65: The Father's Day Gift Guide
what to buy the paternal guy in your life
In honor of Father’s Day, this week I come bearing only recommendations, because THE CLOCK IS TICKING and Dad’s not going to drop hints.
As both a dad-haver and current father, I can confirm that we are uniquely difficult to shop for. We rarely articulate what we want, we often make weird noises in lieu of being vulnerable, and we tend to buy ourselves anything we really need anyway. Celebrating dads can feel like trying to emotionally connect with a refrigerator.
ACCORDINGLY, to make things easier, I’ve pulled together a curated list of book recommendations with each one lovingly sorted by Dad Reader Personality Type™.
Whether you’re shopping for a Literary Dad, a History Buff, a War Movie Guy, a Faith-Focused Gent or a Pop Culture Junkie who still quotes The Office daily, there’s something here for everyone.
And hey, even if the dad in question doesn’t exactly scream “bookworm,” this list might still spark some non-literary gift inspiration.
(Fair warning: links go to my Amazon affiliate account, but feel free to shop wherever the price is better or the bookstore smells like paper and espresso.)
📚 Book Ideas for The Father Figure In Your Life 📚
🧢 For the Vintage Dad (a.k.a. The Guy Who Still Buys DVDs)
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
A seductive, slow-burn murder story told in reverse. Think: if the Scooby gang was in a secret society BUT ALSO terrible people.
A record store owner replays his greatest relationship hits (and misses). A manual for emotionally stunted men who alphabetize their pain.
The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman
A time capsule of flannel, AOL dial-up, and existential dread before it was cool. Like VH1’s I Love the 90s, but written by a philosopher-uncle.
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
A modern Appalachian *David Copperfield*. All grit, no gloss. Kingsolver writes like a preacher who occasionally curses.
🧭 For the History Buff Dad (a.k.a. The Guy Who Always Has Fun Facts About the Founding Fathers)
Hellhound on His Trail by Hampton Sides
A chilling nonfiction thriller about MLK’s assassination and the manhunt that followed. Reads like a spy novel if the stakes were the soul of America. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it was actually a true story.
The Fish Who Ate The Whale by Rich Cohen
How a banana baron rose to power, overthrew countries, and reshaped capitalism. It’s like *Succession*, but tropical and stickier.
Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues by Jonathan Kennedy
The history of the world told through biological assassins. Science meets apocalypse with unnerving clarity.
Captain Cook’s final voyage. A deep dive into 19th-century exploration, imperialism, and a slow-building doom. Reads like a travel blog written by a ghost.
The Hero of Two Worlds by Mike Duncan
The real-life character from Hamilton who helped birth both American and French revolutions. History’s most underrated overachiever.
The Monster’s Bones by David K. Randall
A tale of paleontology, petty rivalries, and the dinosaur arms race. The only thing bigger than the dino bones are the ego and proto-fascisim vibes.
🌲 For the Outdoorsman Dad (a.k.a. The Guy Who Could Survive in the Wild but Still Gets Lost at Target)
Post-apocalyptic, poetic, and surprisingly sweet. Like *The Road* but if the dad had a plane and a golden retriever’s spirit.
A Montana coming-of-age story about masculinity, ranching, and all the feelings boys are told not to have. Stoic with a soft underbelly.
I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
A river journey in a broken America, but with charming undergirding both sadness and hope. Think The Odyssey but with better snacks and less misogyny.
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann
A shipwreck, a mutiny, and a trial that became a national obsession. Master and Commander meets Survivor with better footnotes.
🎩 For the Literary Dad (a.k.a. The Guy Who Uses the Word “Liminal” Unironically)
A subversive retelling of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s POV, equal parts righteous, heartbreaking, and funny in that gallows-humor kind of way.
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Short, spare, devastating. A quiet Irishman discovers a moral crossroads at Christmas. It’s masterful writing in a quiet tone, packing a loud punch.
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Greek myth reimagined that’ll punch your heart and then hug it after.
A dreamlike, lyrical novel about art, addiction, and identity. It’s equal parts spiritual hunger and sharp cultural critique.
A centuries-spanning tale told through one patch of land and the lives it touches. Like if a tree could narrate a Ken Burns doc BUT WAY MORE EXCITING.
Bright’s Passage by Josh Ritter
A Civil War vet, an angel horse, and a baby go on the run. Equal parts mystical and homespun. Like a Flannery O’Connor fever dream.
📺 For the Pop Culture Dad (a.k.a. The Guy Who’s Subscribed to Too Many Streaming Services)
The story of *SNL* mastermind Lorne Michaels, who is revealed to be equal parts genius, chaos goblin, and a tuxedoed puppet master enigma.
MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzalez, and Gavin Edwards
How Marvel became a global empire of capes and billion-dollar box office hauls. A behind-the-scenes peek at our modern mythology machine.
It’s Better to Be Feared by Seth Wickersham
The definitive account of the Brady/Belichick dynasty. Winning, egos, betrayal make it basically Game of Thrones but with footballs (inflated ones to be clear).
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
A memoir that feels like a TED Talk from your stoned (but favorite) uncle.
⛪ For the “Faith + Wrestling with Faith” Dad
The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All
Logging, legacy, and myth in the American frontier. Feels like a folk song got turned into a tall tale, then set on fire for warmth.
We Are The Light by Matthew Quick
A grief-stricken widower and a troubled teen forge a healing friendship in a town still reeling from tragedy. It's Friday Night Lights meets Jungian therapy.
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
A collection of reviews on everything from air-conditioning to sunsets. Deeply human. Unexpectedly profound. Five stars.
The founder of Nike tells his origin story: scrappy, sweaty, and surprisingly philosophical.
The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism by Tim Alberta
A journalist's field notes from within the evangelical collapse. Equal parts elegy, exposé, and exorcism.
⚔️ For the “War Movie Is My Personality” Dad
The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell
A tale of WWII strategy, obsession, and unintended consequences. Short, sharp, and delightfully Gladwellian.
Not Shakespeare’s version, to be clear. This is the battle-hardened biography of the real warrior king from history. Less soliloquy, more stabbing.
Empire of the Summer Moon by SC Gwynne
The rise and fall of the Comanche Empire and one unforgettable warrior. Brutal, beautiful, essential history.
When The Sea Came Alive by Garrett M. Graff
An oral history of D-Day that’s panoramic, poignant, and pulse-pounding. You feel the salt, the stakes, the scope.
The slow slide into Civil War told like a suspense thriller. All hubris, heartbreak, and historical foreboding.
A brutal, brotherhood-heavy war story in medieval Europe. Dirty, gritty, and surprisingly tender underneath all the chainmail and insults.
Any recommendations you’d add to this list?
Thank you! Father's Day gift ordered from this, and tucking a few away for Christmas or birthday ideas! (Yes, I know most of these were greenlights, but it's helpful to see them all here!)
Wait, what?! Am I a dad (so many of these books on my 'I've read' list)? Good picks!