Introducing Dads Who Read
A week ago today, I started something new. It wasn’t revolutionary, and it wasn’t difficult. It was just an idea that I decided to try: a Facebook group called Dads Who Read for guys who, like me, love their kids and love to read.
After only one week, the group has grown to more than 350 fathers, grandfathers, and fathers-to-be. We share our favorite books, brag on our kids, recommend books to read to our kids, encourage each other, and give advice. It’s more than I could have hoped for.
You see, I was blessed to grow up with an amazing dad, and some of my earliest and fondest memories are about sharing the stories that captured my imagination with my dad. I remember Bible stories at bedtime. I remember sitting in his lap with the illustrated copy of The Hobbit (featuring art from the 1977 animated feature) that lived on our family bookshelf. I remember excitedly telling him about all my favorite parts of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. That time with my dad set a course for my life that has been profoundly positive. It built a connection between us that has lasted, it presented me with an image of manhood that was multidimensional and authentic, and it served as a common touch-point for many of the life lessons he taught me. Beyond that, it instilled within me a love for stories and an appreciation for their value that has become so central to who I am that I now spend my free time writing stories myself. I am convinced that this love for story has made me better at listening to others, better at empathizing and appreciating different viewpoints, better at reasoning through complex problems, and better at communicating my own thoughts and ideas to others. It’s made me a better employee, a better friend, a better husband, and—I hope—a better dad.
Because now I am the proud father of four beautiful girls—two biological and two foster daughters—and I want more than anything to be as good to them as my dad was to me. I love hanging out with them, roughhousing, talking, snuggling, eating and watching movies together. But one of my favorite parts of parenting is sharing my love for reading with them. Our daddy/daughter dates regularly land at the used bookstore. Every night, I read storybooks with the three- and four-year-old. My eleven-year-old and I read a lot of the same books and share inside jokes, And last night, inspired by another Dads Who Read member, I started reading to her again. We are now working our way through a collection of apocalypse-themed short stories, and it’s awesome. I am getting the chance to recover something special with my oldest, something that I thought she had grown out of.
And I have this community of amazing dads to thank for it.
If that’s all that comes of this group, I will be (selfishly) happy. But I don’t think that’s the end of it. I think there’s a lot more to go. These dads are amazing people, and just by being themselves, they will impact the lives of other dads and, naturally, their kids.
So we’re expanding. Obviously, we’ve started this Medium publication. Look for book reviews and stories from community members here. We have also started a Twitter account where we are connecting with and sharing the tweets of dads who read for themselves and with their kids. And, starting June 1, we’ll be doing a book of the month for anybody who’s interested in joining in. We’ll extend that to our Goodreads group as well.
In the future, who knows? I have a lot of ideas. But at the core, the idea will stay the same: there are a lot of book-loving dads out there who are trying to be the best dads they can be, and by connecting with each other, we will only become better.
So, if you are a dad/granddad/dad-to-be who loves to read, or if you know somebody who fits that description, please consider this a personal invitation to join us.
