My grandmother absolutely loves reading, and for the past few years, I have been sending her a book every few months that I think she would enjoy. Unfortunately, her eyesight is getting worse, and she now needs large-print books. I am having trouble finding large-print books she might like.
A few guidelines:
- She LOVES mysteries, but does not like ones that are too violent.
- She likes romance but is not a fan of "all the smutty scenes".
- She says she is too old to read for anything but pleasure, that she read a lot of important books when she was young but now just wants to enjoy herself.
- She can't read for very long periods, so anything good in small doses is perfect.
Books/Authors she likes:
- Anything by Agatha Christie
- A Secret, Book and Scone Society novels by Ellery Adams
- Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala
- The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
- Anything by Fern Michaels
- Anything by Catherine Coulter
Books/things she does not like:
- The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. She said it "had too many British words I didn't understand".
- Audiobooks (unfortunately).
Any suggestions would be great, especially if they come in large print editions.
by jacorbs
20 Comments
Jana DeLeon Miss Fortune series are laugh out loud light mysteries.
Any chance she would use an e-reader? She can change the font to suit her needs and would have unlimited books to read.
Why not get a kindle for her?
Get used kindle
Spoonful of murder by Hall
The Amelia Peabody mysteries by Elizabeth Peters.. my folks LOVED these endless things. Might also try David Baldacci…
Also, might try audiobooks. My mom especially loved The Way I Heard it by Mike Rowe… short mini mysteries of name that famous person that reminded me a lot of the old Rest of the Story newscasts by Paul Harvey. And then that led to Peggy Rowe’s books, which would make both her and my stepdad laugh out loud.
Good luck, hope gramma finds something to enjoy!
My eyes can’t even do large print books anymore (and audiobooks are way too slow) so my daughter got me what’s called an iPad, along with a monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited. I can also access the free Libby app through my local library with it at the same time. So I can read different books at the same time on the same iPad.
She set it up with the largest font, a black background with white words, and the brightest contrast. I can read forever now.
The Kindle subscription is only something like $13 a month, but it allows me to choose a new book a day, if I’d like. And I usually read a book a day.
I’m in seventh heaven now!
My mom was a big fan of Alan Furst – novels about Europe circa WW2.
Do you think she could learn how to use an e-reader? Then she could adjust the font and make any book large print
Buried by the Beach by Ellen Jacobsen. It’s a cosy mystery! My gran really liked it. I have not read it cuz I don’t enjoy mysteries. It’s a shorter novel and there’s more by the same author but we haven’t gotten them yet.
Just want to say I was categorically against audiobooks until I developed an eye issue. Now I listen every day. For hours.
Take that lady a spicy book! Unfortunately, I’m not able to recommend any.
Brooklyn, by colm toibin is a lovely book
I believe she would like the works of Helen Simonson! Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand comes to mind!
I’ve actually seen quite a few large print books on Thriftbooks in the “Cat Who…” series by Lillian Jackson Braun. Which I highly recommend as a low stakes cozy mystery series. But I’ve passed over a few on that site BECAUSE they were large print.
Would she like audiobooks? libraries usually have them in disc formats
Maybe the Hannah Swenson mysteries by Joann Fluke. Cozy bakery mysteries. They’ve been made into movies by Hallmark, but I’ve only read the books. My Mom loved them, and she was about 10 years younger than your grandmother.
She could try a full page magnifier (large magnifying glass).
Does she have a tablet or a kindle? She can make the print size as big as she needs and hike up the contrast too.
Merryn Allingham’s Flora Steele mystery series or Eryn Scott’s books would be ideal for her.
She might enjoy “Remarkably bright creatures” which has some mystery, some romance, and a senior as a pov character.