Dad Books

I was listening to Marketplace last week and they had a segment on how "Dad books" are struggling. This is disappointing to me.

"Dad books" are generally defined as nonfiction books about history, politics, and current events. They're often called "dad book" because they're the kind of books that you can get your dad for Father's Day. Apparently the rise of documentaries, history podcasts and the like are taking a bite out of the market. Why read a book when you can watch a documentary or listen to a podcast about it, right?

This is disappointing, and it's not because documentaries, podcasts and the like are bad or anything. I listen to podcasts as well and they can be quite informative, interesting and valuable. But there's something about a book that is special. And it doesn't matter if it's consumed in the form of a physical book, an eBook, or even an audio book. It's a different medium and I think it provides a great perspective that isn't always captured in podcasts. I'd also be concerned that any drop in readership would mean less book deals and less "dad books" being published which I think would be a net loss in the world.

I read a lot. I've tracked my reading and backlog since 2013 and in that span I've amassed a little over 700 titles to my read and to-read lists. While the books span many different genres, many of them would easily fall in the "dad books" category. May, and I'd suspect there are a few books I'm planning on reading sitting on my shelf that aren't yet on the list. The genres and topics of all of them are all over the place. There are plenty of "dad books" that are on the lists. I find them from various podcasts (funny that they can indeed cross-advertise), blog posts, and other sources. I want to keep reading them...I just hope they stay around and that more continue to be written and published.