What to Give the Man Who Has Everything? A Book (or Two) by a Woman

10 Books He’ll Be Glad He Read!

If you’re looking for a Father’s Day gift along the lines of The Way of the Hunter, The Nickel Boys, or Atomic Habits, this probably isn’t that list. At a time when the rights of women and girls are under growing threat, it’s more urgent than ever for men to engage with books that center women’s voices and experiences. Books break down barriers and build empathy—something we need now more than ever, and quickly.

And yet, studies show men avoid female authors.

Stories written by men are considered universal—appropriate for everyone—while those by women — and mothers in particular — are packaged as if they belong only to a female audience. It’s one more way our world continues to cast men’s experiences as the standard and women’s as limited or specialized.

This post was sparked by an email I got yesterday from a father and husband who took the time out of his day to write to me about my book, Sexism & Sensibility—a book not just written by a woman, but one that is squarely about girls and women. He wrote,

I just want to say thanks for writing Sexism & Sensibility. My wife asked me to read it, and I put it off because it felt a little too 'feminine' for me. (Yikes, I know now how that sounds.) But once I started, I couldn’t stop taking notes. The insights have already made a difference in how I relate to my daughter. What I didn’t expect, though, was how much it helped me see what my wife deals with. Your story of the couple was a real lightbulb moment. If more men read this book, maybe we could finally move past the whole gender war thing.

Some of the most gratifying reviews and emails I’ve gotten have been from men, but they are certainly in the minority. It’s really quite sad because like the reader above shows, books build bridges! One of the things I find most attractive about my husband is how wide-ranging his reading interests are — and often, the books he chooses are by women (some listed below).

So do the father in your life (and yourself!) a favor, and get him some books by women. Below are five(+) nonfiction and five fiction books well worth his time. Most of the descriptions are taken from the publisher with some additions from me. I’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments!

NONFICTION

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

Robin Wall Kimmerer

A New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century Readers Pick
#1 New York Times Bestseller

Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices. In a rich braid of reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Rebecca Skloot

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, Entertainment Weekly, O: The Oprah Magazine, NPR, Financial Times, New York, Independent (U.K.), Times (U.K.), Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Globe and Mail

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions.

Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.

Hello, Cruel World!: Science-Based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times

Melinda Wenner Moyer

Mothers should not be the only ones reading parenting books! In the blink of an eye, our kids will be adults facing countless serious threats—climate change, gun violence, political polarization, and disinformation, to name but a few. We’re not going to be able to solve all these intractable problems before our kids grow up—so how are we to prepare them for an impossibly complex and scary future?

Melinda Wenner Moyer, author of How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes and the voice behind the popular Substack, Now What provides practical, comprehensive, science-backed tools to help our children handle the world they will inherit—and potentially save it.

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men

by Caroline Criado Perez

#1 International Bestseller. Winner of the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award. Winner of the Royal Society Science Book Prize

Invisible women is an examination of how a gender gap in data perpetuates bias and disadvantages women. Product designers use a “one-size-fits-all” approach to everything from pianos to cell phones to voice recognition software, when in fact this approach is designed to fit men. Cities prioritize men’s needs when designing public transportation, roads, and even snow removal, neglecting to consider women’s safety or unique responsibilities and travel patterns. And in medical research, women have largely been excluded from studies and textbooks, leaving them chronically misunderstood, mistreated, and misdiagnosed.

If this interests you, also consider: On Our Best Behavior: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Price Women Pay to Be Good by Elise Loehnen and The Authority Gap: Why women are still taken less seriously than men, and what we can do about it by Mary Ann Sieghart.

The Backyard Bird Chronicles

by Amy Tan

If you have a bird-loving Dad in your life, check out The Backyard Bird Chronicles from the author of The Joy Luck Club. “…a gorgeous and witty exploration of birding and nature. This inspiring work cultivates hope and connection, revealing the rhythms of our world and uncovering its beauty hidden in plain sight. With a foreword by David Allen Sibley.”

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FICTION

The Handmaid’s Tale

by Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood is essential reading no matter your gender, and this chilling depiction of a dystopian future is one of her best. In the Republic of Gilead (formerly the United States), women's rights have been completely eradicated, and the country is ruled by a racist, homophobic, misogynist, ultra-conservative cult.

All Fours

by Miranda July

A NEW YORK TIMES TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR

Can you say Menopause? All Fours tells the story of one woman’s quest for a new kind of freedom. Part absurd entertainment, part tender reinvention of the sexual, romantic, and domestic life of a forty-five-year-old female artist, All Fours transcends expectation while excavating our beliefs about life lived as a woman. Once again, July hijacks the familiar and turns it into something new and thrillingly, profoundly alive.

Love it or hate it (and I know men who have felt both), it’s worth him reading it.

Oliver Kitteridge

by Elizabeth Stout

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE

Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town of Crosby, Maine, and in the world at large, but she doesn’t always recognize the changes in those around her: a lounge musician haunted by a past romance; a former student who has lost the will to live; Olive’s own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and her husband, Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse. Olive Kitteridge, comprised of 13 stories, offers profound insights into the human condition—its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires.

Half of a Yellow Sun

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Half of a Yellow Sun re-creates a seminal moment in modern African history: Biafra’s impassioned struggle to establish an independent republic in Nigeria in the 1960s, and the chilling violence that followed. Experience this tumultuous decade alongside five unforgettable characters: Ugwu, a thirteen-year-old houseboy who works for Odenigbo, a university professor full of revolutionary zeal; Olanna, the professor’s beautiful young mistress who has abandoned her life in Lagos for a dusty town and her lover’s charm; and Richard, a shy young Englishman infatuated with Olanna’s willful twin sister Kainene.

When Women Were Dragons

by Kelly Barnhill

A rollicking feminist tale set in 1950s America where thousands of women have spontaneously transformed into dragons, exploding notions of a woman’s place in the world and expanding minds about accepting others for who they really are.

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads I’m lucky to call readers!

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