This Rec League is a little more personal and less focused on tropes. Gloriamarie recently sent us an email, asking if we could help her with some reading recommendations for her mother. She’s a voracious reader and Gloriamarie wants to keep the books coming!
I am wracking my brains trying to keep up with my ninety year old mother’s need for reading material. She is legally blind but can still read large print books. This is her main occupation because there is really nothing else for her to do in her assisted living facility. One of her suite mates hogs the TV all day long. Three days a week mom goes to her day program and the rest of the time, she reads. Her assisted living facility and the day program both have very limited large print selections.
The San Diego Public Library has a wonderful program where they mail her four large print books at a time from a list she submits to them. But I am running out of ideas and hope readers here can give me some names.
Over the years she has read and enjoyed Mary Stewart, Emily Loring, Phyllis Whitney, Victoria Holt, Maeve Binchy, Elizabeth Goudge.. She would hate heavy handed inspirationals as much as she would erotica or anything with explicit details. she enjoys cosy, not bloody mysteries. Very light science fiction. Not fantasy. Sadly I could not get her interested in Sheri Tepper who I think writes some of the best stuff.
She would also read non-fiction if it is not too technical.
Mom doesn’t mind sex in books, but she would probably be uncomfortable with explicit descriptions of oral sex, penises, and definitely no anal, no BDSM, no menage a anything, no M/M, no F/F.
For a while I was checking books out of the library for her (and getting huge fines because we just couldn’t manage it right) and there was a cosy mystery series she enjoyed about a town in Maine with a ridiculous name like Yougottalovemoose or something and everything was moose and tartans. It’s been years and I am certain she’d love to read more of those. If I could remember.
Sarah: I recommended Deanna Raybourn to her already.
Carrie: If she can find it, how about Nevil Shute and D.E. Stevenson? Stevenson might be too tame but my mom and I love her.
Redheadedgirl: Oh, Deeanne Gist! Erin Knightley also does tension but no sex.
Elyse: Edith Layton’s sex scenes are very tame. Not much description. Mary Balogh too. Her sexual tension is sizzling, but the actual sex is fairly mild. And Georgette Heyer obviously.
Are there any other authors you’d recommend?
Here are some fun recommendations: Julia Quinn, Jennifer cruise, Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Kenya or alter egos Jayne castle, Amanda quick.
For Interesting history – nonfiction – anything by David McCullough – especially his audio book.
Also when my mom had surgery – she really got into audio books and the kindle I bought her a year before which she never used until she started paying with the fonts after the surgery. Finally, although scribd isn’t the end all – for 8.99 a month books and audiobooks might be a good option or maybe Wattpad or use overdrive app/program.
Oops make that Jayne ann Krentz…I hate autocorrect
Have you thought about getting your Mom and ereader? You can make the font any size you want, and the backlighting makes it easier to read.
Cozy mysteries: Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters, Southern Sisters series by Anne George, Aurora Teagarden series by Charlaine Harris, Jane Austen series by Stephanie Barron, Louisa May Alcott series by Anna Maclean, Abigail Adams series by Barbara Hamilton (who is also Barbara Hambly), Georgianna Rannoch series by Rhys Bowen.
SciFi: Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold
Non-fiction: Antonia Fraser’s biographies are interesting and well-written. I’ve heard really good things about Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy but haven’t read it personally.
Good luck with your Mom.
No idea if he comes in large print, but maybe John Wyndham. His stuff, based on two books, doesn’t seem to be particularly heavy SF.
You might also want to try John Scalzi. There’s some heavy stuff in his Old Man’s War series (more “horrible deaths” than “heavy technical details”, and a few non-explict orgies), but he’s written other books which seem lighter in tone. (From what I’ve heard, you probably want to avoid The God Engines though.)
For non-fiction you might want to try Mary Roach’s work. Some of her subjects have a bit of a grossout factor, but she’s very entertaining.
…there was a cosy mystery series she enjoyed about a town in Maine with a ridiculous name like Yougottalovemoose or something and everything was moose and tartans.
Could be Charlotte MacLeod’s Peter Shandy series? He’s a professor at a small agricultural college in New England. MacLeod also wrote another cozy series set in Boston, starring Sarah Kelling. And a couple of other series as Alisa Craig, including one with a RCMP. Open Road has re-released her e-books for a ridiculous price, but paper, and possibly large print should be available through the library.
Also try Aaron Elkins’ Gideon Oliver books.He’s an anthropologist who keeps getting caught up in murders involving more modern bones. With his wife, he also wrote a series about an LPGA golfer.
Maybe Patricia Wentworth’s Miss Silver mysteries. They were written between 1928 and 1961 so are of the same vintage as Goudge, Stewart and Holt. From what I’ve seen in my own local library, they are available in large-print. She has non-series books too. Good Miss Silver ones to start with would be “The Chinese Shawl”, “Through the Wall” or “The Gazebo”. The series order doesn’t really matter here. There is always a love interest but nothing at all explicit.
Agree with the DE Stevenson recommendation, though I’ve found they do vary in quality so if she tries one and doesn’t like it she might want to try another in case the first one happens to be a stinker.
If she likes historicals, maybe Susanna Kearsley. I first found her through “If you like Mary Stewart, you might also like … ” and although I don’t think she’s all that similar to MS she does have an element of romantic suspense. I don’t remember any explicit sexual detail and am pretty sure there is no gory violence either.
Might also be worth trying Barbara Michaels for romantic suspense / mystery – again, definitely nothing explicit.
I don’t know the Maine mystery series but there are a lot of cosy series out there. I like Kerry Greenwood’s Corinna Chapman series, starting with “Earthly Delights”, and Carola Dunn’s 1920s Daisy Dalrymple series, starting with “Death At Wentwater Court”. No sex in the Carola Dunn books, mentions in Kerry Greenwood but nothing explicit. Not sure if either are available in large print, I’m afraid.
Might try Mary Wesley or Joanna Trollope too.
Can you give us any further details about what sort of non-fiction she enjoys? I’m wondering about biographies.
Carla Kelly comes to mind. Joanna Bourne, Tasha Alexander, C. S. Harris,
Carla Kelly and Kristin Higgins are some of the only still alive writers I can think of that I read even though there is no explicit sex. I’m guessing yes to Kelly and no to Higgins.
I never got into Debbie Maccomber or someone Carr with the Virgin River books, so I can’t really speak to their suitability but I think maybe.
Phillippa Gregory is another pen name for Victoria Holt/Mary Stewart but maybe is too dark?
Has she tried Barbara Cartland?
The cozy mystery series with tartans and towns named after moose sounds very much like the Cat Who series by Lillian Jackson Braun. They are very light, completely non-gruesome, take place in Moose County, and like half of the characters are of Scottish ancestry. They’re always having Scottish festivals and wearing kilts and taking bagpipe lessons. The series has a ton of books, so it would keep your mom occupied for a while!
Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen books are cozy mysteries, very light sensuality, and don’t need to be read in order.
Sarah Graves is another cozy Maine mystery writer. How about Dorothy Gilman? her Mrs Pollifax might be inspirational.
Julie Garwood historicals would get my vote. Also, my mom (who skips the sexoring in books) loves Kimberley Freeman. She started with Wildflower Hill and then read everything else she wrote.
Another cosy mystery series that is really fun and interesting is the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency, set in Botswana by Alexander McCall Smith. And I second the Amelia Peabody series mentioned already. Set in Egypt in the 20s, lots of period interest and great heroine.
She might like Rosamunde Pilcher – moody family sagas set in Cornwall.
I’m seconding Carla Kelly and Amanda Quick. I was surprised to find a couple Amanda Quick books on my Grandma’s night table and she sounds like she had similar tastes.
Some of Loretta Chase’s early work maybe? Weren’t they closed door regency romances? What about Julia Quinn? It’s been awhile but I don’t remember her books being super sexy. (I could be totally off base on the last one, but just thought I’d throw it out there).
Jane Aiken Hodge for non-explicit historicals
First time commenting but I know this one! The cozy mystery series is by Kaitlyn Dunnett and the town is called Moosetookalook, Maine. The first one was Kilt Dead and the latest one in the series is The Scottie barked at midnight.
She might also enjoy a cozy mystery series about a food critic living in Key West written by Lucy Burdette as well as a series written by Rhys Bowen who writes about shenanigans in 1930’s London.
I’ve been my 99-year-old grandmother’s book source for many many years, until last year, when yes, you guessed it: eyesight failure. She’s completely unable to adapt to tech at this point, so offering to purchase an e-reader and keep it stocked wasn’t helpful, but maybe it will be for your mum.
Stuff that comes to mind for your mum: Seconding suggestions for Carla Kelly, Mary Balogh, Amanda Quick, Nora Roberts, and Joanna Bourne. Adding Kasey Michaels’ historicals, Philippa Gregory, and Captain Lacey Regency mysteries by Ashley Gardner (a.k.a. Jennifer Ashley).
I know you said no fantasy, but if she enjoys heavily detailed historicals and family sagas, I’d also suggest Guy Gavriel Kay, whose work is mostly historical analogue, with low incidence of “traditional” fantasy elements (the exception to “mostly” is The Fionavar Tapestry, which is high fantasy at its most Tolkien-esque).
For when she’s in a Maeve Binchy/Roseamund Pilcher type mood, I’d suggest Marcia Willet. She writes very good books very much in that vein, and while originally only available in the UK, they’ve also been published in the US in the past 10 years or so.
For cozies, I agree that the Maine/Kilt/Moose series is the Kaitlyn Dennett series that Heather S mentioned. I’d also recommend Jane Cleland’s mystery series set in a New Hampshire auction house. The first one is “Consigned to Death”. Also the Booktown series by Lorna Barrett, starting with “Murder is Binding”.
For romances, definitely Carla Kelly, but also Sarah M. Eden and Julie Klassen.
Has she read much Agatha Christie? I’m not which of her books are in large print, but she’s the queen of cozy mysteries.
Seconding Bujold, seconding Greenwood’s Corinna Chapman mysteries. And I know that several of Greenwood’s Phyrne Fisher mysteries have large print editions, so those might be worth a try too.
Great question! Jan Karon’s Mitford books have religion in them (one main character is a pastor) but I am twitchy about “inspirationals” and did not mind these. Angela Thirkell’s long series about an English county is pretty low-key and has a number of gentle romances. Miss Read (yes, that’s the author’s name on the books) has a whole series of books about several English villages. Barbara Pym also wrote fairly cozy, non-explicit novels. For mysteries, Dorothy Allingham had a long series about a detective named Albert Campion that were pretty mild (similar vintage to Miss Silver, mentioned above). A more modern author is Alan Bradley, who writes the Flavia de Luce mystery series. Since Flavia is about twelve and the series is set in 1950s England, there is nothing too explicit.
Charlotte MacLeod/Alisa Craig – at least some in large print. Mysteries.
Nancy Atherton – at least some in large print. Mysteries. There is a low key ghost in these who talks to the protagonist through a diary and offers good advice.
Jean Plaidy is Victoria Holt – at least some books in large print. More historicals than romances if I understand correctly. Holt/Plaidy also wrote under other names.
Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick/Jayne Castle – at least some in large print. Romances. I recommend things published after about 1995. All of the Castle books include psychic powers in an SF setting. Many more recent Quick and Krentz books include psychic powers. Older ones do not.
Donna Andrews – at least some. Mysteries. Recommend the Meg Langslow books over the Turing Hopper books which are a little darker.
Kerry Greenwood – at least some in large print. Mysteries. The Phryne Fisher books have sex, but it’s not terribly explicit. It’s just that it’s with someone different in pretty much every book, and in later books, Phryne has a long running, interracial affair with a married man with his wife’s knowledge and approval. The Corinna Chapman books have less sex, and it’s all with one partner.
Alexander McCall Smith – No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency – Mysteries. At least some in large print. I haven’t enjoyed the author’s other series when I tried them, but other people do.
Emma Lathen/R.B. Dominic – at least some books by both pseudonyms in large print. These are fairly gentle mysteries with no sex whatsoever and only off screen violence. The protagonists in both series are male, and there aren’t many female characters.
James H. Schmitz – some books in large print. This author wrote SF, mostly starring female characters. The Witches of Karres is the closest he got to fantasy, and even that seems to be much more SF-ish.
Dorothy Gilman – Mrs Pollifax books. At least some available in large print. Mystery/espionage starring an older woman (she has grandchildren).
Carla Kelly – some insprationals but not all her books are – some in large print
Elsie Lee – a few in large print. I recommend her more contemporary stuff (still set in the 1950s-1970s) over her Regencies, but it seems to be her Regencies that are available in large print.
Zama Farahad – some available in large print but possibly not all available in the US. Sort of romances set in modern India and focused on a retired man who starts a matchmaking agency.
Elizabeth Linington/Dell Shannon/Leslie Egan – Mysteries. Some Linington books in large print; some Shannon books in large print; some Egan books in large print. These are mysteries, mostly police procedurals and mostly more focused on the day to day life of the police officers (usually with multiple small cases) than on any single mystery. Some books are single mystery stories, but I tend to think those aren’t as good. Social attitudes frequently very dated.
Marian Babson – some available in large print. Babson is hugely variable as a mystery writer. Most books are relatively light, but every once in a while there’s a grim one, and it’s hard to tell, based on the blurbs, which are which. In the last decade, more or less, Babson has pretty exclusively been writing cat centered mysteries. I haven’t read most of them as that’s not something that appeals to me, but I think those are generally light.
Madeleine Brent – some available in large print. More or less Gothics, with some orientalism, by the author of the Modesty Blaise books and comics.
Sarah Caudwell – some in large print – Caudwell wrote four mysteries. They’re all very funny and are narrated as member of a British law firm telling stories to a friend, Hilary Tamar (who is never specified to be male or female, but I didn’t notice that when I read them).
Thirding (or whatever) the recommendation for an ereader: the kids and I racked up a surprising amount of fines at the library until we started checking out ebooks. They are much easier to ‘return’ to the library!
If she likes mysteries, she might like the Gaslight Mysteries by Victoria Thompson. They’re about a midwife in turn of the century New York City, solving murders. They’re pretty fascinating. I don’t think all of them are available in large print, but they don’t need to be read in order.
I second the recommendation for Mary Roach for non-fiction. AJ Reynolds writes in the same vein of light-hearted non-fiction and she might like his books, too. I know “A Year of Living Biblically” comes in large-print, because I accidentally got that version from the library.
First, a current release in biographical history (takes place in late-19th-to-most-of-20th century),
“Hissing Cousins: the untold story of Eleanor Roosevelt and Alice Roosevelt Longworth”
by Marc Peyser might be of interest. The two first cousins, while just a few months apart in age and born just several blocks apart, grew up to become two distinct, impactful, and polar personalities. I don’t know if it’s available in large print, but there should be an audio book.
Secondly, as for series, the Nell Bray mysteries by Gillian Linscott (about 15 of them) take place in post-WWI & 1920’s Great Britain and “The Continent”. Linscott now writes the “Liberty Lane” series (early-Victoria reign) as Caro Peacock (not sure which, if either, is her real name, but don’t let that stop your mother from enjoying them 😉
And third, NPR puts out some great audio compilations of 20th & 21st century humorists that anyone of any age should enjoy (& you could listen together).
Finally, I second/third/fourth a basic E-reader, like the Nook Glowlight (assuming that her hands are not incapacitated by rheumatoid or any other arthritis). The point size of the font can go close to an inch, the backlight is easy to turn on, and the whole reader weighs in the ounces.
Good luck!
I’ll rec Susan Elia McNeal’s Maggie Hope series set in WWII and Simone St. James. Also, the late Virginia Rich’s culinary mysteries. She was a pioneer of the genre and both the books and the recipes are quite good.
A lot of my ideas have already been mentioned, but I’ll add on Anya Seton and Jacqueline Winspear. Seton wrote historical novels. Katherine was probably my favorite. Winspear writes the Maisie Dobbs series. I’ve only read the first one so far, but it was very good. Oh, and Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti books are cozy mysteries with an Italian setting.
Lynn Kurland for medieval/historical romances, though some do have time travel and a wonderful set of ghost in them. Most of the sexy times happen behind closed doors too.
Anne Moore got me thinking and indeed, internets confirm that to no one’s surprise I got the names all mixed up: Jean Plaidy, Victoria Holt, Philippa Carr, Eleanor Burford, Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow, Ellalice Tate, Anna Percival are apparently all the same person, none of whom are also Mary Stewart *or* Phillipa Gregory.
Sigh.
Mystery:
Laurie R King — the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series is fantastic.
Fiction:
If she enjoys Maeve Binchy, try Anne Tyler — start first with Saint Maybe
Laura Pedersen — Last Call and Beginner’s luck
Deborah Smith — Sweet Hush, On Bear Mountain
Scify:
Perhaps Bujold?
Romance:
Loretta Chase early traditional regencies — Devil’s Delilah
Nonnie St George books
Biography:
My life in France — reads like a romance to me:)
I’ll third or 4th the ereader idea. I was reliant on large print before I got one, and it is amazing to not be limited by availability. Check with the assisted living facility, sometimes they have someone on staff willing to help teach their use, or load them up with the book they are looking for.
Kate Collins’ Flower Shop Mystery series is pretty cozy and not really graphic on anything from what I can recall.
And of course JAK/Amanda Quick, Julie Garwood, Linda Howard (I especially like some of her historicals)
I’d add Tasha Alexander’s Lady Emily mysteries. The first, And Only to Deceive is a delightful homage to Jane Austen by way of Elizabeth Peters.
Also, Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series. Thy can occasionally skew dark, but the setting and characters are so, so wonderful.
And, finally, M.C. Beaton’s Hamish Macbeth or Agatha Raisin series. The Macbeth books are set in Scotland, while the Raisins are set in Scotland. Both are charming, but I prefer the Macbeths myself. And, Beaton is a pseudonym for Marion Chesney, who has written a number of lovely traditional Regency romances.
Um, yeah, can we edit my last comment? I mucked up the HTML and didn’t close the italics. Oopsie.
For nonfiction, how about Bill Bryson? He’s written travel books, a history of science, histories of the English language, a memoir–all very light and funny. Which reminds me of Calvin Trillin’s “Tummy trilogy” (of which there are actually five), but I love those. One of the best things about them is that you can read them one chapter at a time–like literary hors d’oeuvres.
For fiction, nobody’s mentioned Elizabeth Cadell, one of my favorite British mid-century writers. For historicals, how about Eva Ibbotson. And for mysteries, I second Charlotte MacLeod/Alisa Craig, but what about going totally Golden Age and trying some Mary Roberts Rinehart?
How about the Shelly Fredman books – very funny, investigating crime, sex is none or very mild. There are 6 books. The first one is No Such Thing as a Secret.
Not romance but really good:
A Painted House – John Grisham
Great Nonfiction:
The elephant Whisperer – Lawrence Anthony
The Boys in the Boat – Daniel James Brown
The Dog who could fly – Damien Lewis
Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
Blink – Malcolm Gladwell
Seconding or thirding many suggestions — especially Mary Higgins Clark, Debbie Macomber, Barbara Michaels, Jennifer Crusie, (it’s actually Crusie, not Cruise) and Kristan Higgins. Mary’s daughter, Carol Higgins Clark, writes cozy mysteries, as does Mary Jane Clark, Mary’s ex-daughter-in-law. They’re both good writers. I also love Robyn Carr (I don’t remember any explicit scenes in any of her books) and Susan Mallery.
Thank you, you wonderfully generous women. Thank you. So many of these authors are brand new to me, Thank you. I will research the library database and see which ones are in LP.
As for all the e-reader suggestions… I guess I should have mentioned that my mother is extremely technology challenged. She barely learned how to use the TV remote and she never did learn how to record anything on the VCR or play anything on the DVD player.
I have tried to get her interested in my Kindle but she refuses. It’s a pity because the weight of books is an issue for her and, of course, LP books weigh more than the same book in a smaller font.
@HeatherS, you are quite correct. “The cozy mystery series is by Kaitlyn Dunnett and the town is called Moosetookalook, Maine. ” Yes, that’s the one. Thank you.
I am deeply grateful to you for all your suggestions. Bless you one and all.
She might like Phoebe Atwood Taylor who wrote a series of mysteries set in Maine. They’re old but I enjoyed them.
My recommendations: Romance – Jude Deveraux, Johanna Lindsey, Diana Gabaldon, Susan Anderson, Susan Donovan, Annette Blair, Lani Diane Rich, Clair Delacroix, Catherine Coulter, Donna Kauffman, Roxanne St. Clair. Cozy Mystery – Kelsey Browning, Stephanie Evanovich. Extras – Proud Patrick by Michael O’Reilly, JD Robb In Death series, Gillian Flynn, Jonathan Tropper, Jonathan Franzen