available now at libraries across England and Wales, with titles also accessible as e-books and audiobooks.
Reading Well is funded by Arts Council England and Welsh Government.
Reading Well for dementia is endorsed by
Age UK, Alzheimer’s Society, Bangor University, British Psychological Society, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Carers UK, Dementia UK, Improvement Cymru, Innovations in Dementia, National Academy for Social Prescribing, National Association of Primary Care, Royal College of General Practitioners, Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
- Alzheimer’s Society (2021) Dementia UK prevalence estimate for 2021: methodology ↩︎
- Alzheimer’s Society (2021) Carers UK ‘State of Caring 2021’ report – Alzheimer’s Society responds ↩︎
- Alzheimer’s Research UK (2023) Dementia Attitudes Monitor Summary Report Wave 3 ↩︎
