Trillian Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Some random suggestions: The Year We were Famous My Life in France The Boy who Harnessed the Wind Flavia de Luce (short though) Diana Wynn Jones (as an author - again, they don't take long to read - fantasy) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamzanne Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I haven't read all the posts but I would recommend: Barbara Kingsolver books (The Poisonwood Bible, but also her short stories and non-fiction), Brock and Bodie Thoene (not amazing literature but very entertaining historical fiction from a Christian perspective) George R R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series - a bit graphic but in a middle agey sort of way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarinesWife Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 The Carol Kent books are really good. She was our speaker at camp 2 summers ago and I loved hearing their story. Your mom might appreciate reading the books also. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pod's mum Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I would put a Complete Shakespeare at the top of the list, Maybe one with beautiful illustrations to be a bit uplifting. I know you wanted not-disturbing. But seriously, could you get a better opportunity to study, learn and love these. There is so much in there and much of it takes a lot of re-reads. The comedies are good too. Clever and funny. I'd add a good dictionary and those magazines of big, tough crosswords. I used to take those crossword magazines in when I was 'doing hard time' at the Children's Hospital over the years. Not meaning to be flippant, but they are very good time killers, when you are stuck somewhere you don't want to be for a very long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2samlibby Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I've been enjoying Karen Kingsbury's books the past couple weeks, esp. the Baxter series. She's a Christian author. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 A very random assortment.... Some of these are repeats from earlier posts.... anything by Terry Pratchett anything by A.J. Jacobs Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce books Kinky Friedman's mysteries are funny Sherlock Holmes (?) Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell Visit Sunny Chernobyl by Andrew Blackwell Pink Boots and a Machete by Mireya Mayor The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell (similar to The Da Vinci Code) Fatu-Hiva by Thor Heyerdahl (I haven't read his other books, but imagine they would be interesting as well) Packing for Mars by Mary Roach Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro Lying Awake by Mark Salzman Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (maybe) Into Africa by Martin Dugard Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas The Importance of being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 If you are including travel memoir type books as someone suggested: Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence and Toujours Provence Chris Stewart's Driving over Lemons Any of the adventure travel short-story books by Tim Cahill All of these are on the light and humorous side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 For fun light mysteries, the Mrs. Polifax series. Oh yes, I forgot about Mrs. Pollifax. I loved her books. I want to be Mrs. Pollifax when I grow up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 There are quite a few science fiction and fantasy book collections & series out there like the SF Masterworks series and their Fantasy series. Some of them may be a bit serious/horrific, it depends on whether them being in different/alternative worlds is enough to make them palatable. There is another 8 book fantasy collection by Gollancz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Yesterday I asked one of our librarians, who likes more gentle fiction such as Jan Karon, for some recommendations of novels that might fit the bill. One thing about Jan Karon is that she wites series (or at least that one long series), too. I haven't read these authors as I don't read much (enough???) gentle fiction: Debbie Macomber Jenifer Chaverini--she writes novels centred around quilts Beverly Lewis (Amish novels) Joan Medlicott If she can read humourous mystery novels, there is the series by Tamar Myers http://www.amazon.com/Amish-Mystery-Relief-Comfort-Clashes/lm/3TZ7FI1XYWVWF I've read two or three of the Pennsylvania Dutch mysteries. However, there is some romance involved, as well as a murder in each novel. There are also recipes in them. I haven't read her literary novel that was nominated for the Pulitzer, but since I just heard of it am going to put it on hold at the library. Eats Shoots & Leaves -- humourous look at grammar Summer at Tiffany -- a memoir. The author did have a summer romance, but the bulk of the book was about her experience with her classmate as the first women to work on the floor at Tiffany's in the summer of 1945. As much as I enjoy the books, I think that the Flavia de Luce mysteries mentioned above need thought as Flavia's mother simply disappeared she was tiny (so not missing children, but missing mother), the protagonist is 11, and there is a great deal of attention paid to her family relationships. Middlesex has a lot to do with sexual identity and, naturally, some sex. However, the Importance of Being Ernest is hilarious, and if she likes to read plays, there are some very funny ones out there (I'm thinking of Chekov at the moment, but it's been many years since I saw or read one). The Dell puzzle books can be a good distraction, particularly the large ones with many types of puzzles. Penny something press has them, but I've always been a Dell fan. Maria von Trapp's autobiography is in paper back http://www.amazon.com/The-Story-Trapp-Family-Singers/dp/0060005777/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357413576&sr=8-1&keywords=maria+von+trapp+autobiography Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Cross word puzzles. Short stories. What does she like now? (P.S. 15 years for a 16 year old boy? People who commit violent rapes get out in 8 months. She had a terrible lawyer/very bad luck.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Maisie Dobbs series -- a female detective coming of age in post-Victorian society and WWI. Great series! Can you send puzzles (via Amazon) for her to work on? With a roll-up flannel puzzle protector? I know if the prison has a library or game room, that would be very popular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Anything by Karen Kingsbury! She has a series that goes through the life of a family....all the books are excellent. You'll have to check her website to see what the first book is though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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