Book suggestions?

[kerravonsen]

I would like to get my father a book or two for his birthday, but I don't really know what he would like. I know that he enjoys the following:
- P.G. Wodehouse
- J.R.R. Tolkien
- Sherlock Holmes stories

I don't think he would like Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett, though, because they are too cynical. With Wodehouse, he enjoys not just the humour but the wordsmithing.

Oh flist, do you have wisdom to share?

Comments

[watervole.livejournal.com]

If he loves wordsmithing, get him Wizard of Earthsea. The language is so beautiful.

[kerravonsen]

It's been so long since I've read that... Oddly enough, when I think of "fantasy with beautiful language", I think of Patricia McKillip's "The Forgotten Beasts of Eld".

[jcobleigh.livejournal.com]

How about Jasper Fforde?

[kerravonsen]

I'm a bit lukewarm about that myself, so I don't think I'd have the confidence to give it to him, though I'll put it on the "to lend" list...

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

There's a guide to Wodehouse, Plum Sauce.

Also, if you can get it, (they're not currently in print, but might be ordered) any of the My Word books by Frank Muir and Denis Nordon (like this one) are priceless wordplay in the hands of experts; I have an older edition and treasure it :)

[kerravonsen]

Oh, is that based on the radio series? I heard bits of that a few times.

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Yep, it's all of the collected monologues :)

[aizain.livejournal.com]

I have a pretty confident suggestion, and that is, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and sequels, by by Alexander McCall Smith. I've only read the first; it's complete in itself, not part of a longer arc. I found it charming, wittily written, and absolutely uncynical.

[kerravonsen]

(looks at Amazon) Oooh, that does look interesting!

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

I second that...his books are lovely, and beautifully written.

[idontlikegravy.livejournal.com]

How about Stephen Fry? Making History is my particular favourite, but they are all wonderful.

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

Has he read Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey novels? A bit of Wodehousian humor, good plots, and she's a fair wordsmith.

[kerravonsen]

I'd be surprised if he hadn't.

[kalquessa.livejournal.com]

If he's the sort to also appreciate Lovecraft, there's "Shadow Over Bakerstreet" which is all crossovers between Lovecraft's mythos and Conan Doyle. Um. And it's possible he'd enjoy John C. Wright's Golden Age, which is very thinky and well-written, though I found it a little overwhelming at the beginning. And there's always G.K. Chesterton and Dorothy Sayers, who both wrote excellent detective fiction as well as theology. Chesterton's Man Who Was Thursday was amazing, though again it's a bit weird and I'm never sure if people are going to love it or hate it.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

I thought of GK Chesterton too, but possibly a collection of the Father Brown short stories.

[kerravonsen]

Yes, Father Brown would work too, I think.

[kerravonsen]

I love love Chesterton, but I can't remember if he's read Chesterton or not. I'll have to ask him, because if not, Chesterton would definitely be a must-have!

[jcobleigh.livejournal.com]

My wife suggested Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose.

If he likes Tolkien, he might enjoy Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.