books for people with ridiculously narrow taste
 

right. my father is impossible to buy for. enough money to buy whatever he wants whenever he wants. zero hobbies. taste that can only be described as 'outrageously ascetic'. buying him baubles or clothing or anything he needs is not an option.

which leaves books. he does read. he only reads books by len deighton and john le carre. and books set in england/ireland between 1961 and 1976. books about scummy british detectives and gangsters and the like. can anyone recommend anything he might like that is widely available that he hasn't likely already read?

Re: books for people with ridiculously narrow taste
 

If you want to push his tastes a little bit, try some Rumpole books (by John Mortimer). The time and place are right. Some of them even have scummy detectives. The protagonist is a defense barrister named Horace Rumple. (They are available as books on tape and as a BBC series on DVD as well, but it sounds like books are the better choice.)

Re: books for people with ridiculously narrow taste
 

that is an excellent suggestion, but he has all those books. i should have mentioned them. also good suggestions but unfortunately already read by him include the adrian mole books and anything by jonathan coe

Re: books for people with ridiculously narrow taste
 

One of the later James Bonds?

For your eyes only (which is 5 short stories) maybe?

Moonraker actually fits the bill almost perfectly, cept it's set pre 1961 (mid 1950's I think)

Re: books for people with ridiculously narrow taste
 

If he likes England then what about PG Wodehouse Jeeves and Wooster? Or if he likes detective novels then Iain Banks - Rebus. Sherlock Holmes?

Re: books for people with ridiculously narrow taste
 

If he hasn't already read them he would probably like London Fields by Martin Amis and Brighton Rock by Graham Greene.

Re: books for people with ridiculously narrow taste
 

Get him some porn, he needs to broaden his horizons.

Re: books for people with ridiculously narrow taste
 

Jack Higgins wrote a bunch of books fitting this description.

Re: books for people with ridiculously narrow taste
 

Does he only like detective and spy stories from that time and place, or is he also just interested in the time period but willing to step outside those two genres?

Re: books for people with ridiculously narrow taste
 

The Long Firm trilogy (The Long Firm, He Kills Coppers and Truecrime, also available in one volume) by Jake Arnott. 60s British gangster stories, good stuff too.