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?
I second the e-reader suggestion. My 91 year old grandfather has a Kindle and loves it, being able to enlarge the font and order whatever he wants whenever he wants it has been wonderful for him. He’s convinced some of his friends to buy e-readers, too.
As for book recs, maybe Rosalind Laker would work? Eva Ibbotson might be worth a shot as well.
Another rec for Robyn Carr’s Virgin River series. Also what about Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect. Funny and endearing. On my favorites list, for sure.
I would second the Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels recommendation and suggest anything by this author, though I’d be surprised if your mom hadn’t already read some of them.
Barbara Hambly’s Benjamin January series is wonderful too. Other mystery authors she might like: Laurie R. King, Julia Spencer-Fleming, Anne Perry, Charles Todd, Ruth Downie. Though these aren’t all cozies, none of them is gratuitously gory. Other good authors of Southern mysteries include include Julie Smith, Margaret Maron and Sharon McCrumb, both definitely cozies. Jana DeLeon has some amusing cozies (featuring female Vietnam vets) set in the South as well. No moose, but a nice regional feel. My mystery book club (wide age range)has read a lot of these and enjoyed them.
And even though I’ve since broken up with her, Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series were hysterical at first encounter. Though vulgar, they aren’t all that explicit. I would definitely trade a few dirty words for exploding taxidermy.
For non-fiction, I’d recommend Sarah Vowell. She has a quirky yet approachable way with history.
If your mom is amenable, perhaps an e-reader or tablet might be useful. I have encroaching cataracts and my Kindle &/r iPad are lifesavers font-wise. Also it would greatly expand the authors available to her.
What about Nancy Atherton’s Aunt Dimity series? It’s another cozy mystery series that shows no signs of stopping.
Thank you for all these suggestions! Keep them coming.
Rhys Bowen’s Royal Spyness mystery series is definitely one to check out. It is set in the 1930s in the UK. The murders are not especially gory and no sex that I’ve read about yet. I think I am on book 8. The main character is something like 18th in line for throne and penniless. They are fun, entertaining reads. Rhys Bowen also has a couple of other mystery series that I have not read yet but people seem to like. I think the others are Molly Murphy (set in turn of the century New York and Evan Evans (set in the Welsh countryside).
Hope that helps
Gloariamarie, have you tried bringing your own ereader so that your mom can see in person if it might work for her? When we bought my grandfather his Kindle, he hadn’t been doing anything more techy than typing the occasional document on his computer, and seeing an actual Kindle to help him decide. We set him up with wifi an now not only has he switched to e-reading, he also spends a lot of time browsing on Wikipedia and watching movies and TV shows on Youtube.
My best recs for him have been Dorothy Dunnett’s books and Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series.
@Gloriamarie Amalfitano
That is a shame about the ereader thing. 🙁 It has been such a wonderful resource for those I know who have taken the jump.
I recommend Marion Chesney – she’s awesome and she writes as MC Beaton…recently picked up The Anatomist’s Wife by Anna Lee Huber. Also, the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer…maybe the Treecat Wars by Davis Weber.
@Rose, yes, I have tried getting to try my Kindle but she hated it and wouldn’t really try. I have a KindleKeyboard and maybe they have one that is more simple to use than that one is. I wouldn’t know. Please keep in mind that she never even learned how to record on a VCR. There is no WiFi where mom lives. In any event, neither my mother or I could afford to buy one. I only have one because it was a gift.
Since not everything comes out in a large-print edition, looking at mega-popular books might help. I want to suggest that Dick Francis’ horse-racing mysteries are action-oriented, rather than completely cozy, but in some ways they have a Mary_Stewart-like flavor. They are atmospheric, blending almost non-fiction info about horse racing with suspense with usually a teeny bit of romance on the side. Justice always triumphs and cheaters never prosper.
I also want to suggest the historical mysteries written by Ellis Peters about Brother Cadfael. They are not strictly cozy, but they are short and satisfyingly sweet in that the killer is usually someone unpleasant who deserves to be caught and the star-crossed lovers get together and get away by the end of the book. It’s a fairly long series. Summer of the Danes is probably the most romantic one (to me).
I second the suggestions made about Agatha Christie, Tasha Alexander, and Alan Bradley (Flavia is my homegirl). I also would take a look maybe at Lock In and Redshirts by John Scalzi and The Martian by Andy Weir, since she likes some sci-fi. Those were sci-fi, but quite easy to read and understand (I need that in my science fiction myself, since space operas are not my thing). Also, the Pern series by Anne McCaffrey was science fiction disguised as fantasy for several books, although I don’t know that since she doesn’t care for fantasy if she would wait out the “hey, it’s sci-fi now” conversion. As for historicals, I personally adore Tessa Dare and Courtney Milan, but if she doesn’t like the sexxing, she might not like them as much. I only just discovered Beverly Jenkins, but doesn’t she have a series that light on sex as well? Those might be good as well.
Many of Debbie Macomber’s books are available in large print. My friend’s mother is a fan. Some of the novels have been made into the Cedar Cove series by Hallmark television. (G-rated) I think Jan Karon’s books are available in large print and they are sweet with a touch of inspiration. She has a large following in my neighbor’s church. For mysteries, I second the Dick Francis books.
If she likes historical mystery she might like Ellis Peters’ Cadfael series, which are medieval mysteries. The hero is a soldier-turned-monk so there is religion mentioned but it’s more of a background thing.
Monica Ferris does a series of cozies about a needlework store that are very enjoyable.
She might enjoy Norah Lofts although Lofts tends to be very heavy on the irony; The Lute Player is I think her best, about the court of Richard III. Also look for Edna Ferber; many of her books were turned into movies in the 40’s and 50’s including Showboat, Giant and Saratoga Trunk. If she remembers the movies she will probably like the books as well.
Great job keeping your mom lined up with books! Mine loved playing games on her iPad. Her favorite authors were Lavyrle Spencer and Susan Elizabeth Phillips for contemporary. She read a bunch of mystery novels by Dick Francis that I think were horse themed. I remember her saying it didn’t matter if she fell asleep while reading them because not much happened.
I would recomend the Mrs. Polifax series for mysteries/adventure books. It is an amazing series about a woman in her 60’s who loves to garden and wear fun hats, and gets mistaken for a CIA courier and ends up with a job for them.
How about Catherine Aird. She is an English writer that has been writing mysteries from the 60’s to the present day.
Also a cozy mystery series set in the Southern US by Miranda James. (Dean James’s pen name.)
Betty Neels
Elswyth Thane
Essie Summers
C.S. Harris writes a historical mystery series. Joanne Fluke has a cozy mystery series. as does Diane Mott Davidson. I like Lacy Williams Love Inspired Historical titles. I do not think they are preachy at all.
You people are the best! So generous. So caring of my mother. she does so love to read. Thank you.
If an ereader is out (my mom resisted this until 2months ago and at 85yrs is now hooked)then Alibris is a good source for used books that are hard to find or been out for awhile. You can even sort your choices by large print, hardback, paperback etc. it can get expensive to buy outright and the library selection of large print might dwindle pretty fast. Amazon is putting their 7 inch fire on sale 9-30 for $49.99. I pre ordered one for my sister. That’s a pretty good starter price to test the waters. Just a suggestion.
@Gloriamarie – re: E-Readers – I don’t know where you live or how large your library system is, but my 25-or-so branched system has Nooks (both tablets & Simple Touches) available for free loan. They’re only at 1 or 2 branches, but anyone with a card in the system can take them out. I think the library loads them with about 100 titles, mostly new & former bestsellers. They’re fixed so that patrons can’t load anything else (no porn, no gaming, etc). Check with your main branch to see if that’s an option where you are. Maybe if a loaded, huge-pointed (!), super lightweight reader is put in her hands and all she has to do is swipe, she may eventually want to pick up the 2-3 other steps. I know it’s a longshot, but it would cross off the unaffordability from your list. Good luck.
Definitely Rosamunde Pilcher. I would also suggest Eva Ibbotson. They’re marketed as YA nowadays, but her books are sweet and funny. Jean Plaidy/Victoria Holt also wrote historical novels as Phillipa Carr. LaVyrle Spencer’s sex scenes are fairly tame, if I recall. Also, Kathleen Gilles Seidel isn’t very graphic. My other suggestion would be Anya Seton’s Katherine or Green Darkness.
@Judy W, While that is a great price, I don’t have $50 to spare. I get all my groceries at the food bank. All of mom’s income is sucked up by the assisted living facility.
@Francesca, that’s a great idea but mom no longer has a library card. When I found out about this program, she didn’t need one.
She might find something like this useful for heavy books if she has access to a table of a decent height. (Mine is sitting on portable table, but I suspect that might be a bit much for her unless the staff is willing to set it up or you can set it up and leave it up.)
So many good recommendations here, some of which I may use when getting things for my Mom. My Mom loved one of my fave science fiction writers, Connie Willis, who does some amazing time travel books. The four that your Mom might enjoy are Blackout and All Clear (a two book series, set mostly in London in WWII and my mom adored them), To Say Nothing of the Dog (which is a lighthearted time travel with a man who goes back and forth from future London to Victorian London and falls madly in love and my Mom adored it), and The Doomsday Book (which is my favorite but it involves some sickness and death so look up the description as my Mom loved this but does not always love such books). Great thoughts, though, that should keep your Mom in books for a while.
I’m loving these suggestions! My grandmother isn’t an avid reader, but I know there is someone at her assisted living facility who is- I spied the free check out book wheel and I knew several of the books! I also suggest an e-reader. Sadly, my nana just refuses to commit to new tech (there’s also a divide with some dementia), but the main social director is always looking to help them adapt, wanting to teach Skype so they can see grandkids and family from farther away. Maybe someone at her facility might be able to help her learn? Or, can she check out audiobooks from the library to to play on a small CD player, perhaps? Good luck!
Another cozy mystery which is available in large print is the Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters. Another vote for an e-reader here. There are so many to choose from and they aren’t difficult to use. There is plenty of free content through the Gutenberg project.
Do you think she would like audio books? If so, you should check out the The Braille Institute. http://www.brailleinstitute.org/library They will provide audio books and a player. It’s a free service in Southern California. She would have to provide proof of her disability, but it’s not difficult. Each state has their own version. http://www.loc.gov/nls/find.html
Hi! I had a few thoughts. Anne Perry has two series of historical mysteries. I don’t think there is anything explicit in them, though at least one of the series concerns abuse of children (now that I think about it). The coziest mysteries I can think of are a series that revolve around a yarn shop in Colorado, by Maggie Sefton. Just wanted to mention that if you need help tracking down mysteries, there is a terrific web site called StopYoureKillingMe.com, which has all sorts of indexes set up – you can look up books by author, character, job, location, and probably some others I am forgetting.
Another favorite of mine is the series by Parnell Hall, that revolve around a crossword puzzle creator. The mystery generally revolves around a puzzle, of course.
Hope you find lots of what you need!
crossword
knitting
Some Gentle Reads authors: Ann B Ross, Dorothea Benton Frank, Ann Tyler, Elizabeth Berg
Cozy Mystery Authors- Carolyn Hart,Laura Childs, Elaine Viets, Nancy Atherton, Donna Andrews, Maggie Sefton, Rhys Bowen
My grandma loves Adriana Trigiani and Debbie Macomber, as well as Elizabeth Berg and Anna Quindlen for women’s fic. Throw her some Evanovich!
Kristin Higgins – laugh out loud funny. Also recommend an e-reader. Find one she is comfortable holding & getting pages to advance. Tap, swipe, press button for advance. I prefer button, but am getting used to tapping.
>Another vote for an e-reader here. There are so many to choose from and they aren’t difficult to use.<
Is anyone reading my responses? Yes, an e-reader would be wonderful but.
(1) mom barely learned to use the TV remote.
(2) While I am not as much of a Luddite as my mother, I use technology without really knowing anything about it so, I would have no idea which is the easiest e-reader to use that a 90-year-old legally blind woman could learn to use. Someone knowledgeable would have to tell me.
(3) as I have said so many times, there is no money to buy one. I would ****love*** to provide my mother with an e-reader but even if she had one
(4) Her facilty has no WiFi.
Lauren Willig’s Pink Carnation series (some books have more sex, but as far as I remember nothing explicit)
Something like a cookbook holder might help take the weight off her hands if you come across one at a tag sale or ebay. Is she interested in things like monographs on subjects? Mark Kurlansky has some really fascinating ones on Salt, Cod, all sorts of things that tie into many historical channels. I don’t remember the author, but Tulipomania looked really interesting about the tulip craze during the 17th century.
A lot of the short story collections I see at places like Target/Kmart are quite gentle. I often take a stroll through and write down names of new books to take out from the library. Not sure if they come in LP, but maybe collections might be another branch of literature for her to explore?
Good luck!
She may have already read her, but Diane Mott Davidson’s mysteries are fun. And I am fond of classic early 20th Century female mystery writers. Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh and Dorothy L. Sayers. Each of those authors have extensive series that can provide a lot of entertainment
I’m sorry that an ereader or tablet is out because it was a godsend for me. I was responsible for most of my mother’s reading material for the last 15 years or so of her life, 10+ of which were while she was in a facility. She was a fast reader, so it was hard to keep up with her. The crew at Borders (still miss them!) was great at recommending books and, since she liked mysteries, I bought a lot of cozies. (She was put off by the graphic, serial killer-type stories so I had to be pretty careful.) After Borders died, I bought her one of those outsized Kindle DXs and she was able to make the print truly enormous–it made me laugh to see it. I still had to buy/load her books, but she did better than expected. Of course, I did occasionally get a phone call in the middle of the night asking things like how to turn it off. 🙂
Enough reminiscing from me! There are a lot of great authors already mentioned and I’ll do my best not to repeat any of them. Many of the authors below wrote big books, both in size and scope–that worked for me because I liked to give her something that would keep her occupied for awhile (Rosamund Pilcher, Maeve Binchy, etc.). Most of them are older, but that suited my mom’s sensibilities. So, here goes:
Diane Pearson
Susan Howatch
Howard Fast
Taylor Caldwell
Catherine Gaskin
Rachel Hore
Lucinda Riley
Elizabeth Adler
RF Delderfield
Jeffrey Archer
Anton Myrer
James Michner
Herman Wouk
MM Kaye
Colleen McCullough
Mysteries:
Marty Wingate (Mom didn’t read these cozies, but I picked some up for myself recently and think they might suit)
Nelson DeMille
Aaron Elkins
Beverly Connor
Linda Fairstein
(and she’s already been mentioned, but Ellis Peters again)
Finally, I don’t have a category for her, but I’ll throw in Fannie Flagg.
I hope some of these might interest your Mom and that you can get them in large print versions. I’d love to hear if there were any among these hundreds of suggestions that tickled her fancy. Good luck!
On the mysteries front, I second Emma Lathen (no blood & lots of dry humor) — and would add Margaret Maron, particularly her Deborah Knott series (just ended).
For the 90 year old mom….Richards ,E. ; the Shenandoah quilt series is well written w maybe a bit of background romance and usually past and present history transposed. Also light are Janet Evanovich. For an in interest in medieval history Elizabeth Chadwick writes well and there is romance but nothing overt….not sure about large print. Her website will point you in the right direction. Wishing u the best.
Another possibility might be the Patrick O’Brian Aubrey/Maturin books. I was also going to suggest Bill Bryson non-fiction books.
If you can find them in large print, I’d also recommend Giovanni Guareschi’s Don Camillo books.
I was going to recommend the Amelia Peabody series, too! My Mom (88yo) and I both loved it. I also get her books from the library and one of my sources for new cozy mystery series is http://www.cozy-mystery.com/. This site has many lists, such as themes and “if you like, then you might like.” We’ve found many enjoyable series that way.
Also, on the e-reader, many books from Amazon can be narrated to your Mom so you might want to investigate that.