Another Book Thread...Sorry

[bluemoon]

My mum is not well and is probably going to be off her feet for 5 or 6 weeks. She's going to need a LOT of reading materials (though we've bought her a small T.V. for her bedroom and our son in law is going to set it up for her). She usually reads historical romances, you know the sort of thing; "A story of love, betrayal and revenge set in deepest Dorset". The other week I was given one of the Shardlake books, passed it on and she loved it, so I've bought her the rest, but I vaguely remember something about a detective monk which sounds like it might be similar, does anyone know the titles/author of that series? Or can anyone recommend a good book/series along these sort of lines?
Many thanks.

[pdblake]

Was it Cadfael? Not sure if there were any books though.

[Alison Adams]

Might your mum enjoy audio books ? If you have a player of some kind - and it doesnt have to be an iPod or anything bought specially, lots of mobile phones can play mp3s and other audio formats nowadays - there are loads of places to download free content. Some books are a straight reading, others are dramatised (which I prefer) and the range is huge.
Look for torrent sites (check their legal/licensing smallprint to avoid getting into trouble) or just google audio book download and see if anything catches your eye ! Our whole family from Charlie aged 7 listening to StoryNory's me and the OH with crime/drama favourites and my mum who doesnt sleep well at the best of times, getting through the radio 7 dramas. All it takes is a bit of time to download a new set of content every so often. Recommended.

[SarzWix]

Audible Audible.co.uk - Downloadable audio books is great for audio books

What about Georgette Heyer bluemoon? You can get a lot of those for 1p plus postage on Amazon.

Also recommend anything by Mary Stewart.

[Two_Sheds]

Borders came up with these suggestions: Spookily accurate suggested reading for Dark Fire: (Shardlake) by C.J. Sansom

[allotmentlady]

i have some books she might like, want to pm me ur addy and i will send them xx

[basketcase]

If she likes historical romance, I'd second Georgette Heyer.

Has she read the Dynasty series by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles? It's about a Yorkshire family from its rise during the Wars of the Roses to the 20th century.

[SlugLobber]

How historical? Would she like Ruth Hamilton? Most of her books are set in/around Bolton during the Industrial Revolution, coal pit/cotton era. Think Erin Brokovich meets Mills and Boon!

[SueA]

The 'detective monk' Cadfael features in several books, you can get an omnibus of them from Amazon, on offer here-
Seventh Cadfael Omnibus: Amazon.co.uk: Ellis Peters: Books

[Hilary B]

Was it Cadfael? Not sure if there were any books though.

The Cadfael books were around long before anyone tried to make TV out of them. I believe there are a total of 20, starting with "A Morbid Taste for Bones".
For Romance with action, not exactly historic, but certainly set a few years back now, anything by Mary Stewart. She writes that sort of thing exceptionally well, and many of them have some historic 'connections' (ie the story happens because of something in the past). In particular "Touch not the Cat" has 'explanations' relating to historic times, but is mainly set somewhere around the 50s or 60s.

[coreopsis]

I could recommend 2 books:
Kate Morton-The Forgotten Garden-family complications and mysteries through 3 generations
Diana Gabaldon-Cross Stitch-woman moves in time 200 years back in Scotland-wicked book with bits to laugh an cry as well

Sorry,I'm rubbish with descriptions but both of books are worth to keep as I know I'll be back to them in a while.

[bluemoon]

Every single one of these suggestions is brilliant!!! Thank you all so much. Yes I think it was Cadfael that I was groping for. I've been to visit Mum this afternoon and supposedly to do her some shopping but her best friend had already shopped for her 'to save you the trouble' she said...the old girl is 84! It makes you realize just how kind and helpful people can be when everything suddenly goes pear shaped.

[batpixie]

I could recommend 2 books:
Kate Morton-The Forgotten Garden-family complications and mysteries through 3 generations
Diana Gabaldon-Cross Stitch-woman moves in time 200 years back in Scotland-wicked book with bits to laugh an cry as well

Sorry,I'm rubbish with descriptions but both of books are worth to keep as I know I'll be back to them in a while.

Diana Gabaldon has written a series of books, called The Outlander Series, the first of which is Cross Stitch. There are currently 6 books out, with a new one coming out next year. She has also written some spin-off books which feature some of the characters from the main series. The books are historical romance, based in the Scottish Highlands in the 1700's. Me and my mum have both really enjoyed reading all of the books and are looking forward to the next one coming out. Some of them are quite long, but they are quite addictive and I didn't want to put them down! Diana Gabaldon has a website which details all of her books with some excerpts if you want to check what they are about before buying - Diana Gabaldon Official Site

[vikkib]

Might your mum enjoy audio books ? If you have a player of some kind - and it doesnt have to be an iPod or anything bought specially, lots of mobile phones can play mp3s and other audio formats nowadays - there are loads of places to download free content. Some books are a straight reading, others are dramatised (which I prefer) and the range is huge.
Look for torrent sites (check their legal/licensing smallprint to avoid getting into trouble) or just google audio book download and see if anything catches your eye ! Our whole family from Charlie aged 7 listening to StoryNory's me and the OH with crime/drama favourites and my mum who doesnt sleep well at the best of times, getting through the radio 7 dramas. All it takes is a bit of time to download a new set of content every so often. Recommended.

You can get quite a range of audio books at libraries usually too. Might be worth a try!

Hope your Mum recovers quickly!

[annacruachan]

Your mum might also like Mary Stewart's Arthurian series; The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, The Last Enchantment and The Wicked Day. All utterly unputdownable!