For you dad, I've heard very good things about Salt and Cod, both by Mark Kurlansky. Obviously, they have a very tight focus, but they're also both fairly short, which would make them ideal for short trips.
Both my dad (science professor) and my mom (high school graduate) liked Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything - I wasn't that impressed, but deeply approved of the cover. (I have a thing for covers.) They went on to enjoy A Walk In the Woods too.
My dad's had Guns, Germs and Steel sitting in a prominent place on his bookshelf for years now, but I confess that I don't know whether that's because it's awesome or because he couldn't be bothered to finish it.
I enjoyed parts of Freakonomics, which is econ-lite - information from a real economist, but written by somebody at the New Yorker or similar magazine. (I also deeply approved of the orange/apple cover, but ... not everybody cares.)
For you... The Golden Apples of the Sun, and other stories by Ray Bradbury. It's not horror or anything, but he certainly brings the creepy. (Yes, oldschool recommendation, but I avoided him for a long time. I'm not into all his stuff, in fact, I hated F. 451 and couldn't finish Martian Chronicles, but I really loved this.) The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is probably my favorite Heinlein, and while I haven't read him for a while, I remember Charles de Lint with affection. (But I find sometimes that my standards have risen and a book I used to love is actually ... crap. So if you hate de Lint, I'm sorry.)
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Both my dad (science professor) and my mom (high school graduate) liked Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything - I wasn't that impressed, but deeply approved of the cover. (I have a thing for covers.) They went on to enjoy A Walk In the Woods too.
My dad's had Guns, Germs and Steel sitting in a prominent place on his bookshelf for years now, but I confess that I don't know whether that's because it's awesome or because he couldn't be bothered to finish it.
I enjoyed parts of Freakonomics, which is econ-lite - information from a real economist, but written by somebody at the New Yorker or similar magazine. (I also deeply approved of the orange/apple cover, but ... not everybody cares.)
For you... The Golden Apples of the Sun, and other stories by Ray Bradbury. It's not horror or anything, but he certainly brings the creepy. (Yes, oldschool recommendation, but I avoided him for a long time. I'm not into all his stuff, in fact, I hated F. 451 and couldn't finish Martian Chronicles, but I really loved this.) The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is probably my favorite Heinlein, and while I haven't read him for a while, I remember Charles de Lint with affection. (But I find sometimes that my standards have risen and a book I used to love is actually ... crap. So if you hate de Lint, I'm sorry.)