My sister is Deaf and has a slight learning disability. This makes some concepts difficult for her to grasp.
She needs to start reading, in an effort to not only improve her English, but also just for fun. I want to help her find books she will enjoy, but it’s difficult as the last book she read and enjoyed was Nancy Drew.
I asked her what kind of stories she liked she replied “things with people’s lives happenings”.
Can you recommend some titles to start with? I already have Harry Potter and possibly Bridget Jones on the list, anything else? She likes horror, so maybe some Dean Koontz (he is simple to follow)? She needs basic stories, but still suitable for an adult.
Hmm. I guess SF/F is right out, then? (If she is, I would’ve recommended the Heinlein juvies as they’re pretty easy reading).
Lemony Snicket? My friend (more knowledgeable about mainstream stuff than I) recommends Charlaine Harris, who apparently has a couple of series, one about a telepath dating a vampire, and another series about a woman detective in a small town named Shakespeare. Since you mention Nancy Drew, the latter might be fun.
I love her description of “things with people’s lives happening” – I like stories like that too.
Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey is a mystery about a young man who claims to be the long-lost son of an English family. You find out pretty straight off that he isn’t in fact the son, but the family doesn’t know. The man then solves the mystery of what really happened to the son.
Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford is a great story that follows a family over several years – classic wacky eccentric family (based on Mitford’s actual family). The writing is pretty straightforward, but it is set in the time leading up to WWII, so the only confusing aspects might be details that are now dated.
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall is a relatively new YA novel, but it’s written so that an adult would enjoy it. Four sisters spend the summer in the country.
How about the Mitford series from Jan Karon? They start with “At Home in Mitford,” and there are eight or so of them. They have likeable characters, they make me laugh, and they don’t have a lot of plot complexity to confuse.
I was going to suggest the Mitford books, as well, and there is an author called Phillip Gulley who writes the same types of books about a Quaker Pastor. Fun characters.