Canadian Gift Guide

I wrote about Linda McCartney’s new book last week, but it’s Friday, and if you don’t have a Father’s Day gift by now, your best bet is to head to your local bookstore and snap up one of the following. Seriously. Just do it.

For The Sporty Dad
Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside the World of ESPN by James Andrew Miller & Tom Shales
Although us Canucks are used to TSN, that network wouldn’t exist without the world’s first – and most infamous – all sports, all the time networks, ESPN. This book looks at the humble beginnings of the cable station and how its evolved to be the benchmark for sports broadcasting, from its personalities to its scandals. A fun look at the inner workings of sports journalism – especially if Dad is an ESPN fan!

For The Pop Culture Dad
Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead by Neil Strauss
I can vouch for this one because I am at this very moment reading (and loving) this book. I’ve told my music-obsessed dad about it and he keeps on hinting it should end up on his shelves, and I don’t disagree. Neil Strauss has an accomplished journalism career behind him – having written books with musicians, and articles for the New York Times, Spin, and Rolling Stone, to name a few. This book is a compendium of some of his most telling, verbatim interview snippets, ranging from talks with mega music acts (Madonna!) to up-and-coming actors (Zac Efron!) to washed up cautionary tales (Rick James!), all in the hopes of identifying a crystallizing moment of that person’s true nature – or at least, the nature of fame. Fantastically enjoyable, it’s a cool insiders look at celebrity.

For The Traveling Dad
1,000 Places (in the US & Canada) to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz
My parents are big travelers, and I’ve considered picking up this book for them several times in the past. The author has identified – as the title goes – 1,000 places to see across Canada and the US. These range from tourist traps to stunning examples of mother nature’s beauty to historical sites. One downside? Our nation’s great stops aren’t given as much airtime as America’s, but chances are you know a lot of them already…so take this one with a grain of salt and plan those of US of A road trips this summer, with plenty of stops in Canada en route!

For The Wine-y Dad
Corked by Kathryn Borel Jr.
This sweet memoir is an ideal father-daughter gift wrapped up in a few introspective pages. Corked is a memoir told from the perspective of a foodie daughter who has been raised with a love of all things in good taste, except for one she can’t quite grasp – wine. To overcome her fear of a restaurant wine list, she enlists her father on a road trip through France’s most prestigious wine-growing regions. What follows is a delightful tale of family relationships mixed in with facts for wine-lovers and foodies alike. A great memoir for the dad that appreciates the finer things in life.

For The Nerdy Dad
Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson
A book list wouldn’t be a book list without a dash of fiction in there. So here’s one of the buzziest books of the summer with the crash-boom-pow appeal of a popcorn flick (indeed its already been picked up for a movie adaptation). The story details the quiet rise of the machines and technology around us, up until the birth of a robot vs. man war known as ‘Zero Hour’. A little bit funny and a whole lot adventurous, this book will invite any fiction-loving dad to sit back, turn their brain off, and get swept away with this funny, thrilling, and kind of insightful look at our reliance on technology.