For many senior citizens moving into lifestyle retirement villages, this transition offers them the perfect opportunity to rediscover and kindle their passion for reading!
The taxing lifestyle of full-time employment leaves most of us with too little time or energy to focus on what we really want to be doing. Luckily, with retirement comes freedom, and we can finally start focusing on our hobbies again! So, if reading is a pastime of yours or one that you’re interested in getting into, this blog is for you!
Finding the right book can be a challenge, especially for those who haven’t been reading for a while. To make it easy for you, we’ve compiled a list of different types of books that seniors may want to explore, highlighting a few favourites along the way!
Easy Reading Recommendations
For seniors wanting to pick up reading again after a long break or for seniors who prefer lighter reads, we offer a few excellent easy reads to kick-start your journey!
Young adult fiction is a great place to start because it often deals with complex topics in clear yet entertaining ways that make them easy to digest. Easy starter novels to get into no matter your age include J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series and the Summer Sisters by Judy Blume as well as her other fiction for adults. Another timeless read to consider is The Giver by Lois Lowry which is easy to get into and considered by many to be one of the influential novels of our time.
If you’re looking for something light-hearted and humorous, Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half offers comic-strip style depictions of relatable experiences that will make you laugh to no end. Another great option to explore is Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson, which offers a humorous take at life’s miseries.
Learn Something New
If one of your new year’s resolutions is to learn something new in 2021, books offer the perfect opportunity to explore new worlds and open doors to new possibilities. Bill Bryson’s The Body and A Short History of Nearly Everything are excellent choices to consider. Well-known for his humour and witty sarcasm, Bryson’s humorous tales on travel are the perfect choice for any adventurous soul.
Other choices include A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking and Natalie Angier’s The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science. For those looking for thought-provoking, insightful lifestyle advice, Rad Wendzich’s Your Default Settings and Michael Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind are also great reads.
A Stroll Through History
Feeling like a nostalgic stroll through history? Get lost in the nostalgia of bygone days with the help of these talented authors. Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, Kristen Hannah’s The Nightingale, and Gore Vidal’s United States are enlightening reads that bring a new perspective to historical events.
For a look into New Zealand’s rich history, Michael King’s The Penguin History of New Zealand is a wonderfully readable and very informative choice to consider!
Planning for the Future
While thoughts of the future can be unsettling for many people, especially when we are in our senior years of life, it doesn’t have to be. Incredible works such as Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air, Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, and Tia Powell’s Dementia Reimagined bring new perspective and meaning into this topic. Other excellent novels include Mortality by Christopher Hitchens and The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee.
Each of these recommendations is deeply philosophical and inspiring to read. Anyone wanting to gain clarity and peace of mind when planning for the future should consider exploring these novels.
Amazing Fictio
As avid book lovers, we know that finding the right novel can be challenging because few readers have the same interest and preferences. If you’re looking for something new to read, but aren’t quite sure what to invest in, peruse these authors’ notable fictional works below.
The Strength of Eggshells by Kirsty Powell is a remarkable novel following the stories of three generations of women from the same family. This New Zealand author is praised for her incredible story-telling and writing ability.
Other choices to consider include Wally Lamb’s best-selling I Know This Much Is True, the monumental work East of Eden by John Steinbeck, and David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest, a mind-altering, gargantuan, tragi-comedy, that follows the pursuit of happiness in America.
Enjoy reading or listening to your favourite books in lifestyle retirement
Found something interesting to start reading? We hope you enjoyed our blog post, and we wish you all the best on your reading adventure! Whether you’re reading books in the luxury of your home in Fairview’s Albany retirement village, or listening to audiobooks while out on a walk, we believe that there are plenty of ways for seniors of all ages and mobility levels to indulge in their love of reading. So why not buy a novel or an audiobook online or rent one from your local library and start your reading journey today?
For more on lifestyle and culture, explore our blog posts online, and if you’re interested in making an enquiry and seeing our lovely village for yourself, feel free to contact us today.
