I read a ton, but almost exclusively in the fantasy genre. My dad loves reading books that my brother and I recommend (and it’s a competition of course). My dad’s favorite genre is historical fiction. This is a man who loved Outlander due to the Scottish history (though he does watch the new episodes of the show as soon as they come out, so it has to be more than that). I’d like something published in the last few years to be sure he hasn’t read it and to keep up with the times.
Things I know he loves:
**Pillars of The Earth:** I think this is his favorite book. He always talks about how much he loves the cathedral stuff.
Growing up, I remember him reading a lot of **Bill Bryson** and **Pat Conroy**. He also liked biographies like **John Adams and Benjamin Franklin**, but I don’t really want to get him non-fiction.
I used to think that **A Prayer for Owen Meany** was his favorite book until he read Pillars.
His favorite TV shows are **MASH** and **The West Wing**, if that helps at all.
Anything about the Reformation would probably fascinate him.
More things he has enjoyed that I suggested:
**American Gods:** My suggestion, but he had a positive reaction.
**Wolf Hall**: Liked it and wants to read the rest of the series, but said he was annoyed by the way the author used pronouns. He was sometimes confused about who was talking. I haven’t read this one, so I don’t know how that helps but alas.
**A Man Called Ove:** He was visiting Sweden and wanted to read something Swedish
**Outlander**: As mentioned before
Any suggestions are helpful! Please say a little about the book too and why you think he might like it. I plan to get it for myself as well and maybe buddy read it with him. Thanks so much!
by majorsixth
7 Comments
My first thought was political fiction by Allen Drury such as [Advise and Consent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advise_and_Consent). (It wasn’t historical when it was written in 1959, but might seem so now!) It’s about shady dealings in the US Senate centering around the confirmation of a new Secretary of State. It won a Pulitzer Prize and was made in to a movie starring Henry Fonda. I read it years ago and remember it was engrossing.
If he’s at all interested in the US civil war, the Killer Angels by Michael Shaara is an incredible novelization of the battle of Gettysburg.
Has he read any of the other books in the Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge) series? There are 5 in total. A new one was released in October, called The Armour Of Light.
Iain Pears has written some good historical fiction. My favorite of his is *An Instance of the Fingerpost*. It’s a murder mystery based on a true story from the seventeenth century.
I’d recommend Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, but it won the Pulitzer Prize back in 1986 and so it could be your dad’s read it already in which case you could try The Cowboy and The Cossack by Clair Huffaker, which has been described as Lonesome Dove crossed with Dr. Zhivago!
The 100 Year Old Man Who climbed out the window and disappeared. Not historical fiction, more akin to Ove.
https://www.amazon.com/100-Year-Old-Man-Climbed-Window-Disappeared-ebook/dp/B007MB5OCE/ref=sr_1_1?crid=34JXIBOSG1EGB&keywords=100+year+old+man+who+climbed+out+the+window&qid=1701572928&s=books&sprefix=100+year+old+%2Cstripbooks%2C239&sr=1-1
Has he read an Bernard Cornwell? The Winter King is a King Arthur inspired tale.