OT: ECW Readers' Book Recommendations

Saturdays have been quiet days for news here recently, and today is no exception, so I thought I would throw out a question to the readers here about books they might recommend.

With Christmas around the corner I have been thinking about books I might like to request as gifts, or maybe give to others and wonder if people here might have some recommendations for good reading. These days I tend to be an omnivore of items on the web rather than books, but over the holidays I tend to have more time for reading longer works and it’s a good time to read a good book. Also, my dad’s a voracious reader and I’m always on the lookout for a good book to give him for a Christmas present — something he hasn’t already read.

You all know the kinds of topics we discuss here, so book ideas in those subject areas would be interesting, but I’m open to recommendations on any topic — fiction, even. Publication date doesn’t matter either — old or new is fine. Just so long as you think it’s profitable reading.

Anyway, if anyone could post some recommendations, I’d be grateful — and I hope others might find it interesting.