free/cheap books for 12 year old boy?

[stop__dreaming]

I've not read of seen the film that's currently departed the cinemas, but the John Carter series is supposed to be pretty good.

Can find them over on Project Gutenberg.

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by stop__dreaming

I've not read of seen the film that's currently departed the cinemas, but the John Carter series is supposed to be pretty good.

Can find them over on Project Gutenberg.

Actually... Thanks to HarryT, we have a beautifully formatted, thoroughly proofed version right here on MR:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54599

[stop__dreaming]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Actually... Thanks to HarryT, we have a beautifully formatted, thoroughly proofed version right here on MR:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54599

Good stuff

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Actually... Thanks to HarryT, we have a beautifully formatted, thoroughly proofed version right here on MR:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54599

Thanks to you and HarryT! I've just downloaded it and added it to my looooong TBR list.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by BenBanned

When I was younger I had a heavy parental filter, especially when it came to music. Unless I was at a friends house I couldn't play the "cool" video games or watch R rated films. No one ever thought check what was in all those library books though. If I remember correctly at twelve I was really into survivalist fiction and allways daydreamed about running away to live in the woods.

I did not have a parental filter, especially when it came to music or reading. I did have one of those mums who would ask me 60 times a day whether or not I ate, and stuffing food into my mouth and telling me that I was hungry when I really wasn't. She is still like that.

My 12 year old self loved Stephen King in particular and horror in general (I don't think I've picked up a book by him up in at least 15 years, but I've been meaning to lately) and V.C. Andrews. I also read books about mythology and folk tales, language learning books (yes, even then) and also classics such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights and even some roman and greek literature in translation - I remember tearing through the Iliad very quickly. I remember reading a lot of Margaret Atwood, and being interested in biographies. I was a voracious reader, and began reading young. The Babysitters Club was my guilty pleasure back then. It still is!

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by piperclassique

Um, sorry, but if he wants to read why can't he look for his own books? I don't recall my relatives ever choosing my reading (just paying for it, and losing their library cards to my acquisitive little mitts)
And, no, they didn't censor me.

I suspect it's more a problem that there's too much to wade through--there is no convenient YA-oriented shelf at Amazon or Smashwords, and sorting by tags or keywords doesn't come with the ability to sort by price. For most parents with avid reader children, the problem isn't "keep the icky stuff away from my kids" but "find enough content within their range of interests to keep them happy."

I would love a curated list of "books my kids might be interested in, because they are teenagers alive today," so they didn't have to wade through listings for countless romances (not that I'd prevent them from reading Harlequins, but they're not interested) and political thrillers--which, again, I don't object to their reading, but enjoying those takes a better understanding of modern politics than they have.

I wouldn't attempt to push the kids into sticking to the list; it'd just be nice to give them a starting point.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Me too.

I understand Wells was a great Socialist. I must read more of him.

[andyh2000]

Originally Posted by Rizla

I understand Wells was a great Socialist. I must read more of him.

A lot of the themes in his books are still relevant too. My 12 year old self loved the Island of Dr Moreau, and the ethics of genetic engineering and musings on what it means to be human are perhaps more pertinent now than when it was written. You do have to get past the archaic language its written in of course.

Andrew