Book Suggestions - Elderly Parents

[Leeds2]

My parents (aged 90 and 83) live 250 miles away, so I cannot see them at present. One of their mainstays has always been the local library, which is obviously now closed. They don't have internet, and are running out of things to read/do, so I thought I would send them a few books from Amazon, and am looking for suggestions.
Dad likes war books, mum likes historical fiction but, in both cases, don't like bad language or sex scenes. Any suggestions?
Thank you.

I sent my mum [87] Our Hidden Lives - The Remarkable Diaries of Post War Britain by Simon Garfield. She loved it. I think it would probably appeal to both your parents.

Thanks, recklessgran. Will give that one a look, especially as your mum is of a similar vintage!

Hi OP, I wonder if your mum has already read a lot of Philippa Gregory? Her best known books are about royalty, often the Tudors or Plantagenets, but as an alternative you could look at Earthly Joys and Virgin Earth which tell the story of John Tredescant, plant expert and garden designer to the wealthy in the days of Charles 1.

My mum loved The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard, and they're a comfort read for me too. The absorbing story of a large family, starting just after WW1 and running up to and throughout WW2. There were four books in the original series which I really recommend. EJH wrote a fifth twenty years later, just before her death, which is not as good as the others, so personally I'd stick to the first four.

Does your dad like non-fiction or novels about the war? I've read a range of fiction set in that period but history not so much.

Thanks, highlandcoo.

Mum has read a lot of Phillipa Gregory, but the ones about John Tredescant sound very appealing. She ia a great fan of books by Ellis Peters (I think?) which are about a monk who is a plant expert and gardener and, I think, uses this information to solve crimes.

My dad would prefer fiction, so any recommendations welcome!

Tim Pears - The Horseman (book 1 of a trilogy)

Jane Smiley - The All True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton

Rebecca Tope might appeal to your mum. She has a couple of series - in the Cotswolds with a house sitter, one in the Lake District with a florist. Contemporary rural settings where murders are solved.

Hi again OP

Some suggestions for your dad:

That Summer by Andrew Greig. The story of a young pilot and a female radar operator during the Battle of Britain. (I think your mum might also like this).

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. A blind girl and a German boy trying to navigate their way through the chaos of WWII in Europe.

Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave. London during the Blitz and the story of a young woman charged with teaching hildren who weren't evacuated while her boyfriend is abroad fighting ( one or two distressing scenes.)

Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks. A young woman working in mainland Europe as an SOE while also searching for her missing fiancé.

Enigma by Robert Harris. The development at Bletchley of the amazing machine which contributed so much to the defeat of Nazi Germany. Some technical/maths stuff which I had to skim a bit but still extremely readable.

Fatherland also by Robert Harris. Imagining how the world would have been had Nazi Germany won the war.

And some further ideas for your mum:

The Shardlake series by CJ Sansom. Tudor mysteries.

The Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny. Gentle murder mysteries set in a cosy village in French Canada.

Alexander McCall Smith's The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency set in Botswana. Again, nothing grisly or disturbing.

Have a look OP and see what you think. And if you need more ideas, you could ask MNHQ to move this thread to What We're Reading as you'll get some good suggestions over there.

Lucinda Riley is good.

What about Sharon Penman’s The Sunne In Splendour for your mum. She’s written a few other books too. Or:

Nella Last’s War.

The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E M Delafield.

Can any Mother Help Me

Anything by Georgette Heyer

Anything by Rosamund Pilcher

Sorry for leaving your dad out but can’t think of anything suitable for him!

To Catch A King by Charles Spencer (Princess Di’s brother) has good reviews.
Rachel Hore has written a few books which jump backwards, often about some mystery to do with an old derelict house. Harriet Evans’ The Butterfly Summer had a similar theme, I think.
I read a decent Richard Madeley one recently, but can’t think of the name.

The Madeley one is Some Day I’ll Find You.
Catherine Cookson wrote loads, of course.
Or she might like James Herriot or Hannah Hauxwell.

I was going to suggest Enigma by Robert Harris but someone beat me to it. I reiterate the recommendation

A PP suggested CJ Sansom Shardlake series, very good.

Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce.
Old Baggage by Lissa Evans

Books by Marcia Willett.