Book recommendations for an elderly person?

[poesu]

Recently my mother has started reading books. It's incredible because otherwise she doesn't have any hobbies. She loved Hobbit and liked Lord of the Rings. I want to find something similar for her, but not too hard, like Silmarillion, she couldn't finish it. She likes something more or less light-hearted.

What I'm looking for:

• Family-friendly — the less violence, strong language, sex, and tragedy the better
• Fantasy/adventure
• Relatively easy to read

No Harry Potter, she doesn't like it.

[renyoi]

i'm a bookseller so this is right up my ally! here are a few just off the top of my head based on the two you mentioned (so mostly fantasy):

• the last unicorn by peter s beagle
• i'm afraid you've got dragons by peter s beagle
• tainted cup by robert jackson bennett
• remarkably bright creatures by shelby van pelt (less fantasy and more emotional)
• emily wilde's encyclopaedia of faeries by heather fawcett
• a wrinkle in time by madeline l'engle (kids book technically but so is the hobbit, and this book is generally wonderful)
• if she is at all into whimsy, satire, or british humor, anything by terry pratchett
• the princess bride by william goldman (even if she's seen the movie, this is still worth looking at!
• the legend of eli monpress series by rachel aaron

again this is just off the top of my head! i'm at the store tomorrow so i'll look around and edit this post if i think of anything else. i hope this helps a bit!

[ThunderPerfectWitchcraft]

Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin is the only work of typical fantasy that is able to touch the Lord of the Rings, as far as I'm concerned :). It is likely deep, although a bit quieter, and it is brilliant in its smallness where the lord of the rings is grand; easy to read and to understand, but not simple.

Another book that I can heavily recommend is "The Journey to the West"; however, this is very dependent from the translation available in your language; also, it is important to know that there is a certain repetition in its story - not everybody will like it. "The dream of the Red Chamber" is another Chinese classic that is very fantastic, although a bit baroque.

E.T.A. Hoffmanns works might also work out; again, I can't say much about the translations, but they are great - I can recommend "Master Flea" - be warned that it is neither violent nor sexual, but very weird ;). "The Devils Elixirs" are the most "normal" of the author, I'd say.

I can also recommend to take a dive into the Greek myths - and the Northern god- and hero-tales. The norse myths were a big inspiration for Tolkien, and your mother might like them. In German, Tor Åge Bringsværd did a great translation of the Edda, but he seemingly wasn't translated to English.

[Dan Q]

You've mentioned fantasy, but if she's willing to drift into "soft", character-driven sci-fi/sci-fantasy, I can highly recommend basically everything by Becky Chambers. In order of recommendation from most to least:

- The Monk & Robot series: A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy feel like a warm hug or a comfortable bath: the story of a post-technological society on a distant moon that had AI and robots and things and then gave them all up for a quiet peaceful agrarian life, and a monk who becomes the first person in centuries to see a robot in-person when one "comes back" from the wilderness that they all left for.
- To Be Taught, If Fortunate is a wonderful 6?-chapter novella about exploring four very different alien worlds, for no other reason than to understand them, and about the relationships between the four scientists on the journey; it's carries ideas about humanity's future that are both optimistic and sad at the same time
- The Wayfarers series is slightly "harder" sci-fi but still very much character-driven and very easy to pick up and put down.

[fablefound]

my gosh, i told myself i'd answer this thread today and then everyone said all the stuff i like to recommend LOL. i will however aggressively second the following:
* anything pratchett
* anything leguin
* anything beagle
* the princess bride
* the monk and robot series

as for stuff i can recommend organically, looking over my book own book hoard...
* the moomins. whimsical, wonderful, quirky and occasionally melancholy... one of my favourite fictional worlds to hop into.
* howl's moving castle by diana wynne jones. very different from the movie, if you've seen the movie!
* the wayward children series by seanan mcguire has some dark moments, but at its core it's a young adult fantasy series brimming with whimsy and hope and wonder.