Good books on Audible for elderly mum

[Perfectlystill]

My mum can't read any more and has asked me for good book recs but when I look up books I've enjoyed they are not on Audible.

Please recommend me any good books that she might listen to - she's clever and modern and enjoys good fiction (not chick lit) and biography.

Thanks

I’m about to start Barack Obama’s biography The Promised Land, which he reads himself

And I just finished the Rory Stewart latest Politics on the Edge. Again read by himself.

There are lots of classic fiction - Jane Austen, Charles Dickens. Stephen Fry has done all the Sherlock Holmes stuff

Spotify also do audiobooks now. For classics I get some through a podcast called The Sleepy Bookshelf - they are designed for calling asleep to but you can listen like a normal audiobook as well

Would she like the Madeline Miller books? Retellings of greek myths

I find I like slightly different types of writing style between reading and listening. So she might have to try a few out and see what she gels with.

Use Borrowbox - it is free. All you need is a library card from any library.
That will give you a wider choice of books.

I love Natalie Haynes' retelling of Greek myths from a female perspective.

I also loved Things in Jars and Himself, both extremely well read.

For a little light relief The Stranger Times is bloody funny urban fantasy.

Fiction or non?

My Mum in law loves most things by Maeve Binchy. Beautifully read out in the softest of Irish accents. I liked them too - easy on the r brain and no unpleasant surprises

The Salt Path (but not the follow up)

I'm currently listening to the diary of a provincial lady, it was on offer and I'm surprised by how much I'm enjoying it.
Others I recommend are anything by Barbara Kingsolver, Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer, CB Strike books by Robert Galbraith, Richard Osmans Thursday murder club,
I loved Remarkably bright creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, it's about an octopus. St Mary's books by Jodi Taylor about time travelling historians and Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir is my favourite audiobook. It's Sci fi but works so well.

Others I've loved as audiobooks

Mr Loverman
Bridesmaid Revisited
A Dance to the Music of Time
Tin Man
The Lamplighters
Project Hail Mary
The Martian
The Corset
Engleby

So many more

Stacey Halls is very good, start with The Familiars.

Not modern but Rebecca, And Then There Were None and Endless Night are all on Audible and all brilliantly read.

Rosamunde Pilcher The Shell Seekers , Winter Solitice and Coming Home.

Winter in Madrid by CJ Sansom is brilliant.
i also love Anna Massey reading Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.
If she likes non- fiction loads of Bill Bryson books are on Audible. I really enjoyed At Home and A Short History of Nearly Everything (although that’s a bit dated now).

Kate Morton is good - I’ve got the Forgotten Garden read by Caroline Lee.

And another excellent non-fiction is This Sceptred Isle (which was on Radio 4 years ago so she may know it.)

Not Audible, but I love the podcast series for the Aubrey Maturin books (as in the Master and Commander film if you're not familiar with the book series!). I listen to it in the car when on long journeys on my own, so I'm doing it slowly but they do go through the stories, talking about each chapter, the characters etc.

I think the books are also available on Audible, but this is a free option if she wants to try it! The books are brilliant - set in the Napoleonic wars, Royal Naval shenanigans but it's not full of sex and gore, it's a fantastic series.

Or the Hornblower books series as an alternative for much the same period.

The Dictionary of Lost words is one I read recently and loved - it’s sort of about the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary but writes it from the perspective of a fictional woman - as it was largely men doing it what words did they kiss and think unimportant because they were ‘women’s words.’ The language gets a bit fruity though - but it’s excellent. I haven’t heard it on audio though so no idea if it’s read well or not.

Does she like cosy(ish) crime? I heartily recommend the Fethering series by Simon Brett.

I also recommend Project Hail Mary. The narration is superb.

On BBC sounds there are some serialised classics and modern books for free

My favourite Audible (free with a sub) books recently have been:

The Count of Monte Cristo read by Bill Homewood
Crime and Punishment read by Will Poulter
A Christmas Carol read by Hugh Grant

The first two go on forever so are good value.

Would she like Marian Keyes? Please don't say that she's chick lit!

Her book, Rachel's holiday, is really really good and Marion narrates it. The follow-up book Again, Rachel is very good as well and she narrates that, too. Her narration makes the whole experience absolutely brilliant.

I enjoyed Forensics by Val McDermid (non-fiction)

Also loads of wonderful stuff on BBC sounds/ radio 4

Audiobooks I have enjoyed...

The Blood Doctor by Barbara Vine
Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Martian
Project Hail Mary both by Andy Weir
The Cormoran Strike books by Robert Galbraith
About a Boy by Nick Hornby
The End of Men by Christina Sweeney Baird
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Ghost
Second Sleep, both by Robert Harris
The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish
Come Again by Robert Webb
Yellowface by R F Kuang
Birnham Wood by Eleanor Catton
Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
The Maid by Nita Prose
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Jane Fallon books
Agatha Christie books

I could go on!

Some audible, some via borrowbox from.my library.

I love The Rivers of London books narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith.
The Agatha Raisin books narrated by Penelope Keith.

I use both Audible and BorrowBox.

Another recommendation for the St Mary's books by Jodi Taylor.
Any of the Cousin's War books by Phillipa Gregory
Secret History - Donna Tartt
Any of Natalie Haynes retelling of Greek myths from a female perspective

I am an avid fan of audio books.

Mick Herron's - Slow Horses / Slough House series is engaging - Spies / Cold war.

Someone mentioned Donna Tartt's - The secret history. I would second that along with The Goldfinch (which I actually preferred).

The Wolf Hall Trilogy - Hilary Mantel were amazing.

Non- fiction I really enjoyed - Power and Thrones by Dan Brown- it's a thematic approach the middle ages which was really compelling for me.

I also enjoyed Stephen King's the Stand / the Shining/ Misery.

The Robert Galbraith Strike series.

Biography - the Obama books (both Michelle and Barrack) are good.

Generally I prefer longer listens and series to one offs.