Speculative fiction

@DrewDad,

I'm behind the times, as usual!

I hate it that some books are considered more legitimate than others. Dealing with a reluctant reader pushed me over the ledge on any book snobbery I might have ever felt.

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@boomerang,

I don't think you'd have that problem with Stevenson. He starts out at a trot and soon breaks into a run.

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@DrewDad,

Forward's Dragon's Egg

The original versions of Ender's Game, Flowers for Algernon

The Hobbit

Princess Bride

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@boomerang,

boomerang wrote:

If I narrow down the common elements of books that he has liked I suppose that they all feel fairly contemporary, and that they're about kids his age or slightly older -- kids who survive by their wits instead of magic or super powers or supernatural powers.

this really sounds like my mother in a way - she was really never a reader of fiction - she'd rather have read a textbook than a novel

not everyone is a fiction reader - and I don't think there's any particular need to read fiction

I never particularly liked kids' books as a kid, and was given an adult card to our library when I was about 7 (thank you hamburgboy and Miss Butchard) - you gotta go with what the reader likes, not what is "appropriate"

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@boomerang,

boomerang wrote:

Maybe I should look for abridged versions....

I must say that I absolutely loved the Reader's Digest Condensed Books series.

Robinson Crusoe, White Fang, Call of the Wild, etc. all became accessible.

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@boomerang,

boomerang wrote:

Maybe I should look for abridged versions....

I can't believe I'm suggesting that. (Sigh.)

there's absolutely nothing wrong with abridged versions - if what you are trying to do is to encourage Mo to read, and he will read the abridged version, then giving him the abridged version is a good thing

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@DrewDad,

DrewDad wrote:

boomerang wrote:
Maybe I should look for abridged versions....

I must say that I absolutely loved the Reader's Digest Condensed Books series.

I loved all the true crime books put out in Reader's Digest Condensed Books. I absolutely devoured them when I was a pre-teen, and re-read some of them later. I still think they're handy vacation reading.

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@ehBeth,

ehBeth wrote:

this one is my personal favorite

Gah. I can't believe the Austin Public Library system doesn't have that.

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@DrewDad,

I'm completely unfamiliar with science fiction. I'm not entirely sure that is a direction that he'll be interested in but I'm curious -- what are the hallmarks of good science fiction?

Would zombie stories be considered science fiction? He likes zombie stories. I think it's because there are elements of the possible but the people in the book have to deal with them by using their wits.

1 Reply

@DrewDad,

I found it at a Value Village - it was my entry to the adrenaline anthologies. Best transit reading - ever.

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@ehBeth,

Those look interesting!

He has really liked some of the "I Survived..." series.

But he does like fiction. He really liked "The Outsiders" and "How To Steal A Dog" and all the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books and several other books that featured normal people.

I think he might like books like "A Separate Peace" and "Lord of the Flies" but as he isn't a terribly strong reader those might be a few years down the road.

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@boomerang,

boomerang wrote:

I'm completely unfamiliar with science fiction. I'm not entirely sure that is a direction that he'll be interested in but I'm curious -- what are the hallmarks of good science fiction?

I have no idea. I can only give you my recommendations.

The Road won the Pulitzer. I think it's pretentiously written, and is a horrible story with a horrible ending.

boomerang wrote:

Would zombie stories be considered science fiction? He likes zombie stories. I think it's because there are elements of the possible but the people in the book have to deal with them by using their wits.

Zombie stories are definitely science fiction, but it's not a sub-genre that I'm familiar with.

Zombie stories also cross over into the "disaster" category. Lot's of science fiction about that. Alas Babylon, Lucifer's Hammer, Earth Abides, Planet of the Damned, etc.

Lots and lots and lots of science fiction is about getting by on your wits.

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@boomerang,

Most of the adrenaline anthologies have a mixture of fiction/non-fiction.

I generally like anthologies as they're a good way to find authors I might like to read more of, without too much investment in the authors I end up not liking.

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@boomerang,

World War Z was decent.

A Canticle for Leibowitz

The Walking Dead is originally a comic book/graphic novel. Maybe get it from the library?

The Rift by Walter Jon Williams

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@DrewDad,

I don't think a kid would like Canticle.

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@DrewDad,

Those are both good suggestions but I need the target age ratcheted down about 10 years.

I just finished rereading "A Canticle for Leibowitz" and it is definitely WAY too slow a read for Mo. It was pretty slow for me. It's a pretty dull book with great ideas to think about.

I loved World War Z but I think it's intended audience is older. I think he'd find the format very confusing. I'd love to see a version of this written from the perspective of pre-teens. Mo would probably totally dig that.

He does like those "end of the world" type things though -- he loved "The Hunger Games" and I'm thinking he might like this one I posted about -- "The Age of Miracles".

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I think I'm going to have to take a fresh look at abridged versions. They always kind of left me wanting so I've never given them serious thought.

I'm going to see what I can find.....

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@boomerang,

Get him a copy of The Postman by David Brin. There is some sexual content toward the end, so maybe in a couple of years. It's a post-apocalyptic story, and it moves right along. I agree with you about Canticle, but it has become a classic as the first of its genre.

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@Setanta,

That looks really good! I put it on my amazon wish list so I'll be sure to remember it. Thanks.

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@boomerang,

I loved Canticle for Leibowitz, loved it when I first read it. But, of course, I was still in my late 20s or early 30s back then. I never suspected it would become the cult classic it has. It's a well-written story and still a good read but the sentiments expressed are soooo dated, soooo 1960s, that it's hard to take it seriously in today's world. It's like reading Jules Verne and being expected to ooh and aah over Captain Nemo's wonderful submarine in this day and age of nuclear subs.

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