Well, Father’s Day is upon us, and as usual, I have ordered a few gifts for my dad at the last minute!! I always include at least one book for him at every gift-giving opportunity, and since we like to read a lot of the same things, it’s always fun to try and find something he doesn’t have yet. (Which can be very, very difficult!) I’m featuring a few of my favorites that I’ve given to my dad, some that I’ve loved that I think others would love, and some that I think new dads (or all dads) need! Let me know in the comments any book suggestions you have for Father’s Day!
New Dads
*The Wishing Star
by M. Christina Butler, illustrated by Frank Endersby (My kids loved this book for years, and it’s a wonderful book to read aloud. The cover and illustrations are beautiful, and it’s really a perfect book to gift a new dad to read to his child.)
*Pops: Fatherhood in Pieces
by Michael Chabon (This is a collection of short stories written by Chabon about his own experience with being a dad. They’re funny, witty, and will also make you think a little. But not too much. Because dads are tired.)
Non-Fiction
*The Flying Tigers: The Untold Story of the American Pilots Who Waged a Secret War Against Japan
by Sam Kleiner (This is a new book that I will be giving to my dad on Sunday. He loves history, so this is right in his wheelhouse!)
*Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
by David Grann (Read my review HERE. This is such an amazing story, and it’s being made into a movie, so you can read it with your dad and then go see the movie!)
*In Shock: My Journey from Death to Recovery and the Redemptive Power of Hope
by Dr. Rana Awdish (Dr. Awdish tells the story of how she went from being a young doctor to a dying patient and how that transformed not only her views on life, but the way she wanted to practice as a physician. I got this one for my husband, since he’s in medicine, on the recommendation of another doctor friend. It sounds amazing!)
*All Over But the Shoutin’
by Rick Bragg (Rick Bragg is the king of southern memoirs, and I gave this one to my dad a long time ago. It’s one of my favorite books, and Bragg will always be a favorite author.)
Historical Fiction
*The Atomic City Girls
by Janet Beard (This is the fictionalized telling of the real story about the women who unknowingly worked on the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. It’s such an interesting story, and perfect for history fans.)
*News of the World
by Paulette Jiles (This is one my parents gave to me, so I know it has to be good! It’s about a journey through Texas after the Civil War, and it’s also only 240 pages, so if your dad needs a quick read, this is a great one.)
Fiction
*A Man Called Ove
by Fredrik Backman (Read my review HERE.)
*Beartown
by Fredrik Backman (Yes, two Backman books, that’s how much I love him. I just finished reading this, and I think it’s such a beautiful, important book about a small town, sports, and what people are willing to do to cover up secrets in order to keep a sports team in tact.)
*Empire Falls
by Richard Russo (I absolutely love this book. It’s another book about a small town and how people live there. It’s well-written and really dives into the human spirit and how people survive.)
*Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
by Fannie Flagg (One of my dad’s and my favorites! Read the book together and then watch the movie, which is actually amazing.)
Cooking
*Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys
by Lucinda Scala Quinn (Y’all. I know. A cookbook for Father’s Day? HEAR ME OUT. Lucinda is the queen of cooking for me-her recipes work, they are delicious, the stories she incorporates into her cookbooks-I own them all-are wonderful, and all the boys and men in my family love everything I make out of this cookbook. This is a fun one, and if your dad likes to cook, or you like to cook together, this would be a wonderful addition to a cookbook collection.)
Travel
With the exception of Dispatches from Pluto, which I already owned, I bought the rest of the books listed here for my dad and I to both read! There are so many amazing travel books out right now.
*Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta
by Richard Grant (I recommended this one in my Mother’s Day Gift Guide, and I want to leave it here too. It’s so good, and I think a dad who loves reading about travel and different parts of the country would love it. Read my review HERE.)
*The Traveling Feast: On the Road and at the Table with My Heroes
by Rick Bass (This is exactly what it sounds like-Bass traveled with the goal of creating meals for each of his mentors. It sounds so fun-who wouldn’t love to be able to spend one-on-one time in our later years with those who made an impact on us throughout our lives?)
*Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time
by Mark Adams (I kind of can’t believe I haven’t given this to my dad yet. At the time, the author had never so much as slept in a tent, but he decided to re-create the exact trail that the man who found Machu Picchu took with one guide.)
*Tip of the Iceberg: My 3,000-Mile Journey Around Wild Alaska, the Last Great American Frontier
by Mark Adams (Yup, same author as Turn Right at Machu Picchu! This time, Adams wanted to re-create Edward H. Harriman’s 1899 railroad expedition. Through Alaska. If your dad loves to travel, has been to Alaska, or wants to go, this sounds like the perfect book to have an armchair adventure in.)
Books to Buddy Read with Dad!
My dad has very strong memories of what his favorite books were as a child, and I know some of my favorite moments as a parent have been when my kids love a book that I read as a child. So I think a really fun idea would be to give your dad a copy of his favorite childhood book, or a classic childhood adventure book, and buddy read it together! It would be so meaningful, and fun-I don’t think bookish people get tired of those favorite childhood classics!
*Gulliver’s Travels
by Jonathan Swift
*The Adventures of Robin Hood
by Roger Lancelyn Green
*Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson
*White Fang
by Jack London
*The Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling
