Hi Reddit, I was wondering if you could suggest a book for me. I listen to audiobooks on my commute to and from work, and usually I'm willing to try a book without knowing much about it. Lately all of the books I've tried have had something about it that made me nope out, so I thought you all might be able to help. I'm a 58 year old woman, and I'm a police 911 dispatcher. Since my job is so stressful, I don't go for suspense or crime much. I have never been into romance books, and I'm not really into fantasy/sci fi. I mostly read women authors and women centric stories. I do like historical fiction and contemporary fiction. One of the last books I tried was historical fiction, but there was so much rage inducing almost torture porn, I quit a few chapters in. I'm sure things would have turned around for dear Ellie, I just don't need to get that enraged on my way to work (main character in Victorian London tricked into marrying a man whose family controlled everything, threatened with the psych ward for wanting to take care of her baby…) I also don't want to hear sex or masturbation scenes on my way to work. So I'm looking for:
*women centric fiction
*no sex
*no horrible treatment of anyone or animals
thank you!!
by Colibri918
10 Comments
Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Alice Monroe. I am former LEO, the only death mentioned is never described in any great detail other than saying it happened and it does drive the plot- a character breaks an arm playing football with no detail other than that. The book was a wonderful read that had amazing imagery of the old south and a theme of female empowerment and environmental conservation.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck, anything by Sidney Sheldon, and I did deep into YA fiction when I need a break too. Yeah, YA will have some weird stuff, but overall it is pretty harmless. If you like Sci-fi, Cixin Liu and his Remembrance of Earths past Trillogy are all amazing, you get drawn into his universes pretty deep. Little House on the Prarie books, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Lastly, I find that while a lot of his books are the same thing with details changed, Nicholas Sparks is a good mindless indulgence read.
One book I do NOT recommend that I recently checked out and really wished had a trigger warning was Pretty Girls by Karen Slaughter. It was well written and I finished it, but it stirred up a lot of PTSD with the major plot being SA and murder related. Only throw it out as it keeps being recommended by all my apps since it’s a bestseller. The blurb on my Hoopla app was nothing like what it contained.
Sipsworth
Iona Iverson’s Rules for Community (or The Authenticity Project by the same author)
The Summer Book (by Jansson)
The Correspondent
Love & Saffron
h{{Hurricane Season by Lauren K. Denton}}
I really loved Remarkably Bright Creatures on audio. It’s a sweet lighthearted story.
I just finished the audiobook of Audition – Katie Kitamura and it’s going to have me thinking for a very long time. It was clever and literary but an entirely compulsive and enthralling listen. A middle aged woman is the protagonist
The Correspondent, A Prayer for Owen Meany
If interested in unusual history, i would recommend “medieval graffiti: in the footsteps of the executed”
I just listened to That’s Not How It Happened by Craig Thomas on audio and it’s probably my favorite audiobook of the year. Highly recommend.
Thanks I’ll check it out
It’s not women-centric but it was a sweet story– The Road to Tender Hearts