Doin' Work

This weekend I received a Daddy Doin' Work wristband from Doyin Richards, author of the blog and recently released book, Daddy Doin' Work.  I finished Doyin's (pronounced Doe-ween) book last week, and sent him a quick comment thanking him for the his thoughts and giving some of my own personal takeaways after reading it.  To my pleasant surprise, he emailed me a very personal response the very next day thanking me for my comments (and reading the book) and inquiring how he could send me a DDW wristband - he even followed up to make sure I received it.  Pretty awesome, I thought, for a nationally recognized author.

If you get a chance to read the book or check out the blog, I would highly recommend it.  It's a great read for fathers, mothers and anyone else who may be concerned about the state of a father or mother.  If the book/blog sounds familiar, Doyin was featured on numerous news shows after a photo he posted on his blog of himself doing his oldest daughter's hair while he had his youngest daughter in a baby ergo/baby bjorn.  The photo went viral for all of the right (praise and admiration) and wrong reasons (racist and sexist comments).

I've read quite a number of books about parenting in the lead up to becoming a parent and now that I am a parent (and not just the "What to Expect" series).  Here are a few additional ones I'd recommend:

Someone Could Get Hurt by Drew Magary - this one is laugh out loud funny.  It will likely also make you cry.  If you read one "self humor" book about being a new parent in the 21st century, read this.

All Joy No Fun by Jennifer Senior - this one is a little more social-sciency, but since I'm into that sort of thing, I really enjoyed it.  Has some pretty thought provoking observations.

Oh Boy, You're Having a Girl by Brian Klems - if you have girls, especially more than one (which I do), this one is a great read.

One Year Off by David Cohen - I like to travel and I want to travel with my kids.  This book was inspiring and will probably need to be reread a half dozen more times to ensure that I actually follow through with my ambitious family travel goals.

How to fit a Car Seat on a Camel - edited by Sarah Franklin - a collection of laugh-out loud stories about traveling with children.  I read this when we were expecting, as I was convinced that having kids would not slow down our desire to travel (both of our children have yet to be on a plane or venture further than Wisconsin or Missouri.....).  If I reread it now, I'm sure the stories would become exponentially more humorous.

If you have any good parenting reads, feel free to leave a comment below.

This will be a good reminder of what I need to do each day.