Well, today I'm working on getting a box together for my dad. He's apparently spending a fair bit of time reading. Supposedly, he finished Ender's Game in two days (while working more than 8 hour shifts). He asked me to send him some books. I decided to go for overkill here.
My house has a respectable library of books. A bit of military theory and strategy (although I'm getting increasingly annoyed that I can't find On War). Then lot's of fantasy and sci-fi, with some westerns here and there. I'm going to try to avoid sending him many books that he's already read. Which limits me to my MUCH smaller selection of books. I also had to consider that I might not be getting these books back (when he was in Korea, before I was born, he left all the literature that he had accumulated as a community library.). I can't exactly send a first-printing of Warlord of Mars to the desert, can I?
He also asked for Ender's Shadow, so I started with that one. Here's the list.
1) Ender's Shadow, OS Card - classic sci-fi book. One of my favorites. I'm not sure if he's ever read it, I think that I bought this copy for myself.
2) Shadow of the Hegemon, OS Card - Shadow's sequel, kinda sci-fi, kinda military tactics, kinda political drama. I also liked it. I know that I bought this one for myself. Not sure if he's read it (it was published in 2001, which is after he read regularly).
3) Shadow Puppets, OS Card - Next sequel. I couldn't find my copy, so I'll be buying one tonight. I thought that the series started to bog-down here, but it's still good.
4) Shadow of the Giant, OS Card- Final book. I hated the ending, but enjoyed the book. I couldn't exactly leave the series unfinished. Could I?
5) Hero of the Imperium, Sandy Mitchell- A Warhammer book, which he's never heard of. Military Sci-fi with a dose of humor. He'll either love it or hate it. Definitely a new read for him.
6) Empire of the East, Saberhagen- High Fantasy with a fun military twist. Fantasy world + Tank = ? Takes place far in the future of the books of swords, which he thinks highly of. He's read it before.
7) Dark Lord of Derkholm, Diana Wynne Jones - Satirical Fantasy. I bought this book many years ago and enjoyed it. Something that's pretty different from sci-fi, so I included it. I might send the (better) sequel Year of the Griffin if I can find room.
Ghost Recon, David Michaels - an okay book. It's almost a Clancy? Just something different, I may or may not send it.
9) The Greatest Hockey Stories Ever Told- He likes hockey, I figure something non-fiction wouldn't be a bad idea.
Any other suggestions? I might buy the swords series while I'm out, but I'd have to read them before I send them.