# Recommend Books for 16-year-old boy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 11, 2005, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739 "2005-10-11T12:23:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/1 "2005-10-11T12:23:03Z")
This month we are moving from Denver to a small town in northwest Florida. Older son is out of the loop; younger son is not thrilled but making the best of it. We leave soon and the kid is out of school; he has been working at his after school job and playing Halo I’ve given him books to read as well. He just plowed through **Red Sky At Morning.** I think I will suggest **This Boy’s Life** next. We have a long drive ahead of us and I could use more suggestions. The books do not have to be ‘boy’ centered, but I have been trying those first. Much thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/2 "2005-10-11T12:37:02Z")
What are his interests? Is he intellectual? ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/3 "2005-10-11T12:44:12Z")
As a former 16 yo boy who read a lot, at that age I was buying my own books and knew what I wanted to read (mostly stephen king). Why don’t you buy him a gift card for borders or barnes and noble? Or a portable dvd player and a few dvds? Or a psp? Ask him what would make a boring, long drive bearable and go from there. A book might not even be the best choice. I could never read in the car, as it always made me carsick, but that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/4 "2005-10-11T12:47:40Z")
> [@zuma](#): > > As a former 16 yo boy who read a lot, at that age I was buying my own books and knew what I wanted to read (mostly stephen king). This is what I was going to say. At 16, isn’t he be in charge of his own reading matter? ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/5 "2005-10-11T12:54:11Z")
> [@zuma](#): > > As a former 16 yo boy who read a lot, at that age I was buying my own books and knew what I wanted to read (mostly stephen king). > > Why don’t you buy him a gift card for borders or barnes and noble? Or a portable dvd player and a few dvds? Or a psp? > > Ask him what would make a boring, long drive bearable and go from there. A book might not even be the best choice. > > I could never read in the car, as it always made me carsick, but that’s just me. **Zuma** He bought himself the new Gameboy and I am sure he will use that on occasion. And no doubt he can and will purchase some reading material himself. As he is indeed a reader, I thought this would be a good opportunity to do just that–I asked for suggestions because sometimes people come up with really good ideas which I never would have thought about myself. He likes Stephen King okay. But there are other authors out there, ya know what I mean? He and I can both read in the car when not driving or looking at scenery. We don’t get sick. I like movies but the thought of watching a dvd in the car kinda gives me the creeps. **Quartz** I would not say that he is a deep intellectual, but he is bright and enjoys history. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/6 "2005-10-11T14:23:04Z")
Of course he’s perfectly capable of choosing his own reading matter. That doesn’t mean he’s not open to suggestions or that suggestions shouldn’t be made. My mom was always recommending this or that to read when I was that age. Some stuff I enjoyed and some I blew off. Some books that stick out from my teenage years are **The Shining** and **Cujo** by Stephen King, and **Alive** by Piers Paul Reid. I think **The Stand** would be good. I also read books that movies of the day were based on: **The Exorcist** , the **Jaws** books, **The Omen** , **Star Wars** , etc. There was minor scandal in the house when I appropriated my parents’ copy of \*\*The Washington Fringe Benefit \*\* by Elizabeth Ray. It’s about sexual scandal in Washington in the 70’s (imagine that!). I also got into **Siddhartha** by Hermann Hesse, followed in quick succession by \*\*Steppenwolf, Narcissus and Goldmund \*\* (one of my favorites), **Magister Ludi** , and **Demian**. I think around that time I also got into Kurt Vonnegut. \*\*Slaughterhouse Five \*\* is a good place to start. Maybe some Mark Twain non-fiction would be good, like \*\*Roughing It \*\* or \*\*Life on the Mississippi \*\* - travelogues from the late 19th century. More recently Jon Krakauer’s books would have been great to read as a teenager: **Into Thin Air, Eiger Dreams, Into The Wild**. \*\*Moments of Doubt \*\* by David Roberts is a good anthology of his mountaineering writings. I’m just throwing this stuff out there. Your son may have no interest whatsoever in mountaineering. \*\*A Walk Across America \*\* was another 70’s classic from my youth. Young man is dissatisfied with modern life (imagine that!), goes on journey, finds himself sort of, etc. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/7 "2005-10-11T14:24:10Z")
Hmm… if he enjoys history - I’d suggest you look up Harry Turtledove’s [WorldWar](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345388526/qid=1129040039/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-3975750-6604705?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) books. Aliens invade in 1942. And all Hell breaks loose. Great fun, and a number of insights to the reality of the history as well. I loved the bit in the first book when the alien spaceport near Kiev is hit by heavy artillery, destroying several ships, and contaminating the crap out of this no-wheresville place called _Chernobyl_. Another good book for fun reading is Lois McMaster Bujold’s [Warrior’s Apprentice](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/067172066X/qid=1129040204/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-3975750-6604705?v=glance&s=books). (or the omnibus edition, [Young Miles](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743436164/qid=1129040387/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-3975750-6604705?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)) ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/8 "2005-10-11T14:36:39Z")
> [@mack](#): > > Of course he’s perfectly capable of choosing his own reading matter. That doesn’t mean he’s not open to suggestions or that suggestions shouldn’t be made. My mom was always recommending this or that to read when I was that age. Some stuff I enjoyed and some I blew off. Yes–thanks for that. I do not expect him to devour every book I suggest, but I’ve had some recent success. **mack** I actually already own several of the suggestions you made, but it simply had not yet occurred to me to try them out on the kid. (I have a lot of things on my mind these days.) **OtakuLoki** Both of your ideas sound like something the kid might like. Thanks much. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/9 "2005-10-11T14:51:23Z")
Thanks OP for giving a bit more background to go on. Perhaps Connie Willis’s _To Say Nothing of the Dog_ or Kage Baker’s “Company” novels. Both involve a form a time travel and the Baker novels show a lot of historical grounding. Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett have a lot of appeal for teens. I was very into Louis L’Amour at that age, and I still love reading his books. Perhaps _Last of the Breed_ or _The Walking Drum_. Neither are westerns, but both are very exciting. ---
**Author:** ![marque\_elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@marque\_elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marque_elf)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/10 "2005-10-11T15:02:50Z")
If he likes fantasy/sf any of the Edgar Rice Burroughs books are good, light entertainment. I especially like the John Carter of Mars series., but Tarzan, Carson of Venus, and Pellucidar are all fun. Along the same lines are the Conan the Barbarian books, both those By R.H. Howard and all the pastiches that followed. If he likes mysteries then Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe books, and there a lot of them, are great reads. If he likes to figure out who dunnit then Agatha Christie is a good choice. If he saw _Sin City_ and liked it then Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler are excellent choices. Elmore Leonard’s book are also great and more modern. If he likes humor than P.G. Wodehouse can’t be beat. For off the wall humorous and twisted crime books, there’s Charles Hiassen’s mysteries set in South Florida. In one book, a hitman goes threw it with the head of a doberman attached to one arm and then things get really weird. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/11 "2005-10-11T15:27:10Z")
Introduce him to the works of Terry Pratchett. Get him a copy of _Guards!Guards!_ and step back. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/12 "2005-10-11T15:29:46Z")
Nineteen Eighty Four. ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/13 "2005-10-11T15:40:19Z")
I’ll second **Mack’s** Vonnegut reccomendation. I learned to read when I was about 5 0r 6, but it wasn’t until about 10 years later that I learned to _read_ from Vonnegut. My recollection is that I picked up Cat’s Cradle first. It really opened things up for me. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/14 "2005-10-11T15:41:00Z")
I always selcted books for my son at that age – although he was surely capable of picking out his own reading material. I’d be on my way to the library or bookstore and he’d say, “Get me something, OK?” and I would. I still buy books for him, although he’s 19 now and in the Navy. My son read and liked both Red Sky at Morning and This Boys Life when he was 16, BTW. Has your son read A River Runs Through It? Nick quite liked that one. And Nick was also a history buff and he liked the Civil War books by Michael and Jeff Shaara. Another suggestion – Lonesome Dove and its sequels by Larry McMurtry. These are great big books, so good for a long trip. Oh! Nick just called me and I asked him for suggestions – he says he just reread Friday Nigh Lights" by H.G. Bissinger and that he highly recommends it. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/15 "2005-10-11T15:41:18Z")
Both of my boys (14 and 18) really enjoy Stephen King, their latest read being The Dark Tower series. They also like Orson Scott Card, JRR Tolkien, and RA Salvatore. There’s a lot of other stuff they like, but I think those are their favorites. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/16 "2005-10-11T15:53:37Z")
Hmm, let’s see… what was I reading when I was that age? Tolkien, and then other fantasy authors (Stephen R. Donaldson, Piers Anthony, Terry Brooks); Sherlock Holmes; Mark Twain; Stephen King… Probably a bunc h of others that I’m not remembering right now. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/17 "2005-10-11T16:20:55Z")
Its a bit more girl oriented (that the narrator is female, but an extemely tomboyish one) but for someone with an interest in History, I suggest **West With the Night** by Beryl Markham. In addition to being a snapshot of a moment in history – Markham describes growing up on a British East African farm, training horses, and flying airplanes solo across the Atlantic – there’s good stuff in there about starting over in new places. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/18 "2005-10-11T18:37:20Z")
Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. Ray Bradbury’s _The Martian Chronicles_ and _Dandelion Wine_. Edgar Rice Burrough’s Tarzan novels (I never read his John Carter novels). Mark Twain’s fictionalized memoir _Roughing It_, about six years out West. John Kennedy Toole’s comic novel _A Confederacy of Dunces_. Hans Ruesch’s novel _The Top of the World_, about polar Eskimos. H.G. Wells, _The Time Machine_. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/19 "2005-10-11T19:24:47Z")
Hmm… I was 16 not TOO long ago, and I was actually into a wide variety of books. StarShip Troopers, and a lot of his stuff aimed at younger audiences, is pretty good. Having read a number of his more interconnected books (Stranger In A Strange Land, Number of the Beast, and To Sail Beyond The Sunset) I have to say I prefer his more standalone books. Podkayne of Mars I read for a book report during my senior year of high school, and I rather liked it (even if I did do all of the reading the night before the report was due, and only managed to complete the report via the wonders of the coffee bean). I also liked the Wing Commander books (published by Baen, I think). These are based on a series of computer games about a long running war between the Terran Confederation (the humans and a few of their allies) and the Kilrathi Empire (humanoid cats with a samurai-ish culture). “Freedom Flight” centers around the exploits of a drunken cigar-chomping Australian fighter pilot, and is the best book to jump into this series with. I’d recommend some of the Star Wars and Star Trek books (with either of these universes, the books can be hit and miss, avoid anything by Kevin J. Anderson like the plague). My favorite Star Wars books are the Young Han Solo Trilogy by A.C. Crispen and the X-Wing series of books (Though I’ve only read the first three books in that series). My favorite Star Trek books are “Federation” and “The Kobiashi Maru” Other than that, I remember reading some Tom Clancy books (Patriot Games and several books in the Op Center series) and some history based books (The Mighty Eighth is an excellent read if your son likes military history) And now that I think about it, the Horatio Hornblower series by CS Forester is quite good. He can start with either “Mr. Midshipman Hornblower” or “Beat to Quarters/The Happy Return” (This book’s title depends on where it was published). Series of books about a British naval officer during the Wars of French Revolution and the Napoleanic Wars. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739/20 "2005-10-11T20:58:42Z")
Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. I appreciate your help. Maybe this is because I was a tomboy myself plus I have another (older) son, but still I am amazed at how many I already have: Ray Bradbury, Heinlein, Tolkien,Vonnegut, the Beryl Markham, Twain, Doyle, Christie, Connie Willis…Friday Night Lights, Confederacy of Dunces, A River Runs Through It. All of this should keep the kid well-read. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-16-year-old-boy/325739.md?page=2)