Does anyone have any suggestions on a book for a senior citizen woman? I don't have any specific genre requests – her Secret Santa wishlist card just said "books" as something she enjoys and asked for.
I normally give books by authors I enjoy, but I'm not sure if that would work in this case. It might, though! I'd just like other suggestions, if possible. Thank you!
by omggallout
23 Comments
Remarkably Bright Creatures maybe? It’s a really sweet, uplifting book with an older woman MC.
The Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman
Any novel by Agatha Christie
The Her Majesty The Queen Investigates series by S.J. Bennett
The dirtiest smut you can legally buy in your country.
Second the Thursday Murder Club books. Also the Inspector Gamache books by Louise Penny
Little old ladies read more violent true crime than any other group, so I’ve heard. I’ll find out for myself in a couple of years.
Killers of a Certain Age is a really fun read!
What does her age have to do with it? Just wondering.
This is not a lot to go on. I might suggest John Updike books, which take place from 60s to 80s. Mick Herron’s ‘Slow Horses’ series is pretty good.
Drive your plow over the bones of the dead
I am a 70 year old woman who lives in the UK
My favourite authors are
Lindsey Davis
Ilona Andrews
Trisha Ashley
Anna Hackett
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Anna Carven
Lindsey Buroker
Jane Ann Krentz
Jane Austen
Patrick Moore
I hope this helps you
Well, I guess I’m a senior citizen woman (69), so I’ll share a few of my most recent likes/loves:
Currently reading [All The Colors Of The Dark by Chris Whitaker](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/203019740-all-the-colors-of-the-dark?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=gPjEcmTWwa&rank=1) (my first by this author, and wishing I had discovered him before). Tagged for crime, art, photography, and a bit of youthful romance (coming of age).
[Wild And Distant Seas by Tara Karr Roberts](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/150779156-wild-and-distant-seas) is beautifully written. Moby Dick adjacent, I tagged it for women, magical realism, some romance (pre- or extra-marital sexual encounters).
[The Women by Kristen Hannah](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/127305853-the-women), historical fiction about combat nurses during the Vietnam War and after their return. TW for graphic depictions of war and PTSD, some addiction.
Anything by Kristen Hannah and Anne Patchett,
I have an older lady friend in her 80s and she reads the same exact things I do…
How bold are you? “Erotic Stories of Punjabi Women” is a tad racy but not smutty book that is about the place of older women in society. It is joyful and sad. I found it to be well written.
Less bold? “Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand” is a fun read with good character development.
Yes, I have been on a bit of a British kick of late.
Smut. any smutty book you can find.
The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez, so good!
Is her age the only reason that you think you wouldn’t enjoy the same authors? If so, you’re probably wrong. A voracious reader is open to read anything; and the “senor woman” has eclectic tastes. That’s why she didn’t specify.
If she’s still a fairly active woman (or likes the notion of still vigorous older women) she might like Anne Maddison’s Secret Admirer by Barbara Joyce Parker. Because Anne is a stellar private detective in her late 50s, on the verge of early retirement, when her final case takes a bizarre turn. It’s a sci fi though; and so maybe not suitable for everyone.
I’d buy a gift card and frame it. It’s something to wrap and it means she can buy whatever books she wants. Maybe even buy two (of appropriate amounts, $20 for a book and $5 for coffee is reasonable and probably sticks to your price limit), one for a local bookstore and one for the coffee shop next door so she can have a treat day. Ikea frames are like $2 so it doesn’t break the bank.
The Marlow Murder Club series.
Cute and funny series about an elderly woman and her ragtag friends who help solve murders in their town.
*Like Mother, Like Mother* by Susan Rieger
*Held* by Anne Michaels
*The God of the Woods* by Liz Moore
Lady of the Army: The Life of Mrs. George S. Patton
“A masterpiece of seminal research, Lady of the Army is an extraordinary, detailed, and unique biography of a remarkable woman married to a now legendary American military leader in both World War I and World War II.”
The Mrs Pollifax books. A senior citizen is widowed, lacks purpose, and is undecided between ending it all or pursuing a life-long dream of becoming a spy. The first in the series is *The Unexpected Mrs Pollifax*. I’d start there.
What else is on her list- any indications to other interests?
Ben Goldfarb has some excellent non-fiction, both Crossings and Eager are great. Ed Yong I Contain Multitudes also a good one.