Is he the kind of Dad who dog-ears his pages? Does he have a pile of unread books by his bed?
Whether he’s the type to always sneak off to a quiet spot with a book, or someone who just loves a holiday binge-read, the team at Dymocks have curated a recommended list that will pique your Dad’s reading interest this Father’s Day. Take a long walk through the inspiring rows of amazing books at 234 Collins and find that perfect title for your Dad, no matter his reading style.
For the ‘nod-off-to-sleep-with-a-book’ Dads:
If your Dad is the kind that likes to switch on his lamp and tuck into a few pages before bed, here are our recommendations for stories that will help him forget his to-do lists for the day, and slip into dream mode:
In this moving, unforgettable memoir, Adam Courtenay shows us the life behind the scenes of one of Australia’s most-loved authors, Bryce Courtenay. To his son, he was larger than life, mercurial, and impossible to know completely. He takes us through the many facets and faces of a man very much in the public eye, but who was often just out of reach. A particularly poignant portrayal of a father through his son’s eyes.
Written by Australian-based Miles Franklin award winner Siang Lu, Ghost Cities is a profound and highly imaginative novel that cleverly draws on Chinese history to explore the absurdity of modern life and work. The reader follows multiple narratives, including one in which a young man is fired from his job as a translator at Sydney’s Chinese Consulate after it is discovered he doesn’t speak a word of Chinese. He has in fact been relying entirely on Google Translate for his work.
Allegorical, humorous and wildly creative, Ghost Cities will appeal to Dads who like things a bit more off-beat.
The real-life stories Dads:
If your dad prefers real people over characters, facts over fiction, here are the titles that will make his Father’s Day:
This is the not-so-short-story of Aussie larrikin Rod Halstead as he recounts his bumpy road to a certain kind of fame, or perhaps infamy. His laugh-out-loud story takes us on a rollercoaster life from penthouse to the slammer, and how he finally finds his way back to sanity. Equal parts funny and shocking, Dads that believe the best stories are real ones will likely eat this up in one gripping sitting.
When the Germans took thousands of Allied prisoners during the catastrophic Greek campaign of 1941, a handful of Australian soldiers escaped from prison trains in occupied Yugoslavia. What awaited them was not passage home, but a brutal underground war where the fate of a nation was at stake.
Told through the eyes of two of the Australian escapees – mineworker Ross Sayers and storeman Ronald Jones – Anzac Guerrillas is the incredible true story of how these men became resistance fighters, double agents and spies, evading the Nazis and exposing a group of genocidal collaborators. It’s a gripping, tragic and real-life story of courage and survival.
The just-for-laughs Dads:
For the dads that prefer their tales with a side of comedy there is an almost endless supply of great new titles and old favourites to make their Father’s Day. Here’s just two:
Brandon Jack is an Australian author, journalist and former professional footballer who played for the Sydney Swans. His definitely-not-inspired-by-real-events debut novel follows the antics of a professional sports club as they navigate the chaotic world of footy.
Kidnapping a teammate’s dog for a gag. Taking potent painkiller suppositories to get through a sponsors’ event. Ticking off their Pissants bingo cards to survive the weirdness of meetings with the club psychologist. Four key characters take us into their life of adulation, pressure and towering egos.
Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook bring you an alphabetical journey through history’s best and most bizarre moments. Charge forth against the traitors of the American Revolution, journey through Baghdad to discover the origins of the Arabian Nights and head to Sicily to witness the first face-off between Carthage and Rome.
Along the way you’ll find the answers to questions like: ‘Was Henry V’s great-grandfather, Edward III, the biggest lad in British history? Who are history’s top 10 monkeys? Why did the Romans inspire so much American science fiction? Dust off your tricorne hat, grab your lasso and get ready for a rollicking rollercoaster ride through the past.
The only-reads-on-holidays Dads:
From the airport to the aeroplane, only-on-holidays readers can be exceptionally picky with their chosen titles. They need something that’s going to pass the time on long-haul flights, and take them on a journey even when they’re laying by the pool or dozing in their hotel room. The travel reader needs a book that will light enough to fit into their baggage, and substantial enough to make it through hours of relaxing on a sun-drenched deck.
With over a million copies sold, this book was voted one of Dymocks Booklovers favourite reads. From the author of Rules of Civility this transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel is the perfect companion to a holiday. Chosen for the Duchess of Cornwall’s online book club The Reading Room, and then made into a major TV series starring Kenneth Branagh, this is a story that will not disappoint.
A heart-pounding, high-stakes, relentless blast of an action-packed thriller, from Gabriel Bergmoser, High Rise is the story of rogue ex-cop Jack Carlin. He has finally found his estranged daughter, Morgan, holed up in the top floor of a rundown, grimy high-rise building. The trouble is, Jack’s unconventional policing and information-gathering methods in the past has made him some serious enemies. And what Jack doesn’t know as he heads into the building, intent on saving his daughter, is there’s a bounty on his head.
Think: Die Hard meets The Raid, but a funnier, grittier Australian version. Fast, furious and ferocious, this is thriller writing at its nail-biting, unputdownable best.
If you’re still stuck for that perfect book, and you’re just not sure what to choose, you’ll find a long list of ‘recommended’ books all around the store, each with labels so you can find them quickly. These are the books that have received consistently great reviews from shoppers and staff alike. And, staff are always happy to find that one title way in the back that sounds right just for you and your Dad.
>> So head on down to Dymocks to pick out something Dad will love, no matter what kind of reader he happens to be. 📖
[Competition now closed ] Don’t forget to enter the Dymocks $200 gift card giveaway! Simply fill in the entry form for your chance to WIN $200 for your Dad to spend at the Dymocks Bookstore Melbourne.