Book Recommendations for a Guy?

[Hanine ϟ]

One of my best friends, who turned 18 recently, discovered that he has cancer and is going to have to stay at home for the summer. He asked me to give him a book list. He doesn't usually read much, I'd even say that he despises books, so I didn't know which books would interest him. I didn't want to tell him that I don't know what he would like because he said that he only asked me since he knows I read a lot. I also wasn't sure about recommending The Fault in Our Stars (the only John Green book available here. I had to buy the others online) since it's about cancer.

What do you think?

[CD]

• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
• The Science of Discworld

Both are sufficiently silly to keep him entertained and distracted from the obvious.  If I think of more, I'll let you know.

If he's got the energy and the interest, maybe he can write a book?  Paint something?  Maybe play board games with him, and card games.  If he has a computer in his room, he might be able to play some games online as well. 

Visit him as as often as you can and long as he's cool with you being there.  Just hanging out will keep him stimulated and happy.   He'll get there.

[Hanine ϟ]

These are great suggestions! Thank you!

[CD]

No worries, best wishes to your friend :)

[Hanine ϟ]

He already tried Neil Gaiman but said that he wants something more captivating, in a way he wouldn't want to put it away before finishing it.
Thanks for the suggestions! :D 

[Trevelyan]

Richard Kadrey's Sandman Slim series. Totally hilarious. Harper Collins has a sample up here: http://www.harpercollins.com/browseinside/index.aspx?isbn13=9780061...

[Hanine ϟ]

Thanks!
Does it have to do with Neil Gaiman's The Sandman?

[Trevelyan]

No, 'Sandman' is a pretty common concept :)

[Afton]

I found Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs and the whole Barsoom book series good for fun reading. It's a lot of action and wondrous settings. In fact, most/all of the book's logic, overlooking the whole going to Mars thing, is ridiculous, and it's only funnier that it was written long ago when some of it may have seemed plausible. It could be good for some laughs.

The Alienist by Caleb Carr is a mystery book set in 1896 New York City and follows a doctor who is working to find a serial killer using psychology, which would be a new thing to do around that time. This one was hard for me to put down and was a good intro to mystery.

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I haven't personally read it, but it's supposed to be really good. The Stand is one of his I really like. His writing makes things very real, so it's easy to get carried away in them, but they also tend to be pretty scary.

I was trying to think of pretty different books. Good luck, and I wish your friend strength.

[Hanine ϟ]

Thank you so much for the suggestions!
We'll surely check them out because they seem exciting! :D 

[Jesus Marquez]

There was a time when I wasn't a big reader either.. but I think you actually have to read a book for fun and not for school to finally be able to enjoy your first book. Here is a list of some of the ones that I've read which should be good for most guys,not too long, and therefore not a pain in the ass for first time readers...

- Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

- Canyons by Gary Paulsen

- The Cay by Theodor Taylor

- Things not Seen by Andrew Clements

- The City of Ember Series by Jeanne Duprau

- The Kite runner by Khaled Houssini

- Sasquatch by Roland Smith

those are just some easy ones to start with and if he likes them he definitely needs to read the harry potter series and later even get to some of the classics by mark twain or John Steinbeck.. anyway I really enjoyed reading those when I first began to read for my own entertainment... wish your friend the best and hope for a full recovery..!! =) 

[Hanine ϟ]

I agree with you on that point. He doesn't usually read for fun so I can understand why he doesn't know the true pleasures a book can give you.

Thank you so much! I'll make sure to add these first to the list since they helped you when you were a "first time reader" and it's a similar situation.

[Hannah]

What about the Knife of Never Letting Go? I think it's quite a boyish book, but it's also quite long so maybe not...

Also, does he like games? You could have a look and se eif any games he likes have books based on them. :)