Some books I've read recently that I enjoyed, all memoirs:
Blood, Bones and Butter -- the inadvertent education of a reluctant chef: Very funny!
Zeitoun -- story of a family living through Katrina
The Sum of our Days, by Isabelle Allende: I am not a fan of her fiction, because I don't like magical realism, but this is a memoir.
The Girls from Ames
Fiction: The Turtle Warrior, by Mary Relindes Ellis
And my universal recommendation: Emma, by Jane Austen. I must have read this dozens of times, in parts. I know it so well that I can begin on any page! Kept me sane through law school.
I also enjoyed the series called His Dark Materials. The books are The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.
It is so good of you to sit up with your Mom. You are a blessing to her.