How can I make Father’s Day special for my dad?
Don’t worry if you keep asking yourself this question and can’t find the answer just yet. You’re not alone.
A tie, a multi-tool… I know what you’re thinking, I’ve been there too.
These are the most typical Father’s Day gifts listed everywhere as you start surfing the Internet.
Yet, I’m deeply convinced that books make the greatest gifts for Father’s Day.
Why?
Because “A book is a gift you can open again and again,” as Garrison Keillor once said.
So, I’ve selected the best books for Father’s Day and categorized them as follows:
- Books for dads who love history and non-fiction in general
- Father’s Day books that cover different interests in fiction (from sci-fi to romance)
- Books for fathers-to-be or new dads
- Interesting picks for fathers who don’t read
- Finally: an unexpected solution for dads who’ve read literally everything
Let’s scroll through them together and find the best book for Father’s Day.
Follow me.
Best Non-Fiction Books on Father’s Day
Origins by Lewis Dartnell – history
If you need good history books for dad, you can’t miss out on this one.
Describing the history of humanity, Prof Lewis Dartnell synthesizes nearly every science in this book: from paleontology and archaeology to biology, chemistry, physics, and more.
He often references research by scientists and demonstrates where people come from, how the human race developed through the ages, and, most interestingly, how the Earth predetermined the whole development.
Get a copy of this absorbing read for your father.
A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage – history, food & drinks
Need an alternative to Origins?
Here you go.
Tom Standage regards history from a completely different angle. He analyzes the six drinks that have been shaping the historical and cultural aspects of humankind.
You can see all of them right on the book cover:
- Coca-cola
- Wine
- Spirits
- Beer
- Tea
- Coffee
How did these drinks become the catalysts of advanced tech?
Your dad will be amazed to learn some facts that can change the perception of his preferred drink for good.
Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham – nuclear engineering, history, environment
What did happen in Chornobyl, Ukraine, on the 26th of April, 1986?
There have been so many speculative discussions and Soviet myths around the disaster at the Ukrainian nuclear power station in Chornobyl.
Hour by hour, sometimes second by second, the British journalist Adam Higginbotham tells what exactly happened on that notorious day.
For this book, he conducted in-depth research, interviewed eyewitnesses, and collected all the possible reports, archived documents, letters, and memoirs about this catastrophe.
The chill runs through the veins, as the story unfolds and reveals a nearly paranoid compulsion for secrets in the Soviet Union’s government that made the Chornobyl cataclysm possible.
Midnight in Chernobyl received numerous awards including the NYT Best Book of the Year and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction.
Norco ’80 By Peter Houlahan – true crime, history
Anyone who knows the City of Norco only as “a horse community” or an animal-keeping small town will be shocked to find out these terrifying details from its history in 1980.
Peter Houlahan retells a true crime story of the 1980 Norco bank robbery by five heavily-armed men. It led to three deaths, multiple injuries of police officers, and over thirty demolished vehicles. News outlets labeled it as the Norco shootout.
An ideal read for dads who prefer real-life stories and action-packed blockbusters. The head is spinning from the density of actions in this fast-paced book.
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey – memoir
What do you think Matthew McConaughey, an award-winning actor, always dreamed of?
Becoming a father. And he did.
However, this is a non-traditional celebrity memoir from the father of three. Greenlights is “an approach book” based on McConaughey’s philosophies, insights, and life adventures.
With a truly wow design, it’s full of some extra things like personal notes and photographs.
As of now, the autobiography has spent 132 weeks on Amazon Charts of the Top 20 Most Read books of the week.
Get the copy and let your dad spark inspiration to catch more green lights on his life path.
Best Fiction Books for Fathers
The Searcher by Tana French – for dads who love detectives and thrillers
It’s the newest nail-biter from “The Queen of Irish crime fiction” Tana French.
After its release in 2020, The Searcher was nominated for Goodreads Choice Award in the category Best Mystery & Thriller.
Here’s how this mysterious novel starts:
When Cal, an American detective-retiree, attempts to execute his escapism in the remote Irish village, of course, he fails. There’s a local boy who has disappeared, and every dweller seems to hide a secret…
Find the copy here for your dad to enjoy a slow-burn atmosphere of investigation.
If you don’t mind checking some other variants of detective mystery books for Father’s Day, we’ve got a list of authors like Tana French.
The Peripheral by William Gibson – for dads who love science fiction
Just a small clarification: for dads who like sci-fi with some bits of cyberpunk.
Ok, a lot of them.
Read the review of The Peripheral to get the details about the novel. It’s a mind-blowing story from the creator of the word “cyberspace” William Gibson.
The book is available on Amazon.
Consider some more sci-fi novels that will definitely stun your father, if he prefers exploring advanced tech and science and the possible futures of the world.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman – for dads who love humorous fiction
Ove is fifty-nine.
He drives a Saab.
He often points at people he doesn’t like. Ove also buys a computer that isn’t actually a computer, or bleeds a radiator, or does so many other things, sometimes strange, comical, and amusing.
Your father will also enjoy the following chapters about the man called Ove and –
- A cat that was broken when he came
- A clown called Beppo
- Someone in a garage
- A boy in the house next door
- A lot of bastards sticking their noses, and more
It’s a heartwarming read that also makes people feel more appreciative of life.
Consider getting this book as a present on Father’s Day.
The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd – for dads who love fantasy (and enigmas)
In fact, the majority of maps lie.
You know that perfectly well if cartography is engraved into your DNA and you can’t help but work with maps.
That’s what Nell Young used to do, until… an incident that spoilt the father-daughter relationships in her family.
Unbelievably, an old map was the reason. Now, seven years later, her dad dies in his office at the New York Public Library’s Map Division.
And the same map pops up again. Why? What does it hide?
The novel has got so many riddles and a totally unguessable ending. It also belongs to dark academia, an antithesis of light academia.
Here’s the link to this captivating and thrilling story.
Btw, you can also check this list of novels about libraries and librarians, if your dad likes library settings.
The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams – for dads who love romances
What’s the first rule of the book club?
You don’t talk about it.
Gavin Scott, a baseball star of Nashville Legends, joins a very extraordinary book society. It consists of men who read romance stories.
Each one wants to become a better husband, boyfriend, or lover and improve romantic relationships with their partner. Can they help Gavin save his marriage?
It’s a fresh intake on rom-com, without any clichéd or stereotypical godlike sportsmen who are alphas in everything.
Buy this novel for your romantic (or even not so much) father.
Best Books for Expectant Fathers or New Dads
Be Prepared by Gary Greenberg and Jeannie Hayden
What books should a new dad read
First and foremost, the ones that can give a full understanding of what awaits him as a newly-turned father.
Be Prepared does just that. It warmly welcomes a new dad to the “brotherhood of fatherhood”.
This guide is broken into five sections:
- The first week
- 0–3 months
- 4–6 months
- 7–9 months
- 10–12 months
It caught my attention on the lists of top recommended books for Father’s Day at Oprah Daily, HuffPost, The Bump, Mum’s Grapevine, and others. People usually buy it as a gift for their husbands, brothers, sons, or friends who tap into parenting.
Your Baby’s First Word Will Be DADA by Jimmy Fallon
Yup, you’ve read it right – “dada”.
The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon says: It’s a selfish thing […] I just want the baby’s first word to be ‘dada’.
In his illustrated picture book, daddy-animals make futile attempts to hear their baby-animals say “dada”. Instead, their babies produce natural animal sounds.
I believe it’s the cutest and funniest children’s story for fathers who can read it to their babies.
I Love You, Daddy by DK
If you asked me to describe this book with just three words, they would be: snuggling, cuddling, and togetherning.
It’s one of the sweetest Father’s Day books from baby to dad. This rhymed tale of love features dogs, foxes, giraffes, penguins, lions, and other father-baby animal pairs on every page.
Just look at this board book every toddler would enjoy together with one’s dad.
A Dad’s Fun Guide to Raising Happy Daughters by John Griffith
It’s a hilarious book for dads with daughters from a man who is raising three girls.
John Griffith sticks out his unique dad style, self-irony, and sarcasm and pokes the reader with it so hard.
At the same time, he shares his seven keys to unlocking happiness in the family. The last chapter offers some fun activities that John Griffith does together with his daughters.
For example:
- The “what we want” challenge
- Crafting a dream pouch
- A water cycle experiment
- Imagination taming
- Zombifying the beautiful, and more
Best Picks for Dads Who Don’t Read
A Cloud a Day by Gavin Pretor-Pinney
Did you know that people live within the sky, not under it?
“It is a strange thing how little in general people know about the sky.” – John Ruskin
Gavin Pretor-Pinney, the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, shares amazing pictures of skies spotted from the ground or the most different places like an aircraft, tower, the International Space Station, etc.
Along with each photograph, the author explains the art of clouds, when nature and science collide and join in a freestyle dance.
Even if your father isn’t interested in scientific explanations, he can open his eyes to the unnoticed beauty of the sky that will impress him with its magnificence and grandeur.
Dad Jokes by Jimmy Niro
Q: When does a joke become a dad joke?
A: When it becomes apparent!
It’s a perfect dad book gift on Father’s Day if your dad doesn’t like to read much. It contains 600+ short jokes and puns for the whole family.
Prepare to roll your eyes, slap your knees, and get laughing with the corniest dad jokes around.
Consider buying this #1 best seller in the Puns & Wordplay category on Amazon.
Dad, I Want to Hear Your Story by Jeffrey Mason
“A father is someone you look up to no matter how tall you grow.” – Author unknown
Why not ask your dad to tell his personal stories and get to know him better?
If he isn’t into reading, he may be into writing and sharing some particular memories from his biography:
- What were his first words?
- Did he have a nickname when he was growing up?
- Who were his best friends in his elementary school days?
- What’s his favorite memory from his teens?
- And 250+ more interesting details your dad can share with you.
It can become a genuinely touching gift on Father’s Day.
Book for Father Who Has Read Everything
Need something special for dad who is obsessed with reading and has his bookshelves stuffed full? I’ve got your back covered!
Dad, I Wrote A Book About You by M. H. Clark
Your father has definitely not read that yet!
What makes this personalized Father’s Day book stand out?
It’s perfectly suitable for all ages from children to grown-ups.
One of the Amazon reviewers mentioned: “This left my dad crying and my dad doesn’t cry.”
Read some other reviews and get the book here.
Father’s Day Books: Full List
Fathers are often the unsung heroes in our lives.
But there’s an ideal way to change it. Good books for dad can speak better than words and sing a song of your appreciation and love to your father.
So, don’t hesitate to pick the best book for Father’s Day from the below list:
- Origins by Lewis Dartnell
- A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage
- Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham
- Norco ’80 By Peter Houlahan
- Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
- The Searcher by Tana French
- The Peripheral by William Gibson
- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
- The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
- The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
- Be Prepared by Gary Greenberg and Jeannie Hayden
- Your Baby’s First Word Will Be DADA by Jimmy Fallon
- I Love You, Daddy by DK
- A Dad’s Fun Guide to Raising Happy Daughters by John Griffith
- A Cloud a Day by Gavin Pretor-Pinney
- Dad Jokes by Jimmy Niro
- Dad, I Want to Hear Your Story by Jeffrey Mason
- Dad, I Wrote A Book About You by M. H. Clark
If not a secret, which of these titles have you chosen, and why?