I have a tradition that every birthday I have bought my eldest son a book (that was appropriate for his age), along with his other presents.

It’s his 18th soon, important year becoming an adult, and was thinking what to get him that marks the transition and most books can find a really nice hard back version.

So far I have on the short list:

The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway

The Conquest of Gaul – Julius Caesar

The Art of Worldly Wisdom – Balastar Gracian

I think you can see what I am getting at with this list. Books that help to guide him into adult life.

Any other ideas?

30 comments

  1. Oh the places you’ll go.

    Look it isn’t a fantastic piece of epic lit. But it’s a light hearted look at commitment and the troubles ahead. And a commitment to optimism.

    Otherwise if he’s a journaler one with prompts and reflections. It’s time for him to write his own story.

  2. The Road.

    It’s bleak AF but got me to realize my dad’s job my entire life was simply to get me to see the fire inside me that he saw the whole time.

  3. Not quite in keeping with your theme, but the two that immediately popped into my mind are *Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman*, and *A Short History of Nearly Everything*.

    *The Simple Path to Wealth* also comes to mind.

  4. I read Dune when I was 15 and it was life changing for me.

    It made me think “big picture” and the whole series changed my outlook on life.

    Contact by Carl Sagan was another one.

    I also really enjoyed “Surely you are joking, Mr. Feynman” by Feynman and “Adventures of a Mathematician” by Stanislaw Ulam.

    Put me on a lifelong path of curiosity and love of learning.

  5. Old man and the sea is a classic, but for an 18 year old I’d recommend A Moveable Feast. Hemingway’s memoire from his early 20’s in Paris, hanging out with his friends. It’s a book you need to read before that age, then again after.

  7. Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I read it when I was about 18. It really helps perspective

  9. Not sure if it meets your theme but everyone should read To Kill A Mockingbird.

  11. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig. A tour de force of what constitutes reality, as a man diagnosed insane (but now recovered) finds out who he used to be, via a motorcycle road trip with his son and two friends. A true story.

    The Meaning of Liff, Douglas Adams and Hohn Ciardi. This book will change your life.

  13. The power of one

    Bryce Courtenay. A great story with themes about planning ahead, achieving your goals and not becoming a prisoner of your past. but mostly just a cracker of a story.

  14. Since this is his 18th birthday, you might want to checkout: [https://geekifyinc.com/product-category/books/](https://geekifyinc.com/product-category/books/) they have incredibly well done books. Sort of special editions but with mind blowing covers. They cost a little bit, but if you want the book he gets for is 18th to be a lifelong memory, thats the place to look for. They do have a small selection though

  15. I second Feynman and Dune, and would also like to add that even though I’m an avid reader I think Hemmingway’s boring as shit so I vote no on that. I think Fight club could be good for that age. Allquiet on the western front. Any collection of world war 1 poetry. At that age i read roadtrip nation and it helped me set up my career. Recently read Range by David Epstein and that book just has so much good content

  16. The Old Man and the Sea!!!

    I remember reading it at that age and being completely blown away that a book can be that good.

    I read it 10 years later and it took on a whole new meaning. Actually, I read it 3 times in a row.

    It’s a book that keeps growing as you age

  17. I guess if everyone else is going to bring up longer “studious ” suggestions, I can add mine. I think by the end of 12 years of school or so lots of reader’s have had their fill, or can find their own.

    Guns, Germs, and Steel.

    An anthropological look at how the world came to be organized in the way it is. Things like resources, disease, the spread of different technology through out the world. Something that’s shaped my world view, its relatively free of politics.

  19. A few suggestions since you have a mix of fiction and non-fiction:

    * Meditations — Marcus Aurelius
    * The Art of Manliness — Brett and Kate McKay
    * Manvotionals — Brett and Kate McKay
    * Don Quixote — Cervantes
    * The Call of the Wild — Jack London
    * La Mort d’Arthur — Malory

  20. An alternative suggestion I would have are books about personal finances. If he’s clueless now (totally acceptable), now is a good time to start learning. If he’s *not* clueless now and shows an aptitude for budgeting and saving, books on investing may be his next subject.

  21. A Separate Peace by John Knowles. One of my all time favorites and a good “coming of age” book.

    Also Ghost Rider by Neil Peart. A good book on loss and rebounding…might set up thoughts of what is/can be really important in life.

  24. *Ender’s Game (Card)*

    *Greek Myths and Legends*

    *The Odyssey (Homer)*

    *Lolita (Nabokov)*

    *Little Women (Alcott)*

    *Jane Eyre (Bronte)*

    *The Origins of Totalitarianism (Arendt)*

    *On Stupidity (Bonhoeffer)*

    *The Ethics of Belief (Clifford)*

    *The Second Sex (Beauvoir)*

    Those are some of the ones that I think men should be familiar with in general. I don’t know your son’s interests so hey – but when you ask the questions these come to mind. Clifford and Bonhoeffer are in essay form so they are easy to digest and are remarkably applicable to today’s world.

  25. Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck comes to mind. An amazing road trip Steinbeck took across the US with his poodle Charley. If you son is anything like me at 18 then the story of wanderlust in this book is pure magic.

  29. Seveneves. It’s a book about the end of the world and what we do about it. It’s dark and epic.

Leave a Reply
You May Also Like