Colleen McCullough's The First Man in Rome. It's historical fiction, set in Rome a few years before Julius Caesar was born. I began reading it to see what I cou

Colleen McCullough's The First Man in Rome. It's historical fiction, set in Rome a few years before Julius Caesar was born. I began reading it to see what I could learn about how war was waged by the romans and was absolutely dazed by the political and social intricacies exposed. One of the most welcome gifts I've ever bought. One friend told me he had rediscovered the pleasure of reading; another read the full Masters of Rome series shortly after. Really good feedback. Terry Pratchett's Night Watch is also one of my favorites to give. Although when asked if it is the first of a series people tend to be somewhat surprised by the answer: I send them a graph spanning all the Discworld books[1]. Night Watch is in no way the first but I've found it to be a good starter and the order is not that important in Pratchett's books. Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha. Already mentioned by someone. Some translations have an incredibly lyrical prose, but you've got to be careful with the one you buy. [1] http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/38700000/The-Discworld-Reading-Order-Guide-2-0-discworld-38786764-1000-1198.jpg http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/38700000/The-Discworl...