If you're into some non-fiction where NYC is a main character then "Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk" by Legs McNeil is pretty awesome.

While everyone has seen "The Godfather" movie the book is fun as well.

"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is a friggin great book that nobody reads anymore.

"The Great Gatsby", of course, is a classic and seems particularly poignant these days.

"Breakfast at tiffany's" by capote is fun. and features an openly gay character "Fred". Gore vidal had already broken that particular barrier and was black-balled for it. That Capote was not, as far as I know, may either be a statement on Capote or a early sign of changing social ideas around homosexuality.

Speaking of Gore Vidal, "Burr" is awesome and takes place in NYC with a lot of 18th and early 19th century New York history.

"Faggots" is fascinating and very controversial even now.

There are hundreds of others... It's actually pretty tough to narrow the list with that sort of criteria!

Don DeLillo's Falling Man and Underworld are two great books that should meet you definition. Falling Man is short and sweet, but sort of challenging because it focuses so strongly on 9/11 and feels a tad cliche. Underworld is arguably one of the most important books written in the last 30 years or so, but 900 pages, hard to follow, and dense.

These are all old; they tell you what NY WAS like, not what it is like now:

At the risk of being obvious: "A Catcher in the Rye"

"Call it Sleep" by by Henry Roth is as awesome book about the Jewish immigrant experience.

And if you want to venture into poetry, and if you are up for a challenge, read "The Bridge" by Hart Crane, which starts:

How many dawns, chill from his rippling rest
The seagull's wings shall dip and pivot him,
Shedding white rings of tumult, building high
Over the chained bay waters Liberty--

Then, with inviolate curve, forsake our eyes
As apparitional as sails that cross
Some page of figures to be filed away;
--Till elevators drop us from our day . . .

I think of cinemas, panoramic sleights
With multitudes bent toward some flashing scene
Never disclosed, but hastened to again,
Foretold to other eyes on the same screen;

And Thee, across the harbor, silver-paced
As though the sun took step of thee, yet left
Some motion ever unspent in thy stride,--
Implicitly thy freedom staying thee!

Out of some subway scuttle, cell or loft
A bedlamite speeds to thy parapets,
Tilting there momently, shrill shirt ballooning,
A jest falls from the speechless caravan.

Down Wall, from girder into street noon leaks,
A rip-tooth of the sky's acetylene;
All afternoon the cloud-flown derricks turn . . .
Thy cables breathe the North Atlantic still.

And obscure as that heaven of the Jews,
Thy guerdon . . . Accolade thou dost bestow
Of anonymity time cannot raise:
Vibrant reprieve and pardon thou dost show.

O harp and altar, of the fury fused,
(How could mere toil align thy choiring strings!)
Terrific threshold of the prophet's pledge,
Prayer of pariah, and the lover's cry,--

Again the traffic lights that skim thy swift
Unfractioned idiom, immaculate sigh of stars,
Beading thy path--condense eternity:
And we have seen night lifted in thine arms.

Under thy shadow by the piers I waited;
Only in darkness is thy shadow clear.
The City's fiery parcels all undone,
Already snow submerges an iron year . . .

O Sleepless as the river under thee,
Vaulting the sea, the prairies' dreaming sod,
Unto us lowliest sometime sweep, descend
And of the curveship lend a myth to God.

Ack I just wrote a long review of luc sante's low life- lures and snares of old new York and Jacob riss how the other half lives and my phone died so I'm not typing a long response again.

Low life is about the underbelly of NYC in the 19 century and while non fiction is a thrilling romp through the people, politics, crime and landscape of the times. I actually read about Riis here and got his book to find out more about his world, which was written in 1890 about the tennent living conditions and was one of the first Street level use of flash photography to hit home the conditions of squallor wh was championing change in. Both books are full of pictures. I'd recommend Riis for the ick and cringe factor and sante for a modern well researched fascination with the times that shaped the city into what it is today, how the neighborhoods grew and changed, who ruled the streets after dark and the social and political aims that worked and didn't work but framed how the city shifted into what it is today

Gosh - so many wonderful books to choose from, though picking things that foreground the city itself does narrow the vast field somewhat. Although it is a bit longish from some book groups, Emily Barton's excellent historical novel "Brookland" might work well - a really fine novel and crammed with interesting detail about early 19th century New York and Brooklyn. Kevin Baker's historical novels are also filled with interesting stuff about historic NYC - I might steer clear of "Dreamland," but "Paradise Alley" or "Striver's Row" maybe? Also historical, a couple of Doctorow's work - "The Waterworks" or "World's Fair." "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is kind of begging to be read by them. Paule Marshall's "Brown Girl, Brownstones." Oh - and Paul Auster's "Brooklyn Follies" would be excellent for this. Are they only doing fiction? If not, Jan Morris' "Manhattan '45" would be good, as would Pete Hamill's "Downtown: My Manhattan." Pete Hamill's fiction or memoir work for this as well - "Forever," "North River,"or "Tabloid City" are all vivid NYC in various periods.

Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe, either A Cannibal in Manhattan or Slaves of New York both by Tama Janowitz if you want to go retro.

"By the Waters of Babylon" Great sci-fi story.

The Richard Hugo House is a center for creative writing that offers all kinds of writing classes. It is on 11th Ave, just across from Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill

http://hugohouse.org/

http://twitter.com/horse_ebooks , obviously.

This entry in wiki has a few good references
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Brannaman

I envy you getting into working with horses and applaud that you are looking at taking the more gentle natural approach.

I saw a short the other day for the new move about Brannaman, "Buck" which looks amazing.

Could you be looking for:

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann

"The temperature hit ninety degrees the day she arrived."

It's really old, but have you read Xenophon? His On Horsemanship is on the reading list of my librarian/horsewoman friend. It's very good basic horsemanship stuff.

Penultimate Hustle! It's not out yet, so read Radar Love, first, the first in the series. But PH has full on sex scenes that are inside of an amazingly well-written story. Thanks to ebooks, it can be released as is, fully x-rated, instead of being watered down for a print publisher. Message me on Facebook and I'll send you a review copy. Actually, Pageburner has some hot scenes in it, as well.

Pageburner

http://www.amazon.com/Pageburner-ebook/dp/B006IJUGVU

 

Radar Love

http://www.amazon.com/Radar-Love-Ultimate-Hustle-ebook/dp/B006LRKASI/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_5

This is probably obvious, but I think the most effective activity people can engage in to improve their own composition skills is reading. When you read well-written work, your understanding of language, style and tone, technical details (such as grammatical rules), and vocabulary will build. This widened understanding will inevitably inform your own writing. I'm not sure whether you're looking for tools to improve the technical quality of your writing or its content (are you a budding author?), but reading quality work will likely help in both areas.

If you enjoy genre fiction and are interested in using it in this strategy, I'd suggest going with older novels- on the balance, they tend to be crafted more finely than much of what is being published now- I think this is probably a result of the increase in how many books are published and the general decrease in the public's mastery of Standard Written English. It is also the case that books which are still readily available many years after their creation tend to be those which are good enough to have appealed to readers generation after generation. In case you're not much of a reader, here are some authors I recommend: In fantasy, think Tolkien, Le Guin, or Richard Adams rather than Brooks, in mystery, choose Poe or Doyle rather than Koontz or Brown, in science fiction, pick Orwell rather than Crichton, for romance, look to Austen or Bronte rather than Steele. Of course, none of this is to say that there are not contemporary authors who create excellently crafted genre novels (Le Guin and P.D. James, for example).

I doubt this is a particular issue for you (judging from what I've seen of your writing abilities on Q'land), but the other extremely important foundation for composition skills is a strong understanding of English grammar, which is something many of us were not taught as children. Some of the other answers have suggested various sources for grammar instruction. Your writing will become more fluid and expressive as you increase your understanding of sentence structure and the ways it can be manipulated.

This may sound silly, but I also want to suggest using prompts or giving yourself specific limitations when you do practice your writing. Oftentimes giving yourself restrictions to work within will force you to be more creative and exploratory in your work than you otherwise would. This can develop new skills, expose specific weaknesses, and force on-the-spot learning. There's a lot more incentive to seek out new knowledge or skills when we present ourselves with a problem to be solved rather than rely on a vague desire to expand our knowledge.

I hope some of that was helpful- I tend to ramble a bit in my own writing, as I'm sure you can see.

Do you know any other writers? Sometime a little critique group can help with this meet up every few weeks at a coffe shop, swap whatever you're working on and go to town on each other. Of you don't know other writers you could post an add on craigslist and see if you get along. Also try teasing your stuff to yourself out loud instead of just reading what you've written in your head. It can help you figure out what's reading awkwardly. Also dissect other writers that you like. Figure out what it is that you're attracted to in their language. Sometimes trying to write in someone elses style can lead you places you wouldn't expect. There is the strunk and white book ( elements of style I think is what it's called) that you can pick up used at most bookstores. It's thin but has common grammar, punctuation, etc to help with the bones of it. This time of year there are probably a bunch of copies since the semester is over for most schools. If you're within the Seattle city limits you might try checking out http://www.826seattle.org/
It's a non profit started by Dave eggers of mc sweeneys fame and it's a nation wide writing torturing program. They usually have workshops and what not. The Seattle one is in phinney ridge area and also has a space exploration store connected to it that pays the bills to keep it running ( San frans is a pirate store, new Yorks is a superhero store). It's mainly geared twoward matching up writers with kids to help their writing but you could go and meet some of the volunteers and see what resources they would recommend. Also check out artist trust on Capitol hill they have tons of resources in their library and know of local work shops. If you get to the point where you're interested in publishing they recently added a writing track to their EDGE program that teaches business skills to artists and how to navigate the stuff they didn't teach in school or has changed ( with the digital age) they also host workshops for various disciplines as well as how to apply for their grants and programs that cost money to help you have the best possible application and het fellowships for their programs and other orgs programs. Good luck

Do you mean the physical act of creating legible handwriting or are you referring to the compositional skills (grammar, syntax, etc.) of writing?

Some of the Tom Sharpe books are quite good. Try "The Throwback" on for size?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Throwback

http://www.amazon.com/Men-Who-Stare-Goats/dp/0743241924 but skip the movie. The book is 100% true, funny, sad. The movie is a pile of shit.

screw books - have him watch "Amadeus" for a good scare.

I didn't much care for the Doomsday Book (it was light on plague details, which was what I was really interested in), but everyone else I've talked to liked it.

I really enjoyed The Time Traveler's Wife. I thought the plot thread of popping in and out of your life and your loved ones' lives, even out of the dates of your own lifespan, was cool. It also avoided two major time travel issues that tend to drive me crazy when done wrong:

1. No paradoxes. Any attempts to change the past simply don't work.

2. You don't time travel with possessions. Or clothes. Or even dental fillings. Very interesting plot implications here.

Also look into To Say Nothing of the Dog, and maybe some Arthur C. Clark. One of the Pern books (Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey) also has a time travel plotline.

"- He tested as a genius when he was in the 2nd grade; his mother never made him do his homework or pass a class again after that"

It's a lot easier to stand out when you're 8 than it is to maintain that "edge" past elementary school. Plenty of people of average to lower intelligence can show "genius IQ" by those arbitrary tests and slack off for the rest of their lives because they believe themselves inherently smarter than others.

"- His parents do not begrudge him anything -"

There is absolutely nothing you can do for him if he's just sitting around mooching off your parents, waiting for your parents to die so he can take over the house. As long as they want to spoil him, he'll continue to be lazy as hell.

"with his genius brain"

Stop assuming he's a genius, for one.

I don't know how you do this without seeming insufferably preachy. Other than showing him how much better your non-living-at-home life is, by taking him out to do fun stuff that you actually do (not by telling him it's better for god's sake), what are your options? Does he have friends? Really the only thing I think will work is a girlfriend/boyfriend. Maybe work on that with him, offer to write him an OK Cupid profile or something. When's the last time he got laid? Without paying for it? Probably the weak point in his game, I'd guess. If you want to bitch to someone, talk to the parents. They are doing him no goddamn favors. Of course it's not really your business. Unless he's mentally ill. In which case he needs treatment. And honestly? If my parents paid my way, weren't assholes about it, I didn't have to do jack shit, and I could still travel and have all sorts of stuff? I really might. But it wouldn't be nearly as much as a cock block for me since I'm female. If he's not obviously depressed or suicidal why worry about it at all? It's his choice, and it's not inspiration he needs, it's motivation. Hence girlfriend. Or perhaps awesome job opportunity, pref. in mechanical engineering. But that's his to find, not your job, not your problem.

Also, the tested as a genius thing? According to who? Mom? First off, the IQ test isn't really for that, it's for IDing low functioning kids, and secondly, the thing doesn't normally test above 140, which is smart, but not genius level. There isn't really a genius test, especially at that age...

Connie Willis definitely.

I always have had a soft spot for the Time Wars series by Stephen Hawke. Each is based loosely around a well known novel or historical incident. Short, but fun. But maybe hard to get these days.

Jack Womack's "Terraplane" has time travel in it. His universe(s) are pretty bleak, but it is one of the best I can think of right now.

Second Connie Willis's "Doomsday Book" - terrific. The new Stephen King might well be of interest, and it seems to have been inspired somewhat by Jack Finney's classic "From Time to Time," (on audio) which is a totally charming time travel story drenched in period details and with a nice love story on the side. (The sequel, "Time and Again," is good - not quite as good as the first though). There is also a collection of Jack Finney's time-travel related short stories called "About Time," but if stories are an option I'd go for the anthology "The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century," which runs the gamut from adventure to mind-bending metaphysics. From, say, Michael Crichton's rip-roaring adventure "Timeline," (on audio) to Octavia Butler's realization of race's indelible place in America, "Kindred." (on audio)

One obscure mind-bending title that many readers will tell you is one of the best Time Travel books around is David Gerrold's "The Man Who Folded Himself."

Felix Palma's recent "The Map of Time" would work well, esp in tandem w/ H.G. Wells' book: Wells is a character.

Hard to miss w/ Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry series (The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire and The Darkest Road).

Be sure to check out a lesser known novella by a seemingly unlikely author, The Dechronization of Sam Magruder by George Gaylord Simpson.

If the name pops out at you it is because he was one of the most important paleontologists of the twentieth century. The manuscript was discovered and published after his death. A time researcher is accidentally transported back to the Cretaceous Period. He must learn to survive and he finds a way to record his observations on the dinosaur inhabitants of the Earth so they will be found in the future (the basis of the book). Although the story utilizes the thinking of the scientific community about dinosaurs at the time, now different in many ways, the story is nonetheless well written and a good escape.

An introduction written by Arthur C. Clarke discusses time travel works and an afterword by Stephen Jay Gould updates the descriptions of dinosaurs to more modern thinking.

This hardback work is easy to find for minimal cost through sellers of remainder books through Amazon or the best search engine for books ever bookfinder.com.

A whole year, huh? I think you might like: Home Land, by Sam Lipsyte. When the Nines Roll Over, by David Benioff. Sick City, by Tony O'Neill. Crooked Little Vein, by Warren Ellis. Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, by Nick Flynn. Chinese Takeout, by Arthur Nersesian. Waylaid, by Ed Lin. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. Mathilda Savitch, by Victor Lodato. Citrus County, by John Brandon. The Buddha of Suburbia, by Hanif Kureshi. A Common Pornography, by Kevin Sampsell. In Persuasion Nation, by George Saunders. Rumble, Young Man, Rumble by Benjamin Cavell. Your Body is Changing, by Jack Pendarvis. Punkzilla, by Adam Rapp. What We Are, by Peter Malae. The Mulching of America, by Harry Crews. Girlfriend in a Coma, by Douglas Coupland. Less than Zero, by Bret Easton Ellis. Jesus' Son, by Denis Johnson. ...though I suspect you'll probably want some more variety than that, but...

Connie Willis is a scifi author who has written several books with time travel plots. I've only read her _Doomsday Book_ but I really liked it, so her others are on my list. I'm pretty sure a smart teen (especially one who likes plucky young heroines) would enjoy that one.

Be More Chill by Ned Vazzini
Paper Towns by John Green
Glamorama by Bret Easton Ellis
Hairstyles of the Damned by Joe Meno