Advice / Recommendations Needed

[jenna]

Hey all,

I am trying desperately to get a close friend of mine into reading. He has the desire to start, but he is the type of person who has never read a fiction novel, and is more of a math person than a literature person.

I have lent him 5 or so books from my own collection, of different genres and difficulty levels, but he is having major problem getting over the hurdle of it being such a new experience and isn't really able to stay focused.

Does anyone have any recommendations for books that are easy to read and not too long, but interesting enough to get him at least a little hooked on reading?

I recently picked up a Matthew Reilly novella called Hell's Island which is only about 250-ish pages long, so I'm hoping that will get the ball rolling. Reilly is the easiest-to-read author I can think of. My experience is that his stories read like action movies, they move along at a really fast pace and don't require too much thinking. So anything along these lines would be great.

 

[The Procrastinator]

Well...there's always Harry Potter. Maybe he would like thrillers or crime stuff thats fairly "real world"? (I have no idea what Matthew Reilly writes.)

 

[nixie]

you could always try Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, not to long easy to get into. Set during the Napoleonic wars, Dragon's are the air defence. It's a nice read, the characters are engaging, sweet but not fluffy.

 

[Lirineth]

I think that first of all you and your friend should try to establish what are the books that at least would tempt him, and then go for that but in short stories.

I have a friend that finds fantasy/science ficcion books booring (OK, each one to their own)
I hava another that would only read this kind
I have another that likes biografies above others
Then there is my husband who likes the reality thing
Then you have the comic books readers (I'm one of those people) which, who knows, maybe it would be a way to sort of start your friend with
Harry Potter? Well I read them all. Enjoyed them to bits and in days to come intent reading them all again. Why, because it was fun.
But I suppose that the bottom line of my suggestion is that you give your friend small thing to start with. I don't think that a 350 page book is going to hold his attention for long, reading in a way is like smoking, nobody smokes a paquet of cigarettes in one go on, their first time they smoke, the thing is gradual. Maybe if you read to each other or kind of discuss a book whilst both of you are reading at the same time, or if he could read to children, or to an eldery person, in other words build up the habit til he can't stop smoking (so sorry) I mean reading. Well good like and see if you can get another person addicted.

 

[manephelien]

He might prefer a collection of short sci-fi stories. Either a multi-author collection or several stories by the same authors. For a science and math-minded person, Asimov or Clarke might be good places to start.

 

[jenna]

Good points everyone.

He is very into history and science, but I think that hard sci-fi would be too much for him right now. I was thinking historical fiction, ie Pressfield's Gates of Fire or something along those lines. I think Harry Potter would be a little too young for him, I don't see him reading it.

I will definitely look into some short story collections, that's a great idea. Thanks!

 

[Urlik]

He might prefer a collection of short sci-fi stories. Either a multi-author collection or several stories by the same authors. For a science and math-minded person, Asimov or Clarke might be good places to start.

a good suggestion indeed
I would also recommend Heinlein as well and Harry Turtledove's World War series (alternate reality where aliens invade Earth in 1942, smack bang in the middle of WW2)

 

[BookStop]

The Man in the High Castle is a classic novel of alternate history by PKD.
The Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell is regarded as some of the best Napoleonic war fiction.
Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove combines a bit of science in the form of time-travel, with historical fiction set int he civil war. (what if the south had modern day weapons duting the civil war)

 

[Ian Whates]

Have you thought of introducing him via short story collections? That way he can sample the writing of several authors in one book, not invest too much time in any one story if he discovers he doesn't like it, can identify the authors whose writing he does like, and then move on to try their novels.

I'm not suggesting this just because I publish such collections... honest!

It really is a great way to introduce a new reader.

 

[jenna]

Yes, I do think that would be a good idea. Any suggestions on good collections?

 

[DeepThought]

Alright, he likes Math, so I'm guessing perhaps he might be interested in Computers/Programming? if so, what better way to introduce him to fiction than Cyberpunk.

The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier by Bruce Sterling. Non-fiction but a great read, very informative in you like; computers, hacking, programming/math ala the Hacker culture. IMHO, a great way to introduce someone of Geeky persuasion into fiction . In fact this book inspired me to get into Cyberpunk and then onto SF & Fantasy. Some good titles to get started:

Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson
Snow Crash, Cryptonimicon by Neal Stephenson
Islands in the Net, Mirrorshades (Anthology) by Bruce Sterling
Accelerando by Charles Stross

I guess its worth a try if I'm not way out of the mark.

Cheers, DeepThought

 

[HappyHippo]

Does he watch any SF/F? Bill the Galactic Hero is funny and easy to read, but you kind of need to get some of the 'in-jokes'. It's also boy stuff.

Most guys like Hitch Hiker's guide...

I tend only to read SF/F, sorry, I'm a bit of a chocolate teapot, aren't I?

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

Stainless Steel Rat series - Harry Harrison
Dumarest of Terra series E. C. Tubb
The world of Null-A + The wizard of Linn- A E Van Vogt

All oldies but goldies I'm affraid but all relatively short in themselves and very stimulating

 

[Clansman]

Okay, he likes history, right? The Horatio Hornblower books by C.S. Forester a a lot of fun. Lots of action, swashbuckling adventure, and I read them when I was 12. Start him with Midshipman Hornblower, and see if he likes it. It is not juvenile, but neither is it hard.

Incidentally, how can one be drawn to history and science and not like reading? I always thought these were inseparable.

 

[Grimward]

That was my thought, too, Clanny. I also had thought Harry Turtledove (a la Urlik, BookStop, etc.), but you kinda have to have read the real history to get the full appreciation of it (I think, anyway!). Then again, we're just going for a good read here, so maybe they would be what the book doctor ordered. The first LeGuin Earthsea book A Wizard of Earthsea, is a pretty straightforward read, too.

 

[Clansman]

One more thing about the Midshipman Hornblower book, you can see a darn good film version starring Ioan Gryffudd (I know I spelled that wrong, so perhaps someone Welsh could correct me). There are six or eight movie adaptations of the C.S. Forester novels starring Gryfudd, who also starred most recently in the movie Amazing Grace, about the abolishment of the slave trade in Great Britain.

Interestingly, the Hornblower character was the inspiration for the James T. Kirk character of Star Trek fame, created by Gene Roddenberry (and then killed by the hack-acting of William Shatner).

 

[AE35Unit]

Hmmm how about Harry Turtledove? I've never read him but he does a lot of alternative history type stories(as has Harry Harrison)
Try Clarke's Ghost from the Grand Banks or Stephen Baxter's Voyage about a trip to the mars as if it actually happened.

 

[Jen526]

It's been a while since I read Flatland, so I don't remember if it was an easy/difficult read (glancing at the first few pages online, it seems a bit old-fashioned, but engaging enough.)

Anyway, it's short and the whole "geometry" aspect might be a decent hook for someone interested in math & science.

 

[jenna]

You're all awesome I have heaps of ideas now, I'm so super confident I'm going to turn my friend into a reading addict!