In Mandarin, we call fathers bàbà (爸爸). Since eight is bā (八) and August 8th bā-bā resembles bàbà in pronunciation, people in Taiwan celebrate today as Father’s Day instead of the third Sunday of June as observed in many countries, including the US and the UK.
Let’s celebrate Father’s Day by talking about five cool dads in great books! Somehow, I cannot find eight (bā) great dads, so it’s just five.
Click on the book cover for more info on Goodreads.
Luke: from Backwards to Oregon and Hidden Truths by Jae
- Genre: historical fiction, romance, LGBTQ+
- My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Comment: I am not entirely sure if Luke identifies as a father, but Amy and Nattie call her Papa, and she is undoubtedly an awesome dad. Some argue that Luke is trans, but since she has voluntarily said “I’m a woman” in the story, I am going to assume Luke is not a man. Or maybe Luke just didn’t have the vocabulary back then in the 1860s. If you are interested in learning more about real AFABs (assigned-female-at-births) disguising themselves as men in the past few centuries, see Professor Jen Manion’s Female Husbands.
Harry: from The Mercenary’s Daughter by Jessica Therrien & Joe Gazzam
- Genre: thriller
- My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [review]
- Comment: Sibling duo Tara and Mitch set out on a mission to rescue their father Harry. They didn’t know he was secretly working as a mercenary until his disappearance. It was an exciting read with wonderful characters.
Kelsier: from Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
- Genre: fantasy
- My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [review]
- Comment: Kelsier is not a dad, but he is a father figure for Vin. An amazingly charismatic leader who trains Vin in her Mistborn skills, Kelsier leads a skaa rebellion and plans to overthrow Lord Ruler. Mistborn is one of my favorite books, and if you like reading epic fantasy, I am pretty sure you will enjoy this one. [Note in 2020: Sanderson might still be homophobic. Please read his works with caution.]
Robert: from Proof by David Auburn
- Genre: drama, play
- My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Comment: The main character Catherine is a math genius struggling with mental health issues. There are multiple scenes where Catherine interacts with her deceased father Robert or have flashbacks to when he was alive. The story itself is thrilling and I love the mathematics theme with a sort of abrupt ending.
Ta-Nehisi: from Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Genre: memoir, history
- My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [review]
- Comment: If you have never read this heartfelt letter Coates wrote to his son, you have to read it now. Coates talks about his experiences of racism in modern day America and primarily discusses “black bodies” and “the Dream” in this incredible nonfiction work.
For those who have strained relationship with their fathers and want to read about invisible emotional abuse from parents, Dr. Lindsay C. Gibson’s nonfiction Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents is a very enlightening book, and I consider it a 4-star read.
Have you read any of these books? Or do you have more awesome dad stories in mind? Comment what you think!
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