recommend books for christmas presents

[andyandy]

hiya

i'm sure i've seen "recommend a book" threads before - so i thought what with the season to be jolly almost upon us, this would be a good time for another one - but with the added twist of specifying just who the book would make a great present for....

whether you're looking to buy a book for a crusty old great-auntie or a dummy-sucking toddler.........then this thread hopefully will help ease those present buying headaches...

i'll start by recommending the best book ever written Carter beats the Devil
which i think has a pretty universal appeal - but would be especially great for the 18-35 male relative demographic....

here's a review i've cadged from Amazon -

You can almost hear a vaudeville audience ooh-ing and aah-ing in the background, the tinny, honkytonk piano of a black and white movie, or the buzz of the Green Hornet, as you get caught up in this seductive piece of nostalgic writing, probably the best escape reading I've come across in years! Like the old-fashioned melodramas which entertained audiences from the turn of the century to the 1940's, this novel about magic creates its own world of superheroes and dastardly villains, one which quickly absorbs and enchants the reader. As magician Carter says, "[Magic] is a way of turning back the darkness....[It] makes [the world] less awful for a moment or two....There's joy and wonderment to be had."
This is a novel of pure entertainment, an uncomplicated, imaginative, and highly visual narrative of almost comic-bookish simplicity. Telling the story of Charlie Carter, from young child to traveling magician to the world-renowned Carter the Great, Gold recreates the mood the early part of the 20th century, skillfully incorporating into Charlie's life such diverse subjects as the death of President Harding, the cutthroat competition among magicians and vaudeville performers, the founding of the Secret Service, the country's fascination with psychic phenomena, the speculation and competition among those who finance the country's inventions, the development of early television, and even Yale's supersecret Skull and Bones Society. A love story and a mystery, it also has a truly spectacular grand finale of an ending with a rapidfire series of illusions, deceptions, and escapes.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...te&n=266239&s=books&customer-reviews.start=11

Carter beats the Devil
this is a truly truly great book.....if you only buy one book this christmas....make it this one

 

[andyandy]

and here's the first chapter - available to read online.....

http://books.guardian.co.uk/firstchapters/story/0,,594318,00.html

 

[Babylon Sister]

For the 10-15 set, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. There are many different collections available in hard bound and paper. A fun way to learn some critical thinking and problem solving skills.

 

[Meri]

For a Christmas-y Christmas book, there's The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore. It does contain zombies, violence, bad language, etc. so not something for a little kid. More for someone who likes Christmas miracles involving zombies.