Hello,

I'm hoping to find some recommendations for my mother. I'm posting in the romance forum, but the book doesn't necessarily have to have the romance as the main theme. I don't really know what my mother wants, but I'd like to find her some books to read as she's just so bored lately and has been complaing about needing to read mroe.

Anyway, I can give an ide of what she might possibly like. A couple of months ago she turned on the TV to find the movie The Notebook playing. She loved the book (except for the very melancholy ending) and asked me to get the book. I got the book on audio CD for her soon after, however, she found that she didn't enjoy the book as much as the movie. So I'm guessing any books that have the style of N. Sparks, but with a little more uplifting type of stories. She enjoyed Notebook, the only thing she said she didn't like was that the ending was so depressing and melancholy.

I should also say really quickly that any books will hopefully need to be on either tape or CD. Her vision isn't what it used to be and so she enjoys audio now.

I have no idea if I'm making sense to anyone. However, if anyone has any possible ideas, please post them here. Like I said, it doesn't necessarily have to be a strong romance, just something a sixty-something woman might enjoy. Fiction, non-fiction, etc.

Thanks!

Natalie

I would like to suggest some Authors for you,

Emilie Richards,Curtiss Ann Matlock, Dorothy Garlock, Beverly Lewis and Robyn Carr.

Maeve Binchy.  Martha Grimes has a mystery series where the sleuth is a 12 yr old girl. They're adult books though but not with a lot of violence or  sex.  They take place in the 50's and the main character Emma Graham is kind of nosy and sort of falls into mysteries.  Kind of a coming of age type series. I've listened to both of these on audio.  The Stephenie Plum books by Janet Evanovich are great on audio.  Very entertaining and there's nothing gory and no real sex in them.  

Sue Grafton's alphabet series. I listened to these on audio and they're good.  You don't have to listen to them in order.

Alexander McCall Smith.  I've read some and listened to some on audio.  He's a great story teller.  Most of his books are billed as mysteries but they really aren't.  The Ladies #1 Detective Series is really just about the life of a few people in Botswana with a minor mystery.  The Isabelle Dalhousie mysteries are more about a 40ish woman falling in love with a much younger man-no sex scenes though-also with a minor mystery.

Now if your mom doesn't mind violence or sex, I can offer some more ideas. 

She might enjoy some Cozy Mysteries, like the Hannah Swenson series by Joanne Fluke (Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is the first). Or the Chocoholic Mysteries by Joanna Carl (I think the 1st book is The Chocolate Cat Caper). Or she can laugh her butt off with the Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich (One for the Money is first).

Sam's Letters to Jennifer by James Patterson is very good with a good ending. Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by patterson was good, too, but the ending was a little depressing.

If she wants to read Sparks's books, not all of them have bad endings, but the ones I know have sad endings are Message in a Bottle, At First Sight, and The Notebook.

Kristen Hannah has some very good books, along the same vein as Sparks. The only one I've read so far was Angel Falls, I cried through it, but the ending was great. I've heard that her others were really good.

If she might like historical romance, I'd highly suggest Julie Garwood... The Secret, Ransom, The Bride & The Wedding for sure.

I remember really enjoying Colony and Outer Banks by Anne River Siddons.  It would probably be available in large print and audio. 

If she likes historical fiction, she might like some of these.  My mother loved Memoirs of a Geisha (got her the book and the DVD).   The book really is excellent.  A personal non-romance favorite of mine  is Snow Flower and the Secret Fan  (by Lisa See).  The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini) was also excellent, though it might not be to her taste. 

I always thought Sparks was depressing. I second the Julie Garwood recommendation though. Also, Sara Donati's series that starts with Into the Wilderness might be good for her. It is a family saga, there are sad parts, but the ending is happy and the family generally triumphs throughout their struggles.

I just thought of another that was pretty good, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

I'd recommend The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan.  I can't vouch for the audio book, which is an abridged version, but the book itself is a wonderful story about the love between mother and daughter.  Just gave a copy to my own mother this past weekend.

I'm not religious in the least, but I also really liked The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, which is a story about Dinah from the Bible but also a tale about the power of women, and Pope Joan: a Novel by Donna Woolfolk Cross, which is about a woman who was pope for two years.

only going off my own 60-year-old mother she likes Elizabeth Alder and Barbara Taylor Bradford

Amy Tan-I forgot to mention her earlier.  A lot of her books are on audio.  Although some are a bit on the sad side.

ha - my 60 something mom is a retired English teacher and is ALWAYS recommended great books to me ; )

She doesn't read romances though, but has really loved historical books like Cold Mountain, Memoirs of a Geisha and always loves Amy Tan, but they're not lighthearted reads.  If your mom likes cooking, she might enjoy Diane Mott Davidson's  Goldy series about a middle aged caterer who always finds herself in the mess of a murder.

I just finished The Tea House on Mulberry Street - which was enjoyable with a happy ending.

you might try the large print section of your local library - also the ones here have a number of audio books on tape too.

 Hi everyone,

Thank you all so much for the recommendations. A bunch of them I will definitely investigate for her. I don't really think she's into the heavy romances with love scenes, but I've never really asked her.

Thanks again!