Book recommendation for male in dark place

[AnAnxiousAuntie]

I've name changed for this one and I can't think straight at the moment. My nephew is in a very dark place so I'm looking for some book recommendations to drop off at hospital for him. He's late twenties, university educated (science), not working, would have an appreciation for architecture, fitness, think he might normally be into the fantasy side of fiction (but I'm not looking for a fantasy recommendation). So I'm looking for fiction, not romance, no trigger warnings for suicide. Something to keep him engaged, a page turner, not too challenging as he's on quite a bit of medication. Something uplifting without being too overt. Short stories might work too. I'd drop him in one every few days for as long as it takes.

A biography of a person of interest to him? Eg Architect past or present, famous scientist...
I'm currently reading about Gerdude Bell - I appreciate that would not be his cup of tea... but then, she's remarkable!

I remember enjoying High Fidelity by Nick Hornby when I was in my twenties, and thought at the time it would appeal to male readers. I can't remember if there are any triggers in it though so you'd need to check.

I am Pilgrim (thriller, very popular, very engaging)

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow (life story of two friends, may appeal to young guy as it's also about gaming)

Shantaram (not really a work of literature as such but very page turning and set in India so nothing too familiar/sad/wintery)

Has he read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy? Something by Bill Bryson could be light and entertaining.

Unless he’s already read it, which it sounds like he might, Lord of the Rings is always the answer to this question.

I'm so sorry, that poor young man.

Tim Peake's autobiography is very interesting....also space . Hope your nephew feels better soon x

Would he enjoy the Jeeves stories? Light, funny but not hard to concentrate on.

DS enjoyed The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, a bit more absorbing.

Sorry to hear your DN is struggling.

In general a lot of popular science writing is pretty joyful and uplifting. Scientists derive immense pleasure from their subject, and it shows in their writing. Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything is a wonderful book, so is Carl Sagan's Cosmos. Carlo Rovelli is a contemporary physicist who writes ecstatic prose poetry – and his books are generally very short.

I'm sorry to hear about your nephew. For what it's worth, these are the books that always cheer me up:

P. G. Wodehouse: Right Ho Jeeves
Dickens: David Copperfield
Patrick Fermor: A Time of Gifts
Robert Graves: Goodbye to All That
Aldous Huxley: Chrome Yellow
Evelyn Waugh: The Sword of Honour
George Orwell: Coming up for Air and his essays
Bertrand Russell: Autobiography

If he likes science, how about Douglas Adams? He'd be perfect. It's sciency but with a tinge of fantasy, and obviously it's fiction. Adams is a very funny, upbeat, cheerful writer as well. If your DN has already read the hitchhiker books, why not take him something else by Adams? Maybe his essays and journalism.

From your tone I'm guessing he's depressed, in which case he may not be up to reading. When I'm depressed, I can barely walk from one end of the room to the other, let alone read anything. Could he perhaps listen to something? For me, heaven on earth is listening to Stephen Fry read Sherlock Holmes or P G Wodehouse.

Thank you all so much for posting, I really, really appreciate all of the suggestions and the kind words. For the moment I've got The Hobbit and the first volume of Lord Of The Rings. He has possibly read them already, that won't be a problem, they'll be easier to start with, less effort needed. And, you've given me quite the list to be choosing from.

Physically, he's doing so much better, he's actually made a miraculous recovery from being on life support.

My husband read all the James Herriot books when he was in a very dark place.

Leonard and Hungry Paul is a funny, gentle book about two young men who don't fit the norm. It's a great uplifting read that might fit what you are looking for

Maybe try the immortal life of Henrietta Lacks? A fascinating story about the history of medicine.

No recs but so sorry your nephew is feeling like this.

@AnAnxiousAuntie I can't think of a suggestion right now but just wanted to recommend a website called "Does the Dog Die" which is a crowd-sourced wiki for trigger warnings. It was originally for movies but does now seem to include books too. I use it before recommending anything to my friend whose daughter took her own life.