Hi!
I will undergo ACL surgery soon (i.e. knee operation), and will be bedridden for ~6 weeks.
I'm therefore wondering which books you would recommend to someone that won't be able to get out of their house for a long time – books that enchant the reader, or brings the reader on an adventure. Books that make time pass and make me focus on something other than my own pain. This is a great opportunity to read something long and get totally mesmerized by the story.
Some (similar feeling) books I've enjoyed: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen, Elena Ferrante's Napoli Quartet, The Passenger by Cormac Mccarthy (although I needed 300 pages to get into it)
Thank you in advance 🙂
by nonlinearliv
7 Comments
R. Davies, What’s bred in the bone
Anne of Green Gables
I had my ACL reconstructed in September 2024 and I was back at my office 4 days later. Why will you be bed ridden for 6 months?
You may have trouble concentrating due to the medications you will likely be given. Be prepared for that. When I had a partial replacement, I read the Rivers of London series. It was engaging without being overly complex and having the same core characters helped me with the concentration issues.
The Beartown trilogy should get you through a few weeks!
You are my people because I too read The Neapolitan Novels while in ACL Recovery!
Since you like high-brow character studies, here are some recommendations that are particularly long or dense: Demon Copperhead, How To Say Babylon (I also read this post surgery!), Cloud Cuckoo Land, The Alice Network.
If you’re down for some nonfiction, Say Nothing and These Truths are fantastic. The author of These Truths has a new book out recently but I haven’t read it.
If you’re down for some magical realism/fantasy, the Shades of Magic Trilogy by VE Schwab is an easy rec.
Good luck, do more PT than you think you can. I pushed myself hard with PT and was walking a mile in a brace within a week post-surgery. You can do it!!
I recently loved A Memory Called Empire and its sequel A Desolation Called Peace. Language is a part of the plot and the characters are very well written.