<p>looking for book suggestions for adult and teen reading~(13,17,19)
figured one fiction and one non-fiction would keep it interesting…thinking of sarah’s key, water for elephants, happiness quotient…thanks</p>
<p>these are really old-- but my family read them together at about those ages.
The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle; also Fine and Private Place (same author).</p>
<p>Glass Castle Jeannette Walls
My Sister’s Keeper Jodi Picoult (I’m going to encourage this one in advance of the movie)
The Last Lecture Randy Pausch</p>
<p>Are the teenagers boys or girls? Might make a difference in the suggestions.</p>
<p>My 17-yo DD, my 74-yo M and I (50) all enjoyed reading and talking about The Book Thief.</p>
<p>thanks for these…</p>
<p>13-son,17–daughter,19–son </p>
<p>read good reviews for the book thief–nice to see you read it together with your d and mom…gave me an idea to include my mom into the mix…she’d love it…</p>
<p>I second The Last Lecture 
</p>
<p>I’m a non-fiction nut. Would also suggest The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book or any other on the subject.</p>
<p>Books everybody in my family liked when my kids were that age:</p>
<p>Chabon, Kavalier & Clay
Eugenides, Middlesex
Rushdie, Shalimar The Clown
Willard, Things Invisible To See (This one requires some explanation. It was the only adult novel by an excellent children’s writer, mainly poet, named Nancy Willard. It is sort of a magical-realism baseball novel that takes place mainly in 1940s Ann Arbor MI)</p>
<p>A very short, very rich, somewhat obscure novel (although it is mainly nonfiction – certainly it blurs the line a lot) that I recommend for almost anything is William Maxwell’s So Long, See You Tomorrow. It’s not hard to read, and it involves children’s/young teens’ response to adult tragedy (and an old man’s response to thinking about his younger self), so there’s something in it for everyone, lots to discuss on a morals level and on a literary technique level.</p>
<p>I once read that the books Ordinary People and Dances with Wolves are great reading for older kids, teens, and adults - but, I suppose, only if everyone hasn’t seen the movies!</p>
<p>Martel–Life of Pi
Haddon–Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time</p>
<p>For nonfiction,
Mortenson–Three Cups of Tea
McCourt–Angela’s Ashes</p>
<p>Ender’s Game - Orson Scott Card.</p>
<p>My son read it and loved it (at age 13/14). Badgered his older sister and younger sister and his parents until eventually we all read it. Good book - and I certainly wouldn’t list military science fiction as my typical genre of choice. A couple of years ago I asked the kids to each list five books that would suffice for an extended stay on a desert island. All three listed Ender’s Game and all have continued on through the series. </p>
<p>My 18-year-old daughter just downloaded the audio version on her ipod (as she did last summer) to listen to as she works. She also used Ender’s Game in her AP Literature essay.</p>
<p>Anyway, I recommend it for both sexes and a variety of ages. :)</p>
<p>Great summer activity! I have two sons (16 & 14) and we listen to books on CD together, especially on long car rides (like recent college visits). Here are 3 suggestions:
- Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - a mystery of sorts told by an autistic boy (bonus: recommended by one of the SAT prep books for its vocab.)
- Black Elk Speaks - told in his own words, American Indian tells about surviving Little Big Horn and Wounded Knee.
- Of Mice and Men - a classic and one of my 16 year-old’s favorites (bonus - quick read, only about 100 pages).</p>
<p>For non-fiction I’d suggest *Freakonomics *- everyone in our family loved it. *Collapse *by Jared Diamond is another possiblity.</p>
<p>I second the suggestion of Ender’s Game it’s a fast thought-provoking read. If you like it, read* Ender’s Shadow*, the same story told from the pov of a different character. </p>
<p>I loved Atonement and I think most teen girls would too, but my boys would probably refuse to read it, but they are pretty much in a sci-fi/fantasy rut. </p>
<p>I agree Haddon’s Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time might work, though my 16 yo boy only tolerated it. Another book dealing with Apserger’s syndrome that my kids liked better (sci fi angle) is Speed of the Dark by Elizabeth Moon. That last book reminded me of Flowers for Algernon which is an interesting read - plenty to discuss there too.</p>
<p>My D and I both liked The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett. It is short, and a “book lovers” book (anyone who really enjoys reading will like it).</p>
<p>The River of Doubt - about Teddy Roosevelt’s trip down a leg of the Amazon… great story…</p>
<p>The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway</p>
<p>LOL, S2 had to read the Curious Incident of a Dog at Night for junior Honors Eng. class and proclaimed it awful. I will admit that he is not an avid reader. </p>
<p>A book that he and I both enjoyed was John Grisham’s A Painted House.</p>
<p>I would also second Water for Elephants. </p>
<p>Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier (author of Cold Mountain) is very good but pretty lengthy.</p>
<p>PackMom
</p>
<p>Recommending books for others can be hard. I noticed Life of Pi is suggested and my daughter (not an emotional kid) always claims that book “traumatized me for life” - something about the tiger and the zebra. She tears up whenever she talks about the section. I had encouraged her to read it; oh well. :P</p>
<p>Everyone in my family read Born on A Blue Day by Daniel Tammet. It is written by an autistic savant. I was completely blown away by this book and the way he describes the way his mind works. I was talking to my daughter’s English teacher about it and apparently there is a term for the way it works that I didn’t know: synesthesia.
Tammet experiences synesthesia, an unusual neurological syndrome that enables him to experience numbers and words as “shapes, colors, textures and motions.” It’s really hard to describe here but I am always telling people to read this one. It’s fascinating.</p>
<p>Oliver Sacks writes very interesting books about neurological quirks. I’ve enjoyed all of them. I also really liked Temple Grandin’s Thinking in Pictures.</p>