Your recommendations are needed

So, a friend of mine another site has a sister, who was just diagnosed with cancer, and is going in for surgery asap. Rather than dwell on this worrisome thing, she has chosen to put her focus on all the books that she can read. And that, my dear LTers, is where you lovely folk can do your bookish thing, and help out a fellow bibliophile!

She says:
Some of her favorite books are: Out Stealing Horses, Sophie's World, Rumors of Peace, Winter Wheat
(I'm assuming the touchstones are correct, the first three she didn't mention authors, so it's just the default)
She likes stories with a strong sense of place, about families.
Does not care for romance or mystery, mostly literary fiction.
Of the 7 essential plots, I would say her preferences are man vs nature and man vs self
She likes memoirs

Go!

Well, Out Stealing Horses was recommended for me because I have Raising Jake, which I really liked a lot.

A memoir about a Muslim woman from Britain working in Saudi Arabia as a physician, In the Land of Invisible Women was also very interesting.

I also enjoyed Seven Years in Tibet which was made into a movie.

A humorous "across America" book that was pretty good was The Great Typo Hunt in which several people set out to correct all the spelling mistakes on signs all across the country. The responses they had from people were quite varied. Light reading, definitely. Interestingly, I did find a typo in the kindle version. I wrote the author but never heard back.

I have lots of memoirs in my collection. Some are sad, some are silly and happy (like some cat memoirs). It depends what she likes.

Best wishes to her for a successful surgery and a full recovery!

k4k

When I was recovering from surgery, I found that I couldn't concentrate sufficiently to read a full-length book. So I am recommending short stories and essays.

For stories with that "strong sense of place, about families", I'd suggest Colm Tóibín's The Empty Family, and The Collected Stories of John McGahern.

For memoirs, any of M.F.K. Fisher's books, and I'd also recommend any collection of Calvin Trillin's essays.

Thank you both, I'm sure both sisters will appreciate your help!

Taking the clues "literary", "memoir" and "family story" (while aiming away from anything too depressing), maybe she would like to read My Left Foot, or Running in the Family.

If she liked Winter Wheat, has she tried something by Willa Cather (O Pioneers! or My Antonia)?

There's a WWII-era setting in a couple of her favourites. Maybe she would like The English Patient or Ian McEwan's Atonement.

Thanks! Have passed along these suggestions to her. :)

5> I found both of those WWII ones took a lot of concentration. Some of Neville Shute shows its age, but The chequer board and Pied Piper remain favourites of mine, and are lighter.

Thanks MJ, have added both your comments to the mix.

I'm with lithcat -- short things, not only post-surgery, but also if chemo and radiation follow. I read a lot of plays and essays. James Thurber is funny and interesting, though the unconscious racism of his times now shows. If World War II is appealing, there's an great new book, The 40s: The Story of a Decade which is essays, poems and short stories from the New Yorker. It's big though, so not good for dragging back and forth to chemo and post-surgery appointments.

Good thoughts towards her and her family.

She's getting a mastectomy done, so I'm guessing they're going for getting rid of it all in one fell swoop there, and the others would only be needed if they check after and see it'd managed to spread? There's been no mention of all that, anyway, so that's just my assumption. Thanks, will add those to the list. :)

>10 .Monkey.: They'll test the lymph nodes during the operation and that tells them whether additional treatment is needed. Here's hoping that everything is contained! (Is there an emoticon for keeping one's fingers crossed?)

It's a tough request.

For nonfiction:

There is, of course, the wildly popular, extraordinarily well-written Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Hillenbrand was long ago diagnosed with some form of chronic fatigue syndrome, among other maladies. That she was able to write so well under those conditions amazes me. Her Seabiscuit is also good, but not as overwhelming as Unbroken. The following are books about adventure and survival.

• West with the Night by Beryl Markham
• Alone by Richard Evelyn Byrd
• We Die Alone by David Howarth (Don't be afraid of that misleading title)
• Adrift by Steven Callahan
• The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz
• The Spirit of St. Louis by Charles Lindbergh
• Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins
• Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttress

For fiction: It's hard to find literary fiction that's not depressing. And I haven't read many pleasant, realistic books about families. Try Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, My Antonia by Willa Cather, The Big Sky by A.B. Guthrie, Jr.

One of my favorite memoirs of recent years is Born Standing Up by Steve Martin. Brief and funny.

I also thought of this, but you might not be interested:

http://dgmyers.blogspot.com/2010/11/cancer-reading.html

Thanks, passing it along.

Memoir with a strong sense of place, that's cheerful and life-affirming to take one's mind off of things? Can't beat Julia Child's My Life in France.

Thanks! :)

PolymathicMonkey, it might depend upon the nature of the surgery, strange as that sounds. If it's major surgery rather than a simple biopsy, she'll be--as a couple of posters suggested--too low on energy and concentration to deal with anything requiring much thought or effort at all. In that case, I'd suggest something undemandingly intelligent and bitsy and leaving other sorts of books until she gets some strength back. My first thought, though it's nothing to do with her usual reading, was for Atlas of Remote Islands. Short fascinating entries & Germany's Most Beautiful Book award. (I'd certainly get the large hardback & not the mini-paperback, though.) Other books to consider might be books of lists, of anecdotes, or something like The Noticeably Stouter Book of General Ignorance. And if the surgery is so light that she's able for the sort of books you asked for, it might be nice for her to have the lighter reading to hand when she's feeling wrecked by chemo.

I do hope everything turns out well for her.

Just to update with the latest for those who've poked in over here:

"My sister sounds good post-surgery, but has not had the all-important "results" visit with the docs yet. I am sure, though, they got everything since she opted for the most radical option. She's in pain, but she says it's not as bad as a headache."

So, things seem to be going well so far, and here's hoping the results follow suit!

Final update: she got the post-mastectomy results. No cancer spread to the lymph nodes, so they believe they got it all. :))) Thanks for all your suggestions and well wishes!

That is great news!

> 18

That's wonderful news! I'm so happy for her.

>18 .Monkey.: WOW! Congratulations to her! I hope she recovers quickly.

She seems to be doing pretty well, and I'm sure the huge weight of wondering about the results having now been lifted from her mind will benefit her even more! Thanks, everyone. :)

I too like Neville Shute. My favorites of his are Town Like Alice, Trustee from the Tool Room, and Pied Piper.

For family, sense of place and literary power read Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

WWII memoir - In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Opdyke. I have that checked out from the library right now to read soon.

>24 nrmay: Above I was thinking of the WWII in Europe ones. The other two you name are also wondeful. Trustee from the Toolroom is my very favourite.

Hero of Trustee from the Tool Room reminds me of my father. Love that book and I mean to re-read it someday. I'll never give that one up though I usually give books away once I've read them.
Got Chequer Board on my shelf to read soon. Glad to see your recommendation!
Nevil Shute is a great storyteller.

It's intriguing to see Trustee from the Toolroom mentioned, and with so much praise. Just recently I was perusing the Modern Library's survey of top 100 books as voted online, and stopped on this title wondering "what the heck is that?" (ranked #27)
http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/

I read Trustee from the Tool Room some years ago but as I remember it, the title character is a an ordinary, uncomplicated man living a simple life when circumstances lead him to set out on an extraordinary quest.
Along the way he meets remarkable characters, resulting in great impact on their lives and his own. A very satisfying feel-good story.
Oh, and there is a storm at sea sequence that was riveting, edge-of-your-seat excitement!

I'll check out the Modern Library best novels list!

I find reading in hospital surprisingly hard. I sugest she try these podcasts http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/openbook/all
if she cannot concenentrate. .