I gave this to one son when he was about 18, along with a pretty much complete set of Discworld: http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/discworld-reading-order/. These were collected over many years, so a bit of a wrench. The best of which might be: "Wyrd Sisters" (Shakespeare), or "The Truth" (Newspapers). He can make fun of pretty much anything, while still showing it great affection. Neil Gaiman's "The Graveyard Book" is a great book for reading to younger kids. Weird, creepy, but strangely uplifting, even if it does begin with a triple murder. I can't remember which kid took that. I bought Robert Silverberg's "Nightwings" in the 80s and read it several times. I was going to give away but couldn't find it, so I had to buy a new copy and read it again first. This seems to anticipate a lot that followed, from genetic modification to drastic climate change, but it is essentially about a character trying to cope in a mad world.
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