<p>My mom broke her hip over the weekend and is going to be laid up for some time. I am looking for books for her that do not have too many characters or overly complicated plot lines, but are still well-written and good stories. She is not as sharp as she used to be and the anesthesia probably hasn’t helped. Right now I am thinking of " Tree Grows In Brooklyn" and something along the lines of Maeve Binchy. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Shorter Reader’s Digest abridgements in large print. My 87 year old neighbor loves them.</p>
<p>I recently gave my mom Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. It is a true life novel she wrote about her grandmother’s rather adventuresome life in the southwest. My own grandparents grew up in that part of the world so I thought my mom might like it and she did.</p>
<p>Another idea, can you rig her up with books on tape (CD)? It might be nice for her to relax and listen. Also many libraries have collections of recorded books which would give her a big supply if someone can fetch them for her.</p>
<p>I love Bill Bryson’s work. Many of his books are collections of stories or they are set up so that each chapter stands alone.</p>
<p>I think the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books are wonderful and would be appreciated. Plots aren’t complicated and characters are compelling.</p>
<p>Have you thought of DVDs? Netflix? Send her to HGTV!</p>
<p>Little Heathens, by Mildred Kalish. Stories of her growing up on an Iowa farm during the Depression. As she puts it she was raised by “grandparents with a puritanical and protestant bent and a different and indifferent mother who did her best”. Really good book.</p>
<p>I also think the Number One Ladies Detective series would be good for your mom. I bought those for my mom. I think Maeve Binchy’s books do have a lot of characters to keep straight. I find it difficult and that is with no post anesthesia brain fog.</p>
<p>If you would like to purchase a DVD set for her, there is a superb British series called Lark Rise to Candleford. It is set in the late 1800s in rural England, about a little town and nearby village. My H and I both loved the series and I bought it for us, then also sent it to my mom (age 81) and her H. They both loved it too.</p>
<p>I thought of Maeve Binchy before I read your entire post. I think the #1 Ladies Detective Agency is good also. And I think audio books are a great idea. You can borrow them from the library so you don’t have to spend a lot of money. Water for Elephants was a great book and the Outlander series D. Gabaldon was very intersting, but there are a lot of characters.</p>
<p>How about the Mitford Series. My two older readers love them.</p>
<p>My mother loves the Nicholas Sparks books. Especially “The Notebook” but she liked them all. I get her the newest one for every gift giving occasion.</p>
<p>My Mom loved the Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency books. She is in her 80’s and found them fun and an easy read.</p>
<p>No. 1 does seem like a sweet idea. I can’t imagine reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, I’ve never managed to finish it. Would she like fun stories on the order of David Sedaris? How about a Mary Stewart novel? I recently read [Amazon.com:</a> Rose Cottage: A Novel (9780449000618): Mary Stewart: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Rose-Cottage-Novel-Mary-Stewart/dp/0449000613]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Rose-Cottage-Novel-Mary-Stewart/dp/0449000613) and [Amazon.com:</a> The Stormy Petrel (9780345468987): Mary Stewart: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Stormy-Petrel-Mary-Stewart/dp/0345468988/ref=pd_sim_b_2]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Stormy-Petrel-Mary-Stewart/dp/0345468988/ref=pd_sim_b_2). Old fashioned romance and suspense with nice scenery. :)</p>
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I can also attest that my 80-year-old mother-in-law loves these.</p>
<p>MIL likes Bryce Courtenay, but those might be rather complicated (I haven’t read any, so don’t know). I also like Mick Cochrane’s books.</p>
<p>i’ve never read a book by this author, but my mom does seem to enjoy her --Debbie MacComber (sp?)</p>
<p>How about Dewey, the Small-town Library Cat or Marley and Me?</p>
<p>Also, since your mom has a temporary handicap I believe she is eligible for state services which could provide her with recorded books. Look up your state library and “services to the blind and physically handicapped.” I think they will mail the recorded books right to her home.</p>
<p>I went out to pick up things for a care package and came back to all these wonderful suggestions. Thank you all so much! I will head over to Amazon and check them out.</p>
<p>My one reservation about audiobooks (in addition to the fact that I live 600 miles away) is that she tends to fade in and out (both sleeping and in terms of general alertness). I think it would be easier for her to “pick up where she left off” if she were actually reading.</p>
<p>No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency also has been done by BBC (5 or 6 episodes worth). The DVDs are fun to watch, but they add characters that aren’t in the books and take episodes from different books and mash them together into one episode.</p>
<p>In memory of Lillian Jackson Braun who died last week- how about the Cat Who… mysteries. They are fun and easy reads.</p>
<p>The audiobooks for No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency are also excellent. And honestly, it’s not that important to follow the thread of the story in those.</p>