I teach younger students so I wouldn't recommend to them; however, this was a wonderfully enjoyable and touching read. It was a perfect pick while fighting through writing my report cards!

Fredrik Backman can do no wrong in my eyes, and this book was so fun to read. I highlighted large parts of it and laughed out loud many times. His approach to talking about early parenthood is nothing short of hilarious and heartwarming. So grateful to have read this and looking forward to sharing it with many parents in the future.

I'm torn between a 3 and 4 star rating on this one. Things My Son Needs to Know about the World is sure to please Backman fans. And it even gives an interesting glimpse into the life of the man behind all of these popular books. The book is a love letter to his son and also to his wife and is a very light read. It is composed of numerous vignettes, some of them just a few lines long, that are often touching and/or humorous. The standouts are amazing (his story about being shot during a robbery), but many of them made me smile or chuckle and then hope that they'd end soon. I'll still look forward to reading other books by this author, though, as I loved Beartown and others by him.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Simon & Schuster Canada for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

This book is short, sweet, and oh so charming. Things My Son Needs to Know About the World is Fredrik Backman’s open letter to his newborn son, made up essays offering life lessons and advice, with short anecdotes in between. It is equal parts humorous and heartwarming, and I found my eyes filling with tears on multiple occasions. I am not a parent, yet these essays spoke to me in a way that I didn’t expect (and if I become a parent someday, I will definitely read this book again – and make my partner read it too!). While I found it a bit repetitive at times, everything that I love about Backman’s fiction is present in this nonfiction collection, and I loved the glimpse into his personal life. His love for his wife and son shines through in this book, and he seems like such a caring, wonderful person who is willing to own up to his mistakes. I would recommend this book to new parents and to anyone who has been charmed by Backman’s previous work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with an eARC of Things My Son Needs to Know About the World in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
To begin I have to admit: Fredrik Backman is my favourite author and I have never disliked anything that he has written!

That said, I have to say that I really enjoyed this little book. It is written in the form of a letter to his son that is divided into topics ranging from motion sensitive lights and Ikea to God, airports and (of course!) love.
What comes through everything is Backman’s immense love for his son and his wife. Fatherhood is truly a life changing experience for him and he wants to share his love and concern for his son in a concrete way—even if his son hates him for it as he gets older!

However, I think it is an interesting insight into his life and something I really appreciate. As with his fiction books, there are aspects that just seem to jump out at me at various times. For example—when I was at te airport waiting to have the baggage arrive—and people crossed over the yellow line, just to get closer! In Backman’s explanation, this is why we have wars! He is probably right. When what we want over powers the good of all, it can lead to conflict. But, Backman puts these little lessons into a much more approachable life lesson.

It may be written for his son. But I know that I laughed at times. I cried at times. And I certain felt the warm fuzzies when I put the book down at the end. Read it. You will be glad you did.

I wanted to like this book. I really did. I have read many other books by this author and I have loved every one of them. This one was a disappointment. I felt it was very predictable and too self-deprecating. The author has written this book to his son,and is a haphazard collection of essays and blurbs that are meant to show the son how much he is loved by his father. The emotion, love and affection for his son is obvious but the anecdotes and stories are just so overdone. His wife is portrayed as perfection personified while the author is made to look like an idiot.
I was given a free copy of this book by NetGalley. I always like to find some redeeming factor about any book that I read. For this one, I would have to say that I did laugh out loud at a few of the scenes he described. Leaving the baby in the elevator comes to mind! Mr Backman is an outstanding author who I'm sure will continue to publish great stories. I look forward to his next one!

There’s lots of parenting humour in Things My Son Needs To Know About The World. Fredrick Backman delivers insightful meaningful tidbits of wisdom about just about everything: change, compromise, inclusion, materialism, identity, integrity, masculinity, fear, friendship, and most of all Love. There is love for his son in every single word.

Fortunately, he avoids the pedantic delivery and instead buries his gems under mountains of sarcasm, self deprecation, hyperbole, and even straight up slapstick. Sometimes neurotic and sometimes sweet. I’ll bet most parents won’t relate to his many crazy stories and yet still smile in solidarity to his loyalty and aspirations for his young family. Heartwarming and funny!

(This ARC was received from the publisher via NetGalley.)

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and Fredrik Backman.
What a sweet, heartwarming book about advise a father writes for his son about life.
This book put a smile on my face and I often thought of my son with his son. Great snippets of life through his eyes.
What great memories for a father to leave his son. Great gift to give new parents.
Recommend 4 stars.

3.5/5

This was a good book. I'm sure his son will read this one day and be glad he wrote it. I was . This was both funny and touching.
It's a small book but it was entertaining

This was so relatable and full of good humour. I loved the little notes scattered between the essays. There were so many times I told my husband he should really read this.

I wasn't sure what non-fiction from Fredrik Backman would be like, but as it turns out, it's amazing. This book was funny and moving, and full of such great reminders about life (that we often ignore or forget.) The writing style was very clearly Fredrik Backman (which I can't really describe beyond that, but if you know his writing, you probably know what I mean), and the individual stories each brought something different to the book while showcasing the immense love that Backman has for his family. Every word in this book feels carefully chosen, and Backman touches on so many important topics in such a thorough way that it's hard to believe the whole book is as short as it is.

Everyone should read this book.

Fredrik Backman rarely disappoints me in his fiction. It turns out he’s pretty good with non fiction too. This short book is a funny, self-deprecating and loving letter to his two year old son. It is an apology of sorts for Backman’s character flaws and for loving his son too much. It is advice on a panoply of useless and not so useless life issues and skills. The bottom line is be kind to other people, don’t be an arse, adore your mother, forgive your father for his flaws but understand how much he loves you and, if possible, avoid peeing in the ball room at Ikea. Light but lovely. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

Things My son Needs to Know About the World is a collection of moving vignettes and advice that a father has written for his son. Included are brief glimpses into what life is currently like with the young son. This is a book that any parent or grown child would enjoy reading and laughing over.

*i revived an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Fredrik Backman is now a father. And he's worried.
Endearing, funny and touching ... this book ended all too quickly.

As usual with Backman's books I found myself laughing out loud, tearing up, copying quotes down, and wishing I was able to articulate the feeling that he so beautifully does. The fact that the author refers to a Religious/Philosophy education does not surprise me as he is able to see things in a way that entertains, yet feels so, so real. I continue to be impressed with the translator. Alice Menzies, who is gifted in her ability to convey Backman's emotions from one language to another. These short stories and insights on parenting are fun and appear silly in places but there are much bigger ideas and thoughts flowing through the humour. This is the kind of parenting book that educates without lecturing or making parents feel like they have come up short. I wish I was able to write how I feel as well as Backman is able to write how I feel!

'Because if our kids don't grow up to be better than us, then what's the point of all this?'

'I just want you to know that I love you. Once you're older, you'll realize that I made an endless line of mistakes during your childhood. I know that I've resigned myself to it. But I just want you to know that I did my very, very best. I left it all on the field. I gave every ounce of everything I had.'

'Words matter. Be better.'

'I'm blunt and sharp and full of black and white. She's all my color.'

'I guess I was safe in the eye of the storm while she was the one caught in the wind."

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read a preview copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am afraid this book is not for me (right now). I found the topic (fathers & sons) uninteresting, and the flow of the book disjointed. But there are so many fans of Fredrik Backman out there, it would probably make a great read for new fathers!

I absolutely adore Fredrik Backman's writing. Last year, Beartown hit my top 5 list. Backman is especially brilliant at developing charming and memorable characters. I grew very fond of the cast the cast of characters in A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. So, does Backman's nonfiction equal his fiction.

The answer: a resounding YES! Oh my gosh, his latest book Things My Son Needs to Know About the World is AMAZING! It's poignant and so funny. I started to read it out loud to my husband after the first page because it was so good. Backman's observational humour transcends all cultures and resonates with the human experience of being a parent and a spouse.

This is a must read (and would make a fantastic Father's Day present).

Such a charming book about the author's reflection on being a Dad. Told with humour, truth and so much love. These words gave me some laugh out loud moments from the author of #Beartown and #UsAgainstYou and will not disappoint if you are a fan.
Being a parent is not always easy, and Backman shares the trials of living up to the potential of being a real 'grown up". This is a book which could be passed along to any new parent along with the feeding and diapering essentials. It would be a lovely shower gift for a Dad!
Not only is this book written as a heads up to his growing child but as a beautiful (and realistic) love story to his wife.
Although I might not be the target audience for this book, even this grandma enjoyed it.

I've never read any of Mr. Backman's work before, so I didn't know what to expect. I did, however, have the idea that he was a serious, literary writer who would therefore take himself seriously.

I was wrong. At least in the context of this particular book, I was wrong.

I have a cold. With a cough. When I laugh really hard, I start coughing. Since I was already having a coughing issue, I spent an extremely uncomfortable couple of hours laughing uproariously and coughing uncontrollably.

It was worth it. Mr. Backman has a dry, self-deprecating wit. He starts out sounding a bit sexist, but then he turns it all around. I highly recommend this book, but you might want to wait until you're over your cold before you read it!

I've chosen a couple of examples of the humour, just to give you a taste.

<blockquote> ...having kids is in many ways like trying to drive a bulldozer through a china shop. With broken legs. Wearing a back-to-front ski mask. While drunk.</blockquote>
<blockquote>You spit on the napkin. Then you wipe the child’s face with the napkin. You don’t spit straight onto the child. My bad.</blockquote>

My only quibble is that the copyright/disclaimer page says it's a work of fiction. I think I'm disappointed.

Fredrik Backman wrote two books on hockey and he is not Canadian. "A Man Called Ove" (a movie) introduced me to this writer who owns a deep sense of humour and a keen observation of human hearts. Two Beartown books features vivid characters who will make you feel like "I know that person" and smoothly puts them under a complicated intense situation when all the sentiments and emotions including prejudices are at play.

Compared to these novels, "Things My Son Needs to Know About the World" is straight forward personal ruminations about parenting as the title suggests or rather a comic representation of a new parent who is forgetful, trying hard to be thoughtful and trying harder to be lovable. Some anecdotes are extremely funny and Backman's beguiling writing style especially when he knows he made a mistake makes this book very enjoyable. For example, the chapter 'what you need to know about love' is mainly about food and bacon. By the time you want to write off this book as a standing up comedy, the writer will give you a serious life story.

In short, this is an adorable book of parenting and how human erring is.