2013 Recommended Father's Day Books

Who needs good eyesight? All a man needs is a good read.

Time for that annual list! Give the men in your life the gift of a good read, whether by buying a physical book, all tied up with a bow, or by sending that emailed ebook surprise. If that special paternal figure in your life has already worked through my past lists in 2012 and 2011, give these a try:

For the man who loves History of Science...

A little WWII, a little history of chemistry, a little disease and death--it's a history of the first Sulfa drugs! Absolutely fascinating. Or consider,

This history of cancer is famous enough that you might want to check if he's already read it, but it's even timelier now because filmmaker Ken Burns plans to adapt it for a documentary.

Next up, for the man who loves his baseball...

This one's got it all: baseball, sibling rivalry, Marilyn Monroe, and the American Dream. For those of us who know California, there's also plenty of I-never-knew-that! Actually, for all of us, there's plenty of I-never-knew-that!

Then there's your fellow who loves adventure and armchair survival...

While purportedly about S. A. Andree's nutty quest to fly over the North Pole in a hot air balloon, the book covers much much more from the age of Arctic exploration. Great for lovers of Ant/Arctic disaster because there's plenty of hubris, grit, freezing to death, and utter disaster.

And finally, if you want to improve your man, without giving him an obnoxious weight-loss book or something to obvious as "How to Be a Better Husband/Father/Man," this one is fun.

If he enjoyed BRAIN RULES or Malcom Gladwell books, this is in the same genre, with a wee bit of self-correction thrown in...

Enjoy! And a Happy Father's Day to all you wonderful men out there.

Books for the Men in Your Life

It's that time of year! Father's Day approacheth, and I have compiled my annual(?) list of reads that might appeal to your reading man. Most of these are non-fiction, I confess, but men love non-fiction, don't they?

1. First off, for those who love history and history of technology, I just finished The Guardian of All Things. This history of memory, both human and artificial, was 90% riveting. Silicon Valley tech journalist Malone covers everything from brain functionality in evolving hominids, to Ciceronian memorization techniques, to the invention of written language, to the Internet, stopping every place in between. In what other book could you find an account of papyrus and parchment production, as well as a discussion of whether machines might one day become so human as to be indistinguishable from the real McCoy? Seriously--from a thousand-year-old vellum MS in the Bodleian to Battlestar Galactica Cylons, all in one book. And, having grown up in the Silicon Valley, I loved Malone's history of it. In a way it was reading my own history. Visiting the "computer room" with its big machines and roaring fans at Digital Equipment Corporation where my mother worked. Touring "Bill and Dave's office" when I worked at Hewlett-Packard. Billboards alongside 101.

I was even almost able to explain how an amplifier worked when my kids asked. Almost. I mean, it made sense when Malone explained it to me, but it failed to take hold in my physics-challenged memory.

Give this book to a man in your life at your own risk. He might bombard you with his learnings, but you'll enjoy them, too. I promise.

2. If disaster and survival is more your guy's thing, try

World War II! Disaster at sea! Sharks! Governmental cover-ups!

or

Teddy Roosevelt! Lethal heat! New York City!

3. If he needs a good laugh he'll probably enjoy

I'm a Ken Jennings fan. This exploration of the map- and geography-loving world both educates and amuses. Plus, this recommendation is road-tested. I gave it to the dear hub to read, and he has greatly enjoyed it.

4. And, finally, I need at least one fiction suggestion. How about

Yes, I know it's been out forever, and maybe he had to read it in high school. But hey--it's one of the best books ever, appealing both to the idealistic and mid-life crisis stages of a guy's life. Not only that, but you can then get him to see the Leo diCaprio movie with you. Just don't buy him the Gatsby with the movie tie-in cover

Cover not released yet, but it might look a little something like this...

Happy Father's Day to all!

Five for Father's Day

Hubba hubba!

Recently at a wedding reception, a man at my dinner table told me he likes to read because his wife likes him to read. "She'll come by and put her hand on my shoulder and say, 'Awww--you're reading!'" Forget puppies and babies. Books make a guy a total chick magnet. What wife caresses and praises her man when he's watching the game, or asking her to get him another beer, or not taking out the trash? Exactly.

Make the men in your life more appealing! Buy them a book this Father's Day. If you went big and got them a Kindle, these Fave Five are available in that format, but otherwise, run down to your local bookstore and pick up one of these surefire winners. Some I've recommended before, but I'm still including them.

1. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. The inspiring non-fiction tale of how Louie Zamperini overcame almost every possible kind of suffering, from dashed Olympic dreams to a plane crash to sadistic prison guards in WWII. Made my husband read it, and he loved it,too.
   
   
2. If your hub or dad can't get enough of the adventure stories, I also recommend Anthony Brandt's The Man Who Ate His Boots: The Tragic History of the Search for the Northwest Passage. It's all there: the men, the quest, the elements. A good one if he's already read about Shackleton or if he liked Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air.
   
   
3. If he's a history buff, consider one of my husband's favorites: Bill Bryson's A Short History of Absolutely Everything. It's exactly what it sounds like. Not much will stick in memory, but you'll enjoy the ride. Same goes for his history of all things vaguely-domestic, At Home: A Short History of Private Life.
   
   
4. In the fiction department, I'm always going to recommend David Benioff. Either of his two novels will work, with City of Thieves being my favorite. Set in WWII during the Siege of Leningrad, it follows two unlikely companions who become friends as they try to complete the quirky mission assigned them.
   
   
5. Finally, if your fella just wants short reads and something Beavis-and-Butthead-esque to snicker at, there's always Robert Kroese's The Force Is Middling in This One. I love the cover:

Two men that I know of are getting my latest novel Everliving for Father's Day--enjoy, Paul and Brent.

Here's to fathers and husbands everywhere!