June 6, 2018 | sobczakd
Dads. We all have one. We wouldn't be here without them. Each dad experiences fatherhood in different ways; but all dads share commonalities no matter who they are or where they come from. There's the easy stuff. But also the hard stuff like raising a family. It's not all instinct to be a good parent. It takes skills. Check out these books that help dads navigate through the ups and downs of parenthood but also celebrates the joy of just being a dad.
Finally! A straight-up, honest book about parenting. In 2015, three months after his son, Charlie, was born, Coyne made a Facebook post about everything he'd learned so far about being a new parent. Touching on all the hottest topics (labor is like magic in that it's better if you don't know how it's done; snaps on baby clothes are the bane of parents' existence; caring for a newborn is like an extreme endurance contest where no prizes are awarded for the winner), the post went viral. In his first book, already a hit in his native England, Coyne describes his adventures in parenting through the first year of Charlie's life. And thank goodness. Irreverent and incredibly funny, this will have parents nodding along and laughing out loud as Coyne dishes on everything from how ill-prepared first-time parents are, to the joy of watching your baby discover new foods, to the awkwardness of wrestling a baby into a stroller, to avoiding old ladies in the grocery store, to how amazing life is with this new person in it. This tell-it-like-it-is memoir is certain to leave parents with the smug satisfaction that someone else understands.
A well-known author once told Pulitzer Prize winner Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay; Wonder Boys; Telegraph Avenue), "You can write books or you can have kids...you lose a book for every child." Yet Chabon, father of four, argues that books, unlike children, don't love you back. So begins this literary ode to parenting in which the author admires his son Abe's rare gift for doing things with panache but struggles to understand his love for fashion, stumbles over bedtime reading, and ponders how to teach his son how to treat the women in his life even as he explores his own foibles and failures in this regard. As parenting is likely to lead to self-reflection, Chabon further examines his own childhood through the looking glass, contemplating his decision not to follow in his father's footsteps and become a doctor. In the last section, Chabon writes about visiting his father, who is hospitalized for a possibly fatal infection, meditating on his own relationship with Dad.
A funny and intimate look at fatherhood from the actor and writer/director of The Boss and Tammy that combines stories about his own larger-than-life dad and how his experiences raising two daughters with his wife, Melissa McCarthy, who also penned the Foreword, are shaped by his own childhood. Though he's best known for his appearances in the movie Enough Said, as well as his hilarious role as Air Marshall Jon in Bridesmaids, Ben Falcone isn't a big shot movie star director at home. There, he's just dad. In this winning collection of stories, Ben shares his funny and poignant adventures as the husband of Melissa McCarthy, and the father of their two young daughters. He also shares tales from his own childhood in Southern Illinois, and life with his father--an outspoken, brilliant, but unconventional man with a big heart and a somewhat casual approach to employment named Steve Falcone. Ben is just an ordinary dad who has his share of fights with other parents blocking his view with their expensive electronic devices at school performances. Navigating the complicated role of being the only male in a house full of women, he finds himself growing more and more concerned as he sounds more and more like his dad. While Steve Falcone may not have been the briefcase and gray flannel suit type, he taught Ben priceless lessons about what matters most in life. A supportive, creative, and downright funny dad, Steve made sure his sons' lives were never dull--a sense of adventure that carries through this warm, sometimes hilarious, and poignant memoir.
Despite their 50 percent DNA contribution, many dads feel completely out of sorts when their own children are born. Mom and baby feed, sleep, and coo to each other, but where does that leave dad? While the thematic literary contribution of fathers desiring involvement is often of a he-man, boom-boom nature, the market for dads wanting to know how to do best by their babies is undeniable. Toward that end, author Pegula (founder, Diaper Dude), with journalist Meyer, offers dads a desirably lean look at how to help, how to bond, and what milestones to look for. He incorporates his own story (and mishaps) into a readable and easy-to-implement text for other new fathers with a testosterone-flavored style: "I don't care what anybody says about their perfect baby. All babies cry." The typical day-to-day adventures, such as sleeping (or not), pooping (or not), and crying (likely) segue into more complicated scenarios, such as parenting styles, sex, and tax credits. -VERDICT Recommended for all dudes, however silly their eponymous identity remains.
Music journalist Chris Kornelis didn't know the first thing about pregnancy when his wife gave him the big news. Navigating the world as a father-to-be, amid the pressure to do everything "right," he realized that conventional wisdom and parenting experts don't always provide the best advice. Rocking Fatherhood provides a week-by-week guide to pregnancy and encourages new dads to take advantage of the twenty-first century opportunities for creative fatherhood roles that were unavailable to previous generations. This compelling guide covers everything from swaddling to sex. With wisdom gained through extensive reporting, personal experience, and advice from dads such as James Dyson (the vacuum guy), Julian Casablancas (The Strokes), Aaron Franklin (the BBQ king), and a special foreword by Guns N' Roses co-founder Duff McKagan".
A hands-on, inspiring, and funny, this classic is the bottom line for new dads on pregnancy, birth, newborns and young children. So You're Going to Be a Dad helps first-time dads prepare for what's coming their way. Fully revised and updated, Downey explores the joys and trials of new parenting, including: Surviving pregnancy and childbirth; diapers, breast pumps, sleep deprivation; living with a baby in your house; the gear you need . . . and the gear you don't; navigating the online parenting world; lots of stuff about sex; and more importantly, how to be a modern dad in the 21st century. Topped off with a glossary of handy words new dads need to know (and some they don't), as well as words of wisdom from other ordinary fathers, So You're Going to Be a Dad is an engaging, reassuring and down-to-earth book for new dads".