grandma reads books

December 21, 2008 2:15 PM

christmas present filter: help me pick out a book for my grandmother!

I need/want to get my 77 y/o grandmother a book and/or several books.

Things i know she reads a lot of: James Patterson, Stephen King.

What I would like to get her: a murder mystery type book that is, well, not of the James Patterson type. You know, more... literary, classic even... but something she would still enjoy that is a fairly easy read. Length is not an issue, as I have seen her HOUSE a 500 page book fairly easily. Mostly it needs to be something that will keep her not-very-bright (sorry, Gram!) mind interested.

I have a degree in English Lit, and I refuse to buy a James Patterson (or similar) book. Seriously, it will cause me a great deal of pain if I have to.

Any and all suggestions will be appreciated.
I am in NYC so I have a lot of shops at hand.
I also need this by Wednesday.
I also need it to be under 20 dollars (I didn't get my bailout yet!)

posted by slograffiti to shopping (22 comments total)

Rebecca

Murder on the Orient Express, and the rest of Agatha Christie.

Sherlock Holmes.

Gorky Park and the rest of Martin Cruz Smith.

These aren't exactly high-brow, but they're at least somewhat literary. I linked to Amazon, but I'm sure you could find any of these books at a store in NYC.
posted by charmcityblues at 2:24 PM on December 21, 2008

Caleb Carr's The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness.
posted by brujita at 2:44 PM on December 21, 2008

David Eddings' Belgariad series.
This series is a 5-part coming-of-age story mingled with an epic journey. It's easy to read in the same way Stephen King is easy to read, although the subject matter is different- less violent, and more humour. But Eddings' style is similar to King's in that it's pretty conversational in tone, has sharp, quirky characters, and good dialogue. Overall it's an easy, engaging, and enjoyable read.

David Sedaris' Me Talk Pretty One Day.
This is a collection of autobiographical essays about Sedaris' life growing up in North Carolina and moving to NYC and then France as an adult. Sedaris is a fantastically weird, sharp individual, his life is interesting, and his writing is laugh-out-loud funny and clever. Really fun to read. I've bought this for several older relatives and they lurrrved it. All of Sedaris' stuff is great, but this one is my favourite.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 2:48 PM on December 21, 2008

Try P.D. James
posted by RussHy at 2:56 PM on December 21, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

If Grandma likes Stephen King and mass-market thrillers, and you'd like to give her a smarter and more nutritious selection along those lines, I recommend these (exciting, interesting, fast-paced) crowd pleasers:

Devil in the White City

In Cold Blood

In The Heart of The Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

...Or, perhaps, one of Joyce Carol Oates's macabe/thriller short story collections?
posted by applemeat at 3:03 PM on December 21, 2008

I'm a book geek and mystery lover, and 2nding P.D. James (The Private Patient is her newest) and Devil in the White City. I love PDJ and FWIW my 70+ year old dad loved Devil in the White City.
posted by angiep at 3:11 PM on December 21, 2008

I'm a former English Major, but tend to disregard full adherence to the canon. I really enjoy Dennis Lehane's work, and imagine it's a step above Patterson. His latest, "The Given Day" might be high brow enough for your tastes - but I'm not sure if you can buy it for under $20 - I'm more of a library guy.

Also, Jodi Picoult has a few court room books, and she's an easy read for sure.
posted by backwards guitar at 3:12 PM on December 21, 2008

And Then There Were None / Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie. Also 2nding Caleb Carr
posted by misterbrandt at 3:23 PM on December 21, 2008

Perfume. It's about a murderer, it's a page-turner, but it's more literary than most in that genre.
posted by daisyace at 3:28 PM on December 21, 2008

Nthing PD James.

Elizabeth George is also excellent.

Carol O'Connell - it's out of order, but I'd start with Stone Angel.

Anything by George Pelecanos.
posted by rtha at 3:47 PM on December 21, 2008

Just a caution: I like P.D. James myself - but you might consider whether or not your grandma would enjoy a British author. My mom devoured mysteries, and I learned that the books I liked were not the ones she was going to like - and that British writers were not her cup of tea.
posted by jeri at 4:13 PM on December 21, 2008

The Brother Cadfael Series
posted by ocherdraco at 4:15 PM on December 21, 2008

Oh god, I hear you on the James Patterson.

The Lincoln Rimes books by Jeffery Deaver are good-- CSI in New York as practiced by a quadriplegic out of his home.

The Wire in the Blood series by Val McDermid is about Dr. Tony Hill, a psychologist, with severe problems of his own. These are pretty graphic and bloody, but if she has a taste for S. King, she should not mind that so much.

Along with Applemeat's suggestion of Devil in the White City I would also recommend the true life Victorian murder mystery, The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale.

And for something a bit different, The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society was written by a 70 year old woman who died before publication. It's a bit twee, but very readable being the story of the Nazi occupation of British isle of Guernsey during WWII as told through letters and post cards.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:47 PM on December 21, 2008

Sorry, I should mention Dr. Tony Hill solves murders. My description of the Wire in the Blood series failed to mention that.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:50 PM on December 21, 2008

Get a bunch of Josphine Tey. She gave us The Daughter of Time, one of the most original of murder mysteries, and several others as well. Her prose will satisfy the english lit major in you.

Alternatively, if it's bulk you need, try Follett's Pillars of the Earth. Seems to go down well with a wide range of folk.

(And don't be dissing gramma to people strange to you.)
posted by IndigoJones at 5:11 PM on December 21, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

N-thing P.D. James. Also, especially if you're an English Lit type, check-out the mystery novels by Benjamin Black. (Benjamin Black is a nom de plum for Booker Prize winner John Banville.) Though not quite as literary, Laurie R. King's novels about Sherlock Holmes' wife Mary Russel are fun; they're well written, as pastiches go.

(Also--based on personal experience--grandmothers are have more intelligence and cool than they are generally given credit for. See Mrs. Marple.)
posted by paulg at 6:29 PM on December 21, 2008

How about The Historian? If she likes scary and she likes mysteries, she'll adore it.
posted by Addlepated at 6:35 PM on December 21, 2008

I have a degree in English Lit, and I refuse to buy a James Patterson (or similar) book. Seriously, it will cause me a great deal of pain if I have to.

Maybe I'm crazy, but shouldnt' it be about what she likes rather than your own preferences? That said, I'm jaded by a HS English teacher who wouldn't let me do a literary review on Stephen King because he was "not literature" but allowed Grisham and Michael Crichton who are equally "not literature". So what did I do? That was the year The Regulators was released under the Bachman pseudonym. Ended the review with and who would have known that Bachman is, in fact, Stephen King? He was furious but it served him right for an arbitrary inclusion/exclusion point.

If she likes Patterson, I agree with a lot of the recommendations above but would add Daniel Silva, especially his Gabriel Allon series.
posted by TravellingCari at 6:56 PM on December 21, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I would recommend The Master Butcher's Singing Club by Louise Erdrich. It has a couple of mysteries, sort of, and a lot of intertwined stories (as all Erdrich novels do). My mother and mother-in-law both enjoyed it, as did I.
posted by peep at 7:04 PM on December 21, 2008

I recommend the Maisie Dobbs series of mysteries.
posted by HiddenInput at 7:24 PM on December 21, 2008

PD James it is. Thanks!
posted by slograffiti at 8:42 AM on December 22, 2008

Strangely enough this thread was swirling around my head last night as I fell asleep. I think you are making a mistake with the P.D. James and I most certainly would not buy more than one. I have read most of her books and never felt fully engaged-- for someone who is used to reading S. King thrillers I'm afraid that P.D. James will come across as very dull indeed. Ruth Rendell, while not as literate, is a much better storyteller, hence her decades of best selling status.

As Jeri pointed out, British writers may not be your grandmother's cup of tea at all. My mother in law is a great reader but hates anything British, including TV and movies.


Things i know she reads a lot of: James Patterson, Stephen King.

What I would like to get her: a murder mystery type book that is, well, not of the James Patterson type.

Going by the examples of what your grandmother likes to read, I would say she reads thrillers not mysteries which is a different genre altogether. Some people, in fact, do not care for series books because the author either has to repeat herself or leave the casual reader who has not read the whole series in the dark as to background. Here is a top 10 Thrillers of 2008 list. I'm looking forward to reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:09 AM on December 23, 2008