Reddit reviews The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

If you like non-fiction biographies The Boys in the Boat is a solid choice.

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Recently read "The Boys in the Boat" to get my rowing fix. If you like non-fiction, it's great!

I got here last year (work at UW, live in Ballard). Couple of suggestions from another newcomer (from CT):

• My wife says you have to read The Boys in the Boat; "I think everyone in this city has read it". Except me.
  
• Too High & Too Steep is an interesting book about the local geology and history. Will give you a new perspective on the shape of downtown.
  
• Larsen's Bakery is my new go-to pastry shop. A large variety of Danish pastries, good quality, and good prices (and 50% off day-olds if you're really cheap).
  
• Coming here from the east coast, and having grown up in Wisconsin, Seattle feels much more like the midwest, and thus more familiar to me. Things move slower here, and people are generally less aggressive than the northeast.
  
• KEXP is a great local radio station for all sorts of music. Never quite know what I'm going to hear when I turn it on.
  
• You don't even have to get out of town to see interesting wildlife: Carkeek for spawning salmon, Golden Gardens and Discovery parks for duck variety, the locks for seals, sea lions, salmon, and various water birds.

Long time reader and teacher here -

I agree with skipping any phonics instruction at this stage, and that trying audio books is a good idea. Written language is different than spoken, and listening to written will help with reading it. (Besides that, audio books are great!)

There is a lot of great nonfiction out there that he might enjoy -

these are collections of short articles, which may make them less intimidating:

Gene Weingarten: [The Fiddler in the Subway] (https://www.amazon.com/Fiddler-Subway-World-Class-Violinist-Performances/dp/1439181594/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1505310496&sr=1-1&keywords=gene+weingarten) (I do my best to read everything he writes)

[Sarah Vowell's books] (https://www.amazon.com/Sarah-Vowell/e/B001ILFO7E/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1505310914&sr=1-2-ent)

some of [Joel Achenbach's books] (https://www.amazon.com/Joel-Achenbach/e/B001HMTVXC/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1505310626&sr=1-2-ent), including 'Why Things Are'

not collections, but so good

[The Boys in the Boat] (https://www.amazon.com/Boys-Boat-Americans-Berlin-Olympics/dp/0143125478)

[Seabiscuit] (https://www.amazon.com/Seabiscuit-American-Legend-Ballantine-Readers/dp/0449005615/ref=pd_sim_14_14?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0449005615&pd_rd_r=4P2YTBS454KVBDDS78NP&pd_rd_w=YohLc&pd_rd_wg=g6ySs&psc=1&refRID=4P2YTBS454KVBDDS78NP)

[Tracy Kidder's books] (https://www.amazon.com/Tracy-Kidder/e/B000AQ8T3E)

[Being Mortal] (https://www.amazon.com/Being-Mortal-Medicine-What-Matters/dp/1250076226/ref=la_B00458K698_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1505310411&sr=1-1)

And so many more - I just listened to Erik Larson's [The Devil in the White City] (https://www.amazon.com/Devil-White-City-Madness-Changed/dp/0375725601)...

Or this one