Looking for books to get my mom back into reading!

[Kathryn]

Lauren wrote: "Also if your mom likes historical fiction check out My Name is Mary Sutter"

Thanks!

[Lisa]

Lauren wrote: "My mom just read Moloka'i and it is now one of her favorite books. She said once you start it, you can't put it down, so I thought I'd add this one to the list. She also enjoyed T..."</i>

[book:Moloka'i is an amazing book. I also loved it. There are so many terrific historical fiction books. Alan Brennert wrote another, Honolulu, but most readers don't seem to be as impressed. It would be hard to top Moloka'i, in my opinion.

[Lisa]

And we have 453 books on our historical-fiction shelf, all books members found to be comfort reads for them:

http://www.goodreads.com/group/booksh...

And there are many more.

[Kathryn]

Thanks, Lisa! :-)

[Kathy]

Lauren wrote: "My mom just read Moloka'i and it is now one of her favorite books. She said once you start it, you can't put it down, so I thought I'd add this one to the list. She also enjoyed T..."</i>

[book:Honolulu and Moloka'i by Brennert are two of my favorite books. I read Molka'i first and then had to read another one by Brennert.

[Lisa]

Kathy, I do want to read Honolulu, but given that Moloka'i is now a favorite book of mine, I'm scared I can't like Honolulu nearly as well. By the way, Alan Brennert is a great guy. I contacted him asking him to become a Goodreads' author member, and while he declined because he felt too busy already, he was very kind and we exchanged a few emails.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads]

My Life in France is a great read, by the way.

[Kathy]

Lisa wrote: "Kathy, I do want to read Honolulu, but given that Moloka'i is now a favorite book of mine, I'm scared I can't like Honolulu nearly as well. By the way, Alan Brennert is a great guy. I..."

So cool that you got to communicate with Brennert! I, too, shared your hesitation in reading Honolulu because I loved Moloka'i so much, but I was so glad that I finally went on and read it. I can honestly say that it was every bit as excellent as Moloka'i.

[Kathryn]

Susanna wrote: "My Life in France is a great read, by the way."

I loved that one! I encouraged my mom to give it a try ;-)

[Lisa]

Okay, Thanks, Kathy. I'll try to bump Honolulu up my queue so that I read it in 2012.

[Harini]

How about the Peter Wimsey series? They're not uniformly good, but even the worst of them is VERY good, the story is absorbing, the characters are interesting and Dorothy L Sayers is a superb writer. I would start her off with 'Gaudy Night', even though it's in the middle of the series, because it's the best. Set in Oxford, it's very thought provoking, especially if you're at all interested in academia. Also very romantic in a mature kind of way.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads]

Gaudy Night is fabulous, but it's almost at the the very end of the series. I'd start someone with Whose Body? or Strong Poison, myself.

[Kathryn]

I have actually read Strong Poison and really enjoyed it! I will have to look into the others. Thank you :-)

[Lauren]

Have you ever tried her on any Debbie Macomber novels? My grandma seems to like those a lot.

[Kathryn]

Lauren wrote: "Have you ever tried her on any Debbie Macomber novels? My grandma seems to like those a lot."

I haven't. Thank you! :-)

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads]

I wonder if she would like Maisie Dobbs?

[Kathryn]

Susanna wrote: "I wonder if she would like Maisie Dobbs?"

I've heard of those and they sound great, but I've been reluctant to try them myself. Do they go too much into war details? I don't really enjoy reading depressing or gory books.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads]

There's a good part of it that's about her experience in the war, as a nurse on the Western Front.

[Kathryn]

Susanna wrote: "There's a good part of it that's about her experience in the war, as a nurse on the Western Front."

Okay, thanks for the clarification. My mom may not mind it, but I will probably steer clear.

[Lisa]

I have a 79 year old friend who loves the Maisie Dobbs books. She's a retired nurse. She normally doesn't like violence or anything too depressing or disturbing. Just FYI.

[Kathryn]

Lisa wrote: "I have a 79 year old friend who loves the Maisie Dobbs books. She's a retired nurse. She normally doesn't like violence or anything to depressing or disturbing. Just FYI."

Oh, okay. Maybe I will give them a try sometime, just to check it out. I know they have received rave reviews. Thank you.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

I keep meaning to give those Maisie Dobbs books a try myself.

[Kristi]

Haywood Smith. She got a bunch of books, and she's a Goodreads author, so you should be able to find lots of information.

[Ivan]

Kathryn wrote: "Hi! I'm looking for some great recommendations to get my 59-year-old mom back into reading for pleasure rather than just for work and information-gathering purposes. She was an English major in c..."

If your mother enjoyed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society she might also like 84, Charing Cross Road. I would also recommend without reservation the works of Barbara Pym especially Jane and Prudence, Excellent Women, The Sweet Dove Died, A Glass of Blessings and Quartet In Autumn.

[Kathryn]

Ivan wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Hi! I'm looking for some great recommendations to get my 59-year-old mom back into reading for pleasure rather than just for work and information-gathering purposes. She was an En..."

Thank you, Ivan. You just mentioned three of my favorite books, with Guernsey, Charring Cross, and Excellent Women ;-) Loved those!

[Kathryn]

Kristi wrote: "Haywood Smith. She got a bunch of books, and she's a Goodreads author, so you should be able to find lots of information."

Thanks! :-)

[[deleted user]]

The Help

[Marie]

Kathryn wrote: "Hi! I'm looking for some great recommendations to get my 59-year-old mom back into reading for pleasure rather than just for work and information-gathering purposes. She was an English major in c..."
Any Adriana trigiani titles

[Marie]

Secret Life of Bees
K McMahon books
Maeve Binchy books

[Cindy]

It's been a long while since anyone posted on this thread but here goes!
I'm a little younger than your mother, but when I think of favorites for some reason YA books are the ones I think of! Any book by Sarah Dessen or Stephanie Perkins books Lola and the Boy Next Door.
I also agree about the recommendations for "Secret Life of Bees", "The Help", "Guernsey....", and Maeve Binchy books!

[[deleted user]]

Anything by Bette Lee Crosby.
Her books are inspirational and have nothing buy glowing reviews.

[C.]

The Bellingwood series by Diane Greenwood Muir, starting with
~All Roads Lead Home

She would probably also enjoyThe All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion

Dandelion Wine

and If You Remember Metal Skates

[Lindsay]

On a whim, I decided to get my Mom Outlander, along with a couple of shorter novels for Christmas. At first she was skeptical, and told me that it was going to be too long and she'd never get through it.

Well, she didn't get to reading it until her birthday in early May, but she just called me last night to ask me when I was going to pick her up the next book in the series! :)

[Kathryn]

Thanks, all!

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads]

That's great, Lindsay.

[C.]

I second, The Help~

and would also suggest





I borrowed all these from my library.