Need a Gift For Dad? PEOPLE Picks 20 Books That Will Top His TBR List This Holiday Season
You may not know them by name, but we bet you can pinpoint a “dad book” when you see one. These are the reads you can picture stacked next to the best chair in the house, the ones he’ll page through with a cigar, a cold one and his glasses perched on the very tip of his nose, the books that will encourage his proclivities toward hiking, complicated food projects or obscure history.
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Whether you need a gift for your dad, your co-parent or a favorite father in your life, one of these is sure to fit the bill. Here are the books PEOPLE staffers are giving — and hoping to get — this holiday season.
‘Long Island Compromise’ by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Random House
Carl and Ruth Fletcher’s grown children have everything money can buy, but each one is a complete mess — and now the family’s fortune is in peril. This farcical, entertaining drama about generational trauma will make a dad happy his own family isn’t that messy.
‘A History of the World in 12 Shipwrecks’ by David Gibbins
St. Martin’s Press
Dive deep into what shipwrecks tell us about mankind’s history with underwater archeologist David Gibbins. Sure to give dads lots of fun facts to share around the dinner table or on those long car rides.
‘Hitler’s People’ by Richard J. Evans
Penguin Press
From a renowned Nazi scholar and author of the acclaimed The Third Reich Trilogy — as well as over two dozen other volumes on Europe and its recent past — comes this book that focuses on the faces of the Nazi movement. Thoroughly engrossing and a must-read for history buffs.
‘Anything’s Pastable’ by Dan Pashman
William Morrow Cookbooks
You may know the James Beard Award-winning podcast host of Sporkful from his obsessive quest to create a new pasta shape. Now he’s doing the same for sauce in this fun, original cookbook. Get ready to revolutionize Spaghetti Night.
‘Reagan: His Life and Legend’ by Max Boot
Liveright
The politically minded dad will devour this definitive tome that reveals the “man behind the mythology.” And at almost 900 pages, it should keep him busy all winter long.
;The Future Was Now’ by Chris Nashawaty
Flatiron Books
The summer of 1982 was a banner one for sci-fi. These eight films were released in a period of six weeks: E.T., Tron, Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, Conan the Barbarian, Blade Runner, Poltergeist, The Thing and Mad Max: The Road Warrior. They all hit the silver screen at basically the same time, changing the genre and Hollywood forever. If he’s a fan of even one of these films, this deep dive is a fun and fascinating read.
‘A Walk in the Park’ by Kevin Fedarko
Scribner
Whether he plans a national park trip every summer to check another one off the list or admires our nation’s wild treasures from afar, he’ll have a blast with this epic jaunt through the Grand Canyon.
‘The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu’ by Joshua Hammer
Simon & Schuster
The title says it all: Dads who love reading and championing literacy for others will also delight in this punchy historical account.
‘Meditations’ by Marcus Aurelius
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Dad can’t stop thinking about the Roman Empire? This book of meditations and musings from the Roman Emperor is an essential addition to any collection.
‘Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions’ by John Grisham
Doubleday
Whether Dad has been bitted by the true-crime bug or has read everything John Grisham ever wrote, you can’t go wrong with this one. It’s well-written, full of interesting people and brimming with shareable tidbits.
‘Ripley’ by Patricia Highsmith
Everyman’s Library
If he loved Netflix’s Ripley, the three books that launched Tom Ripley’s story are must-reads. The series that changed the mystery genre forever follows the ingeniously dark psychopath and takes us inside his sinister mind.
‘Crime Novels of the 1960s: Nine Classic Thrillers’
Library of America
A boxed set makes a great gift because its pleasures last awhile, and it makes a lovely visual addition to any library. Fans of the crime genre will be wholly and happily immersed in these classic thrillers.
‘Godwin’ by Joseph O’Neill
Pantheon
Fans of Ted Lasso and soccer fanatics in general will love this novel about a pair of brothers who travel the world in search of an African soccer prodigy. It’s rounded out with lots of adventure and details about both the business and pleasure of soccer.
‘Great Expectations’ by Vinson Cunningham
Hogarth
Following a young Black man’s trajectory while working on a senator’s campaign for the presidency, this book is at once an exploration of how politics really works and a meditation on family, religion and identity. A must-read, especially for political junkies.
‘Cocktails With George and Martha’ by Philip Gefter
Bloomsbury Publishing
Film and theater buffs will absolutely inhale this account of how Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? changed American theater forever, then became a classic 1966 film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. How the scorching play became a movie classic — and its stars’ own tumultuous marriage — is one of the most exciting stories about classic cinema.
‘Jimmy Breslin: The Man Who Told the Truth’ by Richard Esposito
Crime Ink
Jimmy Breslin knew everybody. He profiled JFK’s gravedigger and elicited letters from the Son of Sam during the serial killer’s reign of terror, making his newspaper columns appointment reading. This biography looks back at it all in vivid detail.
‘The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder’ by David Grann
Doubleday
For dads who loved Killers of the Flower Moon, pick up this epic tale from the same author that takes place on the high seas and in the highest courts. It’s a story of shipwreck, survival and savagery that reveals what really happened on a ship that washed up on the coast of Brazil in 1742.
‘The Sopranos Sessions’ by Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall
Abrams Press
Renowned television critics and New York Times bestselling authors Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall celebrate the 20th anniversary of the iconic series that launched prestige TV as we know it. This collection of recaps, conversations and critical essays covering every episode as well as a series of long-form interviews with series creator David Chase go deep into the show.
‘Challenger’ by Adam Higginbotham
Avid Reader Press; Simon & Schuster
This detailed account of the 1986 Challenger space shuttle tragedy is not just for space lovers — it reads like a thriller. Perfect for anyone who remembers that fateful day, or just loves stories about space in general, it’s a true page-turner.
‘A Father’s Fight: Taking on Alex Jones and Reclaiming the Truth About Sandy Hook’ by Robbie Parker
Diversion Books
On December 14, 2012, Robbie Parker’s daughter Emilie was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary, and it changed Robbie’s life and the country forever. But the next day, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones went on air claiming the shooting was a hoax. This is the David and Goliath story of what happened next. It’s a stunning emotional testament to one father’s drive in the face of extreme grief and adversity, and not to be missed.
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