Chapter 24 - The Good Father

Milestone holidays make me reflect on life, not so very unusual for most humans, I think. This year my dad has been dead ten years and having been to Baltimore recently to clean out my parent's house I have come across many photos of him.

Dad was quite the reader and it was under his care that I became one too. He would come home from work at lunchtime and read to us when we were little. He was never too busy to read to us at night. As my sister and I got older he would read us things from the newspaper or from a book he was reading. Long before audio books became popular, Dad would pick a book and read to us on long road trips as mom drove.

That made holidays somewhat easy as part of any gift to Dad was always a new book - sports related or a novel I thought he should read. So in honor of Father's Day, here are some books about dads - some real, some surrogate, some good, some bad.

Take Me With You by Catherine Ryan Hyde - This novel is about a good father, a bad father, and two boys who quickly find out the difference.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - One of my favorites, Count Rostov, exiled in Moscow and confined to the Hotel Metropol, becomes a surrogate parent to two little girls. It is a book worth reading not only because of its history but also because of its humanity.

Beartown by Fredrik Backman - Backman hits it out of the park with this novel which tells of a father's love and support for his teenage daughter.

The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain - Travis decides, at age 19, to raise his newborn daughter Bella alone. So far he has been able to keep her safe and fed but when he loses his job he needs to make other choices to keep her safe.

The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma - I loved this book as I could easily relate to it. When Alice was in fourth grade, she and her father made a promise to read aloud together for 100 consecutive nights. After that milestone they decided to continue for as long as they could. Their story is filled with books and memories.

Do you have any books you enjoy about fathers or even men who act as fathers? Please let me know!