I usually love buying books for friends and family but as Father's Day looms this year, I feel stumped, so I thought I'd see if anyone here might be able to help me find a great read for my dad.
My dad is smart but not into extremely philosophical/abstract/academic books. He also doesn't like anything experimental, weird, etc.
He tends to prefer nonfiction to fiction.
Some of his interests include golf; the area around Woodstock, NY; comedians and stand-up comedy, especially from the '50's to '70's; the history of journalism (but again, nothing too academic or specific); the JFK assassination (though he has read LOTS of books about this); history/nostalgia about New Jersey in the 1950's-'70's.
If anyone has any suggestions, I'd really appreciate it!
by Catdress92
9 Comments
this is more fiction oriented:
* 11/22/63
* time traveler tries to stop JFK assassination
* most books by phillip roth
* mostly set in newark in the ~mid 20th century
* inherent vice
* this one’s a bit out there — but it’s a 60’s LA neo-noir private investigator / detective novel
Stephen King’s **11/22/63**. A man goes back in time in an effort to prevent the assassination of JFK.
King was on a real nostalgia kick when he wrote it, drawing an accurate picture of what life was like back then.
Has he read Stephen King’s 11/22/63?
“One Man’s Wilderness”, by Proenneke. Nonfiction.
Bill Bryson’s memoir, “The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid”
Maybe Before the Colors Fade by former national news anchor Harry Reasoner. Also maybe Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen’s memoir.
All About Me, the Mel Brooks autobiography
I don’t know how old your dad is. I’m 67 and I just read Personal History, Katherine Graham’s autobiography, and while I was reading it I was wishing my dad was still here so I could get it for him. She led the Washington Post during Watergate; and she had a fascinating life. The book includes a lot of the history of the paper which was run by her father then her husband before her. It’s a long, interesting book.
I have 2 ideas depending on your dad:
Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi and Hell’s Angles by Hunter S Thompson
The first is not experimental at all, it is about the Manson Family written by one of the prosecutors on the original case.
The second is great but the author is someone who plays by his own rules.
Both are interesting but it just depends on how much your dad would appreciate having his boundaries pushed into 60s counter culture.
“The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy” by Kliph Nesteroff – readable, full of anecdotes and something a fan of comedy will like.
Honestly any of the Job Kraukauer books would probably be of interest, especially Into The Wild and Into Thin Air.