Your Reading Suggestions for. . . My Dad?


I know I usually talk about books over at my other blog, but in this case, I need to talk books with a special purpose:  I need some recommendations.

My dad's birthday is this month and it's almost always a challenge to come up with a gift he'd enjoy because it's right on the heels of Father's Day.  On top of that, he's the kind of guy who is more likely to go get himself what he wants rather than say, "I could really use xyz."  (Younger Sister OTOH is excellent at sending those kind of e-mails.  I appreciate that tremendously.)

That said, this was something he came right out and asked me about--and I had very little to offer, because it's not my genre.

Are you a fan of historical fiction, or know someone who is that you could ask? 
 

It doesn't have to be a recent title, either: if you enjoyed something or heard someone raving about a particular book, I'll take it.  Dad's not locked into a particular time period or anything.  Just historical and fictional and enjoyable.  

My plan is to give him a gift card to the bookstore with a list of suggested titles.  

Please place any suggested titles in the combox.  Thanks in advance for helping me out!


Comments

Anonymous said…
I loooove historical fiction! I just got into Sharon Kay Penman's stuff and I really like it. I'm reading When Christ and His Saints Slept right now and it's very good--1100s English history. Also Edward Rutherford's London and Sarum are excellent.
Kate P said…
I knew there had to be some historical fiction lovers among my blogreaders! Yay! Thanks, Angela!
Keep 'em coming!
ccr in MA said…
The first thing that came to mind is Into the Wilderness, by Sara Donati, which is the first in a series that I really enjoyed. It takes some characters from The Last of the Mohicans (which I haven't actually read, myself). However, if he doesn't want a romantic storyline as part of his read, strike that!

I'll keep thinking on it, see if I can come up with more.
Dave E. said…
I think the "The Brotherhood of War" series was good. So was the Aubrey-Maturin series. Tom Clancy's first John Clark/Jack Ryan novels are pretty good historical fiction, as is "Red Storm Rising." Those are the obvious ones to me. There's another series about colonial America that is not Cooper's, but I can't think of the name right now. Does any of this help?
Slauditory said…
What about Kindred by Octavia Butler? It's historical science fiction--a black woman (who's married to a white man in modern times) goes back in time to slavery times and most of the plot takes place there. It's very interesting.
Annie Coe said…
I have nothing, not an area I go to often whan I read. Looks like you have some suggestions. Happy Birthday to dad.
xoxo
Sara said…
Happy bday Sr. Kate!

I love historical fiction, but what time periods/cultures are your father into? I have to admit I read more non-fiction than fiction, however.

I also read a lot of memoirs, so if there's a specific time period/culture he likes I might be able to recommend one of those, too.
Amy Giglio said…
I know I am totally late to this party, but I read Ben-Hur and it was AWESOME. Never saw the movie, so I can't compare.

Now, I really like David McCullough. He has a way of telling history as a story. I read "1776" and had to put it down for a few days because the revolution wasn't going to well for us in the fall of '76. Obviously, I know how it ends, but her really built up the suspense so well that you really kind of forget that you are reading a history book.
Kate P said…
Amy G--That's perfectly O.K.! In fact, we were just talking about BEN-HUR a couple of weeks ago at trivia (it was one of the questions). I've never read it myself and I think I've seen only pieces of the movie. I'll mention that to Dad, too.

I met many McCullough fans when I worked at the bookstore. They liked him and Doris Kearns Goodwin. I think my mom's a fan, too.

Popular Posts