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Book for my mom

Hannibal

Hannibal

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Hey all...I'm having a really hard time shopping for a book for my mom. She doesn't read as many as I do, so any time I get her one I want to make sure it is exceptional.

I'd say her tastes run along the Oprah vein but I don't want to get her something too fluffy. She's a very young-minded 65, not prudish in the least. The last novel I got her was Wally Lamb's I Know This Much is True (which I also very much enjoyed).
She has said she enjoyed some Danielle Steele's that her husband bought her but I can't buy her one. I can't. I won't.

I've been considering The Secret Life of Bees but after seeing some less-than-enthusiastic reviews I'm wondering if it is really that good...

So, I'm throwing it out here: what can you recommend for a hip 65 year old lady?

Thanks in advance :)
 
Pretty difficult if we don't know the genre your mum likes- I can go only go by what my own mum likes which is John Grisham, Maeve Binchy and Catherine Cookson. For more 'cool' mums I would suggest Memoirs of a Geisha (my mum hated this though) and Angela's Ashes (my mum also hated this though). Mums eh?!
 
I'd put her tastes in general fiction, but definitely something that would tug on the heartstrings.

I did buy her Memoirs of a Geisha last year but I don't think she really got into it for some reason.
 
Perhaps you ought to buy her a saucepan set - I tried and failed to get my mum into 'good' books - she much prefers poking around in the library. Books in her opinion are a waste of money when there's a libraray down the road. My mum loves reading - she got me into it - but she would prefer a useful object for the kitchen. Her chirtsmas shopping wishlist this year is an apron and a steamer - sometimes you just have to go with it. :)
 
Bunny, that suggestion is so untypical of what I had in mind. Yet, from the reviews I've found on the net, that first one seems irresistable. Heck, I've put them on my reading list!

My mom used to read fairy tales to me when I was a little guy. In fact, I think Daughter of the Forest is a retelling of one of those. Anyhow, this looks like a great suggestion even if it is fantasy...it's something different.

Thanks for a suggestion I would never have come up with :)
 
It's tough not knowing your mum's exact tastes, but as a mom not far off in age from yours, I'll give it a shot.

My tastes run from science fiction and fantasy to general fiction and classics, but here are some general ficition titles she might like:

"Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" - Fannie Flagg
"Away" - Jane Urquhart
"The Hundred Secret Senses" - Amy Tan
"No Great Mischief" - Alistair MacLean
"Captain Corelli's Mandolin" - Louis De Bernieres
"Girl With A Pearl Earring" - Tracy Chevalier

I haven't found anyone who didn't like "Fried Green Tomatoes...", so I'd suggest that one first, followed by the Amy Tan or Urquhart.

In terms of "fluffiness", the Chevalier is probably the lightest read, but depends on what you want. :) What I'd really like to suggest is some Atwood, but some people can't stand her.

p.s. I'm not a big Oprah or Danielle Steele fan either.
 
Hannibal,
Let me heartily recommend T.R. Pearson's Short History of a Small Place . No Oprah melodrama or syrupy romance. It's just one of those books, in my opinion. Funny, touching, etc. but with some real themes for bedrock.
 
Thanks for the recs!

funes, I missed your post before I went shopping. Fried Green Tomatoes was the first one I saw so that's the winner. Ell, I was flipping through it and I think she is really going to like it. Thank you.

I'll keep the others in mind for her birthday...thanks all, and Merry Christmas!
 
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