Buying a book as a gift

[vegas]

Hi ladies, I'm hoping you can help with my random question. I have to buy a book for someone who doesn't read much but wants to get into reading. Any suggestions on a book to get for someone like this? I was thinking Divergent but I've never read it so I'm not sure. I'm wondering if it's too specific of a genre for someone who doesn't read much. I guess I'm just looking for a book that anyone would like, but I'm drawing a blank since I read mostly non fiction.

[duckduck]

Hunger Games is a crowd-pleaser if you don't think the person has already read it. Of course, people are less likely to read a book if they've already seen the movie, too.

It's tough to give a recommendation without knowing anything about the person. Man? Woman? Sports nut? Rom-com watcher? A little more info would help.

[panicked]

Do you know anything about this person? That could help us give better recommendations.
However, any book written by Jen Lancaster is a safe bet.

[Nonny]

Nov 10, 2012 13:59:29 GMT -5 panicked said:

Do you know anything about this person? That could help us give better recommendations.
However, any book written by Jen Lancaster is a safe bet.

I agree with the PP who said we need more info. I have a pretty broad range of tastes and I really loathe Jen Lancaster. Reading Bitter is the New Black made me want to rip my hair out.

[panicked]

Nov 10, 2012 16:40:27 GMT -5 Nonny said:

Nov 10, 2012 13:59:29 GMT -5 panicked said:

Do you know anything about this person? That could help us give better recommendations.
However, any book written by Jen Lancaster is a safe bet.

I agree with the PP who said we need more info. I have a pretty broad range of tastes and I really loathe Jen Lancaster. Reading Bitter is the New Black made me want to rip my hair out.

We can't ever be friends. Jen is hysterical! Granted, her writing in Bitter is a little... entitled. But she gets better!!!

[Nonny]

Nov 10, 2012 16:53:02 GMT -5 panicked said:

We can't ever be friends. Jen is hysterical! Granted, her writing in Bitter is a little... entitled. But she gets better!!!

LOL! I spent the entire time reading that book wanting to punch her in her entitled, snotty face, and shake her for repeatedly making bad choices.

[panicked]

Nov 10, 2012 17:12:54 GMT -5 Nonny said:

Nov 10, 2012 16:53:02 GMT -5 panicked said:

We can't ever be friends. Jen is hysterical! Granted, her writing in Bitter is a little... entitled. But she gets better!!!

LOL! I spent the entire time reading that book wanting to punch her in her entitled, snotty face, and shake her for repeatedly making bad choices.

You should read some of her later works. She gets WAY less entitled and more humble. My Fair Lazy is a good one.

[vegas]

I can't really give much more help because it's an elfster pairing, so I have never even met my secret santa person. I just know she wants to read more. I was avoiding books that have been made into movies because I'm worried she may have seen the movie. What about "Gone Girl"? That's my next Kindle book to read.

[duckduck]

Hmm. Gone Girl does really grab you. That would probably be a pretty good choice.

[phred]

I really liked The Fault in Our Stars. It is YA-ish and an easy read, but a true tear-jerker.

I am currently reading Tell the Wolves I'm Home and I quite enjoy it.

[aurora]

So you don't even know if she likes fiction or non-fiction? That's tough. Some of the standalone books I've read this year that I could see having broader appeal include

Bossypants by Tina Fey
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (nothing at all like what I expected)
Elizabeth Street by Laurie Fabiano

There are also a lot of great series out there but most of them have either already been mentioned or are kind of intimidating to an infrequent reader (e.g., Outlander, Game of Thrones - neither of these are complete yet and they already consist of many 800+ page books).

[Deleted]

11/22/63 if the # of pages doesn't scare them.