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I want to buy my daughter a book that she will keep. Any (sensible) suggestions? She's pretty bright so something reasonably highbrow, maybe.
Thanks.
War and Peace because reading it will always be a work in progress
On a serious note, there's loads. Trawl through the greats...but being a teenager I'm guessing she'll like something a bit Catcher in the Rye-ish.
Does she like natural history? If so, pretty much anything by David Attenborough, or "Last Chance to See" - either version, but Douglas Adams' one is the best.
Hunt For Red October.
The Stranger by Albert Camus?
Solaris by Stanis?aw Lem?
Are you thinking of a novel? Depends on what she likes - something timeless but accessible like [i]Anna Karenina[/i] or [i]Middlemarch[/i] would work if she likes the classics.
More highbrow something from a female writer like Virginia Woolf? [i]To the Lighthouse[/i] is quite a demanding read but a knockout work if you're into literature and want to push your reading. Riskier choice though as she might hate it and feel like she 'has' to read it because it's your gift.
How to pay off your parent's mortgage in 10 easy steps?
The curious memoirs of thomas pennman - Bruce Robinson (withnail & i)
This is my keeper book, proper laugh until cry book. Cannot recommend it enough.
Do need a perverse sense of humour however
This is a really good read:
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[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rebel-Girls-votes-changed-Edwardian/dp/1844081680/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359321807&sr=1-1 ]Link.[/url]
She might enjoy this too:
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Charlottes Web.
I know its not what your thinking
but knock together a blurb book of scenes from her life
Beyond that its all a bit personnal in terms of taste
complete sherlock homes?
her first/favourite toddler book
or her religion's "Bible", Aesops fables is mine!
A book of art or photos?
What kind of stuff does she like?
I got a [url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mountain-Light-Search-Dynamic-Landscape/dp/0871563673/ref=dp_ob_title_bk ]Galen Rowell[/url] book as a teenager and still look at his amazing pics.
If fiction, what about a collection of classic [url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxford-English-Short-Stories-Books/dp/0199561605/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359321911&sr=1-6 ]short stories[/url]
Or [url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nations-Favourite-Poems-Griff-Jones/dp/0563387823/ref=sr_il_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359322110&sr=1-1 ]poetry[/url]
Voltaire - Candide. Quite a good sentiment for someone setting out in life.
A hardback (and if possible signed) copy of her favourite book that she keeps going back to over and over again.
I have read and re-read Terry Pratchett/Neil Gaiman's Good Omens over the last 20 or so years. Simple but beautifully written book (in my opinion) that still makes me laugh and feel generally good about life. I was gutted when I lost my original copy and have replaced it accordingly.
I'm not recommending it to your daughter I'm just saying that a nice copy of a well loved book will be treasured for the memories that reading it gave her.
Kip - fantastic book. Thanks for reminding me. I have not read that in years. Off to buy it now. Lost my original copy.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M Pirsig, it's not always apparent what effect this book has on you till well after you read it, and then you tend to re-read it....again, and again every few years. Every time i read it i get a bit more out of it.
I know its not what your thinkingbut knock together a blurb book of scenes from her life
Yep, I'd second that. Oh and I got some done at Tesco for my boy's C2C trip. Quality printing.
luffy105 - lost it or lent it to some ****er who didn't return it? Pretty sure that's what happened to mine. Apparently being made into a 4 part tv series by Mr P's own company.
Well I'm currently reading "1000 years of Annoying the French", and it's highly amusing. Although possibly not really the thing for an 18 year old - unless you want to teach her xenophobia 😀
Some great suggestions there. Certainly food for thought. Thanks.
'The Reader' by Bernhard Schlink
To kill a Mockingbird, catcher in the rye or The Celestine Prophecy.
Another suggestion - Marquez's [i]100 years of Solitude[/i].
Ticks a lot of boxes here - it's a literary masterpiece but a very moving one, the type of book if you read it at a younger age it stays with you in a 'the best book I ever read' sort of way. Complex structure but a lot of it is submerged, it's not a difficult read at first.
You also have Magical Realism in full effect, which is sort of a girl's version of science fiction. Been done to death now, but it's an amazing style the first time you read it (and Marquez is the master).
Requiem for a Wren by Nevil Shute. My mum was a huge Nevil Shute fan and gace me a fair few of his books when I was a teenager.
Also The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. One of the few books I think everyone should read.
Make it topical and get Les Mis?
I have read and re-read Terry Pratchett/Neil Gaiman's Good Omens over the last 20 or so years. Simple but beautifully written book (in my opinion) that still makes me laugh and feel generally good about life. I was gutted when I lost my original copy and have replaced it accordingly.
I'm very fortunate in having a hardcover signed by both authors. Terry signed it first, and wrote; “Neil made me do it!” 😀
Try to find out, subtly, what her absolute favourite book is, then see if you can get hold of a good condition hardcover copy. Don't try to find a book that you think she [i]ought[/i] to like, get an original copy, possibly even signed, of something she loves and treasures.
A friend mentioned a couple of books that shed had as a child, but lost, and I managed to track one down in hardcover for her birthday this time last year. She was ecstatic at having it back.
I've got several books that I've read over and over again as paperbacks, but a mate has tracked down original hardcovers, and I really treasure those. Abe Books are a really good place to start, or just google titles and see what you get.
Madame Bovary
Kip - lent it and never got it back. Annoyingly I can remember who has it but can not be bothered to get back in touch with the muppet to get it back. Far less irritating to buy another. Would be interested to see the tv adaptation but often they spoil the pictures I have conjured in my mind.
18 year olds love things by Richard Bach. Stuff like Johnathan Livingston Seagull or The Reluctant Messiah sometimes has a deep effect.
A decent edition of the works of Bill Rattlejavelin.
Old Man & the Sea? A nod to the generational element of the gift. My brother bought my dad a beautiful illustrated edition a few years back.
Grapes of Wrath, filled my tiny mind with sadness and made me doubt the future in our wealth drive world. Exactly what any 18 yr old should read.
or for something more enlightening
The Tao of pooh and the te' of piglet blew my already tattered mind with Chinese philosophy presented by a hunny eating happy go lucky fella and his world doubting short quiet friend.
Hunt For Red October.
Genuine LOL
As per CZ, something hardback, preferably with a bit of value. A very good friend of mine who shares an interest in supernatural fiction bought me a HUGE copy of Algernon Blackwood's short stories which I know must have cost a fair bit. Obviously, the cost isn't the main reason I love the book, but I do treat it with due reverence...
How about a good copy of Lord of the Rings?
Books are such a personal thing - but one I acquired from my parents and love reading over and over is Augustus Carp, Esq. my copy is a ratty old paperback, but that doesn't matter.
Beautifully, deliciously twisted Edwardian writing - written anonymously, which makes it even better.
Does she like science? My dad bought me the dictionary of science. Firstly thought it was a bit lame but it is actually the best book I've picked up. It's fun to flick through and you learn a lot. I still use it and I'm 22. I imagine it would good fun to refer to in the future. I'll be keeping mine close.
+1 for Grapes of Wrath and 100 Years of Solitude.
Also,
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
perhaps The Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara (before he turned into a revolutionary).
Some quite blokeish suggestions above.
Just get her a nice edition of one of the classics. Something by one of the Brontes (Jane Eyre is a cracking read, or Wuthering Heights) or Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice is the obvious choice, Persuasion also good). They contain sme fairly good life lessons for young women too (always check the attic before you move in with your boyfriend). The Everyman hardback editions are quality but plenty of publishers do special covers etc.
Some Thomas Hardy? The Mayor of Casterbridge is one of my favourites.
Some quite blokeish suggestions above.Just get her a nice edition of one of the classics. Something by one of the Brontes (Jane Eyre is a cracking read, or Wuthering Heights) or Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice is the obvious choice, Persuasion also good). They contain sme fairly good life lessons for young women too (always check the attic before you move in with your boyfriend). The Everyman hardback editions are quality but plenty of publishers do special covers etc.
An ex of mine who studied English and Creative Writing at UEA would coldly murder you for suggesting those books.
Also....
They contain sme fairly good life lessons for young women too
I Lol'd
I hated lots of the books on here. Jane Eyre - pointless rubbish with an idiot main character. Zen and motorcycle maintenance - cod philosophy rubbish. 100 years of solitude, most boring book I ever read.
Not that they're bad mind, I just didn't get on with them. I don't think there are any guaranteed book suggestions that's all. Best you can do is pick a book that you found significant and get her that and tell her why you like it. If you can't think of one, then it's probably a stupid idea for a present.
I much prefer Jane Austen if you're talking old books, actually strong funny characters you give a damn about.
50 Shades of Grey
An ex of mine who studied English and Creative Writing at UEA would coldly murder you for suggesting those books.
It's amazing what they teach there. 😉
Technically, those books are brilliantly constructed. Plus they're a window into another age. And she can watch the TV adaptations if she finds them a bit slow.
The OP could do worse than giving one of these: [url= http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/pubsetpages/clothboundclassics/index.html ]http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/pubsetpages/clothboundclassics/index.html[/url]
NB. all the titles are orc-free.
Or perhaps a classic like [url= http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=polwart-21&o=2&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0679600701 ]On the origin of species.[/url]Does she like science? My dad bought me the dictionary of science. Firstly thought it was a bit lame but it is actually the best book I've picked up. It's fun to flick through and you learn a lot. I still use it and I'm 22. I imagine it would good fun to refer to in the future. I'll be keeping mine close.
They contain some fairly good life lessons for young women too (always check the attic before you move in with your boyfriend).
I didn't see "The Picture of Dorian Gray" in your recommendations... 😉
If she likes such things, I've got the complete works of, uh, Bronte, and someone similar. I bought them as a present for my OH and it was a misfire, they're absolutely beautiful things but they're huge; like, A4 hardback and two inches thick apiece. You can have them for the price of postage if you want.
Dibs. Or maybe not. Are we talking the weight of the Encyclopedia Britannica here? I'll give you a tyen-spot, innit.
It's amazing what they teach there.Technically, those books are brilliantly constructed. Plus they're a window into another age. And she can watch the TV adaptations if she finds them a bit slow.
The OP could do worse than giving one of these: http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/pubsetpages/clothboundclassics/index.html
NB. all the titles are orc-free.
It's not the books, it's suggesting them because she's a girl and also because they have some pretty old fashioned role models for women.
I'll use a quote that just about get's my feelings across as I can't be arsed to write it myself.
As many feminist scholars and columnists have questioned (most notably Cherry Potter), although it is understandable that such a man as Darcy held sway over women two centuries ago when society was deeply patriarchal, why should such a figure hold sway over educated feminist women in the 21st century?
Mr Darcy is a gateway drug to 50 Shades of Grey.
U-R - I'll weigh 'em (somehow) if you're genuinely interested and price it up.
househusband - Member
'The Reader' by Bernhard Schlinksaleem - Member
To kill a Mockingbird, catcher in the rye or The Celestine Prophecy.Garry_Lager - Member
Another suggestion - Marquez's 100 years of Solitude.
Ticks a lot of boxes here - it's a literary masterpiece but a very moving one, the type of book if you read it at a younger age it stays with you in a 'the best book I ever read' sort of way. Complex structure but a lot of it is submerged, it's not a difficult read at first.
You also have Magical Realism in full effect, which is sort of a girl's version of science fiction. Been done to death now, but it's an amazing style the first time you read it (and Marquez is the master).
^^ These and...
Journey by Moonlight - Antal Szerb
South of the Border, West of the Sun. Haruki Murakami
The Time of Light. Gunnar Kopperud
A DIY Manual!...
As many feminist scholars and columnists have questioned (most notably Cherry Potter), although it is understandable that such a man as Darcy held sway over women two centuries ago when society was deeply patriarchal, why should such a figure hold sway over educated feminist women in the 21st century?
Being a feminist (especially in the academic sense of the word) is hardly a given for 'educated women'.
Cougar - I am genuinely interested, but despite your kind offer, I'd better say no thanks. Our house is tiny and stuffed full of books already.
I really enjoyed The Color Purple when I was that age, and Pride and Prejudice. Also, Still Life With Woodpecker, The House of the Spirits, Eva Luna. Got really into a Canadian author called Robertson Davies for some reason at that age. You could try Wild Swans for a non-fiction choice.
P.S some genuine roll on the floor laughing at some suggestions. I appreciate that most of you have never been an 18 year old girl, but some of you appear never to have interacted socially with one either !
What about a dictionary?
i'd go with the female empowerment thing too, so something on the Pankhurst, Jean of Arc or a really nice old copy of Pride and Prejudice, though given the anniversary, prices of the latter will be sky high at the moment...
My daughters favourite book is a book of poems she got from her teacher when she was ten. She is now a teacher and uses that book to read to her pupils 😆
The teacher who gave her the book is someone she aspires to emulate as a teacher herself, someone she says was the best teacher she had in all her school years. Something we cannot argue with...
That teacher died not long after leaving the school a year or so later 😥
She also has a huge collection of art history books from her uni years 🙄