Hello! In a few weeks, my family and I are going on a 10-11 hour road trip, and my mother suggested finding an audiobook we could all listen to (except for my sister, who won’t care at all and will probably pop in her earbuds at the first available opportunity).
My mother and I recently finished Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt and we both really liked it. I’m kind of looking for something along those veins, but I mostly read fantasy and I don’t really have anything on my TBR that is in the same sort of litfic category.
In short, I’m looking for an audiobook with the following qualifiers:
- Approximately 8-10 hours long.
- literary fiction, speculative elements (like octopuses that can understand human speech) are fine but I think anything more in the fantasy/sci-fi direction would just be confusing to my elderly parents.
- A relatively simple plot. My father has Alzheimer’s, and my mother’s memory and comprehension is declining as well, so we can’t do anything complicated like a mystery or fantasy.
- A book that is hopeful and uplifting.
- No heavy subjects/themes. I’m just looking for a fun listen during a long roadtrip.
- If there is a romance, a subplot would be fine but I’m not looking for a romantic main plot.
Both my mother and I have read most Frederik Backman books, and I’m not really I interested in reading any more. (Beartown is too dark, but Anxious People or A Man Called Ove might have been okay.)
Thanks in advance!
ETA: I should add that swearing is fine, my mother swears like a sailor but I would like the book to be otherwise family friendly.
by triftmakesbadchoices