Book talk and aphasia: the power of a book

Reading is most often affected in aphasia and this has an impact on most aspects of everyday life. Being able to read makes a significant difference to how well a person can participate in society. In this study, people with aphasia recount their experiences of being in a book club.

This small scale, exploratory study employs a qualitative approach to investigate how persons with aphasia (PWA) and a librarian experience participating in a book club. The aim was to explore their overall experiences of participation, including their views regarding the design of the book club. The research questions were: How did participants experience participating in a book club? How did participants experience the structure and the content of the book club?

Three men and one woman with aphasia took part in a book club, which was led by a librarian and met once a week for 9 weeks. The group read a book that had been adapted to suit adults who are not very skilled readers or who have a poor knowledge of the Swedish language; it was also available in an audio version. Data were collected through observations, interviews and field notes, and were analysed thematically to find patterns across data and across participants.

The analysis showed that, despite their language difficulties, the participants experienced the book club as highly rewarding, possibly because the focus was on the content of the book and not on each individual's reading ability. The overarching theme identified in the data was 'Empowerment through a joint reading experience'. This encompassed three sub-themes: 'Structure and flexibility', 'Enjoyment of reading' and 'Fruitful discussions'.

The PWA experienced the activity as positive and encouraging despite their language difficulties. What yielded the positive experience were the joint literary discussions. The project also showed that a dedicated group leader (here the librarian) and a flexible structure based on the situation and abilities of each individual were crucial for the encouraging findings.