Fathers Day Book Recommendations
When I was a kid, I don’t remember my dad reading with me much. What I do remember, is that as a teenager he read books for his own personal journey like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and Six Thinking Hats. The fact that he seemed to be attempting to improve himself was really cool to me at the time. I remember wanting to read what he read; and one of the first “adult” books (besides the romance novels my grandmother liked to slip me when I was a preteen) was his copy of The Seven Habits.
And thus began my quest for personal perfection. Just Kidding, lets not go there. It did however, allow me to believe in the power of a good self help book.
Fast forward to present day. I have a husband who just so happens to love to read, and he even enjoys reading to our children. And, our children very much enjoy when he reads to them.
It’s almost Fathers Day— the day of the year where dads everywhere should be spoiled by their kids, young or grown. Maybe that includes a gift or two. And what if you have one of those dads or husbands who can be best described as the “he doesn’t want anything or need anything” type?
The only sensible thing to do would be to get your favourite guy a book or five.
But how does one go about picking out a book for a dad? Especially if you happen to have one of those of dads who doesn’t love reading as a highly prioritized pass-time (I happen to have a Father-In-Law with such qualification!).
Instead of attempting to scout out and find a good literary classic that might just happen to pique their interest and make them fall in love with the author, try stereotyping the man in your life.
Don’t worry, I ascribe to good generalizations only.
The Dad who wants to be an astronaut when he grows up:
The Martian by Andy Weir
The Dad who wants to be an olympian:
Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
by Daniel James Brown
The Dad who thinks he is an olympian in the kitchen:
by Eliza Cross
The history buff:
by Nelson Mandela
OR
by Anthony Doerr
Spent time in the army:
by Phil Klay
The Calvin and Hobbs enthusiast (or the Dad who never reads!)
by Charles M. Schultz
(Any volume will do)
The Dad who loves a good roller coaster or thrill ride
FaceOff Anthology
OR
by Tom Rob Smith
The Dad with his head in the clouds:
A Giftcard in the exact amount to purchase the forthcoming (June 17 release) anthology Rogues
Aspiring to be a better Dad:
by Daniel J. Siegel
Fancies himself a loyal guy:
by Greg Iles
The Music Lover:
by Keith Richards
Addicted to Video Games:
Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and a Battle that Defined a Generation
by Blake J Harris
The Math and/or Science Geek:
by Michio Kaku
And last but not least, the dad on a quest for self perfection:
Creativity Inc. Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand in the Way of True Inspiration
Ed Catmull
A fresh take on an age old quest
Pretty much every dad should fit into at least one of the above categories. If your dad or husband does not meet or exceed the ability to enjoy any of them, please let me know and we can further strategize over a nice relaxed Twitter chat while our children take their daddy on an adventure and leave us moms eating bon-bons in our PJs at long last.
Book Musings 