Dad Joke Approved

By Ashly Moore Sheldon • June 08, 2026

Father's Day is coming up in just a few weeks! That means it's time to start planning for a perfect day, whether for your dad, yourself, or both! To all the book-loving papas out there, we hope you get just what you want this year—good books and more time to enjoy them!

We've got some ideas for how busy dads can get more reading time. And if you're on the hunt for the perfect book for the father figure in your life, we'll share our suggested titles for all kinds of dads.

Read more and make book connections

If you're like most dads, it can be hard to find time for yourself. Between the demands of work and family, self-care tends to fall by the wayside. But reading is an essential part of our well-being. It's been shown to lower stress, improve empathy, and sharpen our minds, all of which are important for being an engaged and loving dad. Plus, reading before bed can improve sleep, which is a game changer.

On Father's Day, make your demands for a nice, long uninterrupted chunk of reading time. But don't stop there! Here are some of our tips for getting more reading on all the days.

• Take a book with you everywhere. Whether hanging out at your kid's soccer practice, waiting for an appointment, or commuting on public transit, have a book on hand that you can read during those in-between times.
• Implement designated reading times. Have a weekly family reading dinner. Read for twenty minutes before going to sleep at night. Take ten-minute reading breaks at work. Whatever works for you, make it a habit and stick with it. You won't be sorry!
• Join the ThriftBooks Reading Challenge. This year ThriftBooks set a collective challenge with our community to read 500 billion pages together. Learn more and join the challenge.
• Track your reads. You can use Goodreads or the ThriftBooks site to set goals and record your reads. Write reviews to help other readers find books and also to document your own experience.
• Find a reading community. Join a book club to meet other readers and talk books! You can find online reading groups through Bookclubs, Goodreads Groups, and the Silent Book Club. To find an in-person group, check Meetup or ask at your local library.

Book recommendations for all kinds of dads

If you're looking for recommendations for your dad (or yourself!), here are some of our recent faves for all kinds of dads.

For the new or expectant dad:

• I Love Dad with the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle—Celebrate Dad with help from your favorite voracious lovebug.
• Haircut with Dad by Monica Mikai—A boy and his dad bond as they spend the day in their happy place, the barbershop.
• The #1 Dad Book by James Patterson—The bestselling author explores the joys of fatherhood and provides a playbook for sharpening your dad game.

For the dad-joke dad:

• Class Clown by Dave Barry—This memoir from America's most beloved wiseass is a vibrant celebration of a life rich with humor, joy, and sadness.
• Fever Beach by Carl Hiaasen—From the bestselling author of Squeeze Me comes a wildly entertaining Florida caper, packed with misfits and mayhem.
• Wild and Crazy Guys by Nick de Semlyen—The behind-the-scenes story of the iconic funnymen who ruled '80s Hollywood: Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Eddie Murphy.

For the history buff dad:

• The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann—From the author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a page-turning story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery.
• The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777–1780 by Rick Atkinson—In volume 2 of the Revolution trilogy, George Washington's army fights on the knife edge between victory and defeat.
• The Illegals: Russia’s Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West by Shaun Walker—For fans of The Americans, this definitive history examines the far-reaching impact of Russia's top secret spy program.

For the thriller-loving dad:

• The Human Scale by Lawrence Wright—A Palestinian-American FBI agent teams up with an Israeli cop to solve the murder of the Israeli police chief in Gaza.
• Worse than a Lie by Ben Crump—Truth and justice are called into question when a Black man is gunned down in cold blood.
• Strangers in Time by David Baldacci—In WWII-era London a bereaved bookshop owner and two teenagers find healing and hope in one another.

For a sporty dad:

• The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball by John W. Miller—Legendary Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver transformed the sport by collecting and analyzing data in visionary ways.
• There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib—The author's lifelong love of basketball guides his mesmerizing exploration of the game, woven together with personal storytelling.
• Football by Chuck Klosterman—The hilarious author of The Nineties offers a rousing, groundbreaking take on the ways in which America's favorite sport has impacted our lives.

For the dad who isn't afraid to cry:

• Nonviolent: A Memoir of Resistance, Agitation, and Love by Reverend James Lawson Jr. and Emily Yellin—The posthumous memoir of one of the principal architects of the nonviolent resistance movement that changed the world.
• My Next Breath by Jeremy Renner—The gripping story of the renowned actor's near-fatal accident, and how he overcame insurmountable odds to recover, one breath at a time.
• Becoming Baba: Fatherhood, Faith, and Finding Meaning in America by Aymann Ismail—The Muslim-American author offers a warm and insightful exploration of fatherhood, religion, and the search for identity in an ever-shifting world.

For sci-fi dad:

• Recursion by Blake Crouch—From the bestselling author of Dark Matter comes this mind-boggling, irresistible thriller about time, identity, and memory.
• Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky—A delightfully humorous tale of robotic murder from the Hugo-nominated author of Children of Time.
• Dissolution by Nicholas Binge—A woman dives into her husband's memories to uncover a decades-old feud threatening reality itself in this technothriller from the bestselling author of Ascension.

For the foodie dad:

• The New York Times Cooking No-Recipe Recipes by Sam Sifton—More than one hundred no-recipe recipes to make with the ingredients you have on hand.
• Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci—From the award-winning actor and food obsessive comes an intimate and charming memoir of life in and out of the kitchen.
• Old Time Hawkey's Recipes from the Cedar Swamp by Old Time Hawkey—Step into the influencer's magical world with 100 comforting recipes and stories inspired by the beauty of Northern Michigan.

For gamer dad:

• Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman—Join Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, as they try to survive in a video game-like, trap-filled fantasy dungeon.
• Armada by Ernest Cline—From the author of Ready Player One comes a rollicking, surprising alien invasion tale like nothing you've ever read before.
• Dawn of the Void by Phil Tucker—Washed up and homeless in NYC, James thought his life was over. Then a message appeared in his vision.

For the literary dad:

• James by Percival Everett—The Pulitzer Prize-winning retelling of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn told from the enslaved Jim's point of view.
• Tom's Crossing by Mark Z. Danielewski—Cormac McCarthy meets Stephen King in this genre-defying novel about two friends determined to rescue a pair of horses set for slaughter.
• Fagin the Thief by Allison Epstein—A thrilling reimagining of Oliver Twist through the eyes of London's most gifted pickpocket, liar, and rogue.

Check out our Father's Day Gift Guide for more great recs for Dads. Happy Father's Day to all the hard-working, hard-loving papas out there. Here's hoping you get some time on Father's Day (and beyond) to read, play, and unwind.

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