AAAAUUGGGH. Christmas gift ideas needed!

[Pixilated]

Nephew (mid-teens) has "anything cool you can think of" and "good books" on his wish list.
WTF ...
WHAT is considered "cool" to a mid-teens male these days? Also, any suggestions for 'good books'? Brother hasn't even given me any ideas on genres.
Nephew is into running (including competitive) and that's about all I know (what can I say, we're not a close family ....)

I like science-fiction (particularly Star Trek, with Star Wars coming in second) and dystopian novels (The Last Policeman, for example) but have no clue what he likes ... mysteries? Erotica? (Yeah, brother and SIL would have WORDS with me about that one )

[taxguykarl]

A gift card for a sport store maybe

[Ironclad Alibi]

Recent book I have read:

Bullet Train byKotaro Isaka (Author), Sam Malissa (Translator)
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

Classic science fiction by Larry Niven, Alan Dean Jones, Isaac Asimov.

Is he into Lego? Several fantastic sets have come out lately.

[Pixilated]

A gift card for a sport store maybe

Actually he does have a few gift card suggestions on his list ... Booster Juice and Subway being two of them (we do 'wish lists' as we're not a particularly close family and tend to lose track of what people are doing/interested in over the 11 months following the last Christmas). I'll probably get him at least one of those.
The cartoon is right; there's not much thought in gift cards. But hey ... if that's what they want.

[Pixilated]

Recent book I have read:

Bullet Train byKotaro Isaka (Author), Sam Malissa (Translator)
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

Classic science fiction by Larry Niven, Alan Dean Jones, Isaac Asimov.

Is he into Lego? Several fantastic sets have come out lately.

That's odd you mention Lego; he WAS into them and it's still on his list but brother thinks it was put there by accident ... not sure he's still into that.

Thank you for the book recommendations; will definitely look them up ... although I'm familiar enough with the classics you mentioned. I wonder if I can get him one of Niven's books featuring the Puppeteers ... I always liked them.
I also wonder if he's got the patience to get through the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
I also wonder if he even likes fiction ... my brother isn't much into it. Again, a hint or two from brother would have helped here ...

Ooooh ... I wonder about a book called 100 Animals That Can F*cking End You by Mamadou Ndiaye. He's got a YouTube channel called Casual Geographic and it's fascinating, although it can also be pretty disturbing. Like, all those cute little animals that you thought were vegetarians ... ? Haha, guess again.

And there's also something called On This Day in History, Sh!t Went Down. Not a book for people upset about F-bombs.

[Kit-Ginevra]

Well This NSFW treat* might be gladly received by him but not the parents...



*contains just Christmas cards and puppies...


For serious gift ideas, we have things like Experience Days here that are like gift vouchers-you can then choose your activity from a list. Things may include a race car day,paintballing,football stadium tour,spa day,escape room etc etc depending on his interests. Do they have anything similar in the States?

[csquared]

Amazon gift card. One size fits all.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I wonder if I can get him one of Niven's books featuring the Puppeteers ... I always liked them.

The later puppeteer books are part of an ongoing story line, so look for the earlier books.

I also wonder if he's got the patience to get through the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

You could start him with The Hobbit.

[Pixilated]

Well This NSFW treat* might be gladly received by him but not the parents...



*contains just Christmas cards and puppies...


For serious gift ideas, we have things like Experience Days here that are like gift vouchers-you can then choose your activity from a list. Things may include a race car day,paintballing,football stadium tour,spa day,escape room etc etc depending on his interests. Do they have anything similar in the States?

I'm sure he'd LOVE that ...
The parents? Not so much ...

This particular part of the family lives out on the Prairies; it's my sister and niece who live in the U.S. But that's a thought; I'll look into it!

[Pixilated]

Amazon gift card. One size fits all.

THAT is true!

[Pixilated]

The later puppeteer books are part of an ongoing story line, so look for the earlier books.



You could start him with The Hobbit.

Local bookstore has two copies of Niven's "Ringworld" on their shelves. I'll go out tomorrow and see if one's still available. FIngers crossed ...
Never thought of The Hobbit mostly because I've never read it myself.

[Kristev]

If he's made a request, such as for a Subway gift card, it's prudent to provide the request instead of stressing.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Local bookstore has two copies of Niven's "Ringworld" on their shelves. I'll go out tomorrow and see if one's still available. FIngers crossed ...
Never thought of The Hobbit mostly because I've never read it myself.

Ringworld is an excellent book.

[Kit-Ginevra]

Amazon gift card. One size fits all.

And yet however snugly it covers, it still gets you into trouble if you wear it out in public...