<p>Agree with Debbie Macomber and along those lines Fannie Flagg. My first thought was the Mitford books by Jan Karon…I am only fifty and not under Anthesia and I found the ladies detective series tough going. I would pick something more light.</p>
<p>Thank you every one, keep 'em coming! I am sending off a package today (magazines and treats) so will wait a couple days before sending another. I have seen the Cat books; could anyone opine on whether they are “easier” than the #1LDA? (Thank you, Hunt, for your observation.) Fannie Flagg is another I hadn’t thought of.</p>
<p>My mother is in her eighties and she loves to re-read the books she read when she was a teenager.</p>
<p>How about Agatha Christie? They are easy reads. Trying to follow the plot makes you think but they are short and the characters are pretty one dimensional. GK Chesterton’s Father Brown series might also work. For the right person, so would Sherlock Holmes. The stories are more difficult reading than the others I’ve listed, but they are short. I love mysteries, but not everyone does. If your mom does, they might work. </p>
<p>The Jeeves books might work, but like/dislike for them is quirkier. </p>
<p>I also recommend the Ladies Detective Agency books. I actually prefer Alexander McCall Smith’s other books–“The World According to Bertie” is one of my favorites. It’s the second in a series–“44 Scotland Street” is the first. </p>
<p>I found “Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand” pretty easy reading and a great read.Another good, fun read would be “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.” A more difficult read than most on this list, but since it had to do with World War II, your mom may actually have a better “background” for reading them than younger people would. </p>
<p>“The Help,” about African-American maids in Jackson, Miss in the 1960s and their white employers, is another fun read, which may be easier for your mom than it is for younger readers.</p>
<p>TaiTai, that is not a conversation I’ve not had with my mom, but a wonderful idea for when we’re together next. She has not been a reader of mysteries, but maybe she would feel intrigued by Agatha, who has been around longer than she! Major Pettigrew also looks like something she’d enjoy. I gave her The Help in the fall and I think it was just too much, which got me trying to think of some easier reads. Ongoing appreciation . . .</p>
<p>I think both Major Pettigrew and the Guernsey… books would work. I also think the Jan Karon books would work, particularly since she may have read one of them before since they’ve been around for a while. The #1 Ladies series are easier reads than that author’s books set in Scotland. I adore Agatha Christie; the Miss Marple stories may be easier to follow than the Hercule Poirot stories.</p>
<p>My favorite comforting novel with an older woman as the main character is The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher.</p>
<p>I also immediately thought of At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon. Sweet story about the adventures of a small-town rector and the lovable, quirky characters around him. Charming, humorous, gentle, and an easy read. If she likes it, there are 6 or 7 more books in the series.</p>
<p>If The Help was too much for Mom prior to her accident/surgery, then many of these suggestions are too difficult. We need lighter, shorter, simpler. </p>
<p>How about some of the Chicken Soup series books? Has she read any of those?</p>
<p>There are some recent ones:
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings</p>
<p>Each of these has 101 short little stories, maybe that would be easy for her to read just a little at a time.</p>
<p>Grandmother Brown’s Hundred Years by Harriet Connor Brown–This is the life story of an American pioneer woman (Maria Foster Brown), who lived from 1827-1929, told by her daughter-in-law. It is out of print, but you can still find it in libraries or get used copies on-line for a few dollars. It won a prize for best biography of the year from Atlantic Monthly back in 1929. It was a popular book and went through several printings back in the 1930’s. Very touching, well-written, and something every woman (especially older wives and mothers) could relate to. All the joys and sorrows of a long life. It includes so many “ordinary” yet fascinating historical details from a woman’s perspective. (I think it has been used for a women’s studies course.) The first chapter, about her family history, is a bit slow, but once you get into her life story, it is very interesting. I love this book–I’ve read it twice and want to read it again. It is not difficult to read, but sort of long–about 300 pages. If not right for Mom, I recommend it to my CC friends.</p>
<p>This may or may not appeal, but we have liked graphic novels–they are illustrated like comics but are often the classics. That helped my kids get through a lot of books they would otherwise not have read and enjoyed. The words and plots are the same as the classics but the illustrations are what makes it much more enjoyable.</p>
<p>How about comic books? We love Zits, For Better and For Worse, and many others. Love Erma Bombeck and also Bill Cosby and Dave Barry. They have always brought me smiles. Tuesdays with Morrie is an interesting read as well.</p>
<p>I am the “go to” person for five senior citizens. Two of the women read a lot, my MIL loves murder mysteries, but the other woman likes simple story lines, few characters, etc. I would avoid anything with a shifting timeline or shifting point of view.</p>
<p>So many great ideas! My current list is The Small-Town Library Cat (she’s a cat-lover), Major Pettigrew, Little Heathens (probably one Depression era tale is enough) and a Mitford. She has read the Shell Seekers, which I remember liking, so maybe there would be comfort in reading something familiar. I should add that. I’ve tried to get her to read the comics (what could be better than starting the day with a laugh?) but she is not interested. </p>
<p>This is going to be a long haul for her so I will probably be sending another box in a couple weeks. If anyone has more suggestions, please post! And thank you all so very much. ~1mm</p>
<p>There are a couple of collections of the comic strip “Pickles,” which focuses on a couple of senior citizens.</p>
<p>My parents are a cross between that couple and the Lockhorns, though the Lockhorns have at least been willing to give therapy a try. Sigh.</p>
<p>There’s a set of three books based on the WW II diaries of a British housewife, Nella Last, that your mother might enjoy. You could try “Nella Last’s War” first to see what she thinks before buying the others. </p>
<p>Another thought is the Miss Read collection of books by a retired British schoolteacher, based largely on her experiences growing up and teaching in the Cotswolds. Some/most of them are available in large print.</p>
<p>I’ve had good luck finding books by using the suggestions on Amazon, too. You could look up books that you know she likes and see what other fans recommend. One thing I’d encourage is borrowing/buying large print books. Your mother may find them less tiring to read.</p>
<p>Piggle’s mom suggests</p>
<p>Irish author Alice Taylor 's books - To school through the fields ( an autobiography ), county days .</p>
<p>The Crosswicks Journals by Madeleine L’Engle (A Circle of Quiet ,The Summer of the Great-grandmother , Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage)</p>
<p>All the books make you feel cozy & warm inside.</p>
<p>Mer</p>
<p>My MIL (82) loves autobiogs and biographies of women. Don’t remember exactly which one we got for her on Eleanore Roosevelt, but it had photos in the center, also “Home” by Julie Andrews - she loved both of them. We have recently expanded to the men - Dick van Dyke, but she hasn’t opened that one yet.</p>
<p>I second the Mitford Series and highly recommend anything by Rosamunde Pilcher. While I liked The Shell Seekers, Coming Home is one of my top 5 books ever and she has a short story book, Flowers in the Rain, that would be enjoyable as well. Winter Solstice and September are also winners. If she likes biography, how about Katherine Graham’s Personal History? It won a Pulitzer Prize.</p>