This book had so much in it that I loved! First, the fact that it is written by Fredrik Bachman! Second, that it is a true story. FInally, having two sons I found so much information that I have shared with my sons and will share that I haven't based on this book.

Reading the chapter titles had my tearing up. So did the introduction. By the first chapter I was and receiving weird looks from my family for laughing out loud. Suffice to say, I was hooked. I don't remember the last book that I read straight through...I mean, I would have read it in one setting if I hadn't fallen asleep, but then I read the last 20 pages when I woke up. So sort of one setting.
The entire book is like those Amazon reviews for ridiculous products where the reviewer spends the entire time comparing the product to exaggerated natural wonders or pop culture references. That was this book. But then in the midst of all of that, this bomb statement full of heart and love and all the feels. Because it's Fredrik-freaking-Backman and that's what he does. He tears you apart and lifts your spirits in the same ten seconds.
One page I was giggling aloud and the next had my in tears. I mean, the way he talks about his wife. *heart-flutter*
I don't know if this book is for everyone. But it was certainly for me.

"Things My Son Needs to Know about the World" is a refreshing, unfiltered, unapologetic and hilarious look into the personal life of Fredrik Beckman, as he and his wife begin their journey into parenthood.

Fredrik Backman shares not only heartfelt pieces of advice to his son, but provides an honest and sincere look into their home, family, his feelings as a father, and obstacles they have faced.

He makes sure to include a variety of "parenting Bloopers", as I call them, which had me hysterically laughing at 4 am because hey, we've all been there. :\ *poop emoji*

I have read many of Fredrik Backman's novels, my favorites being " My Grandmother asked me to tell you she's sorry" and "A man called Ove" but getting a glimpse into his life and being able to see this side of an author is truly special. I loved it

As a mother of two boys and a lover of Backman's books, this one had me emotional and inspired. Okay, so before going into this, I know of how Backman uses his story to convey emotions and life lessons into his stories. it's heartbreaking motivation for the reader to sit and think about their own lives and decisions. While this wasn't not technically "made-up" stories, it was essays on parenting and truly just excellence.

Classic Backman, he takes the reader on a journey of insight that is refreshing to the soul. Having children myself, this book was a great teaching tool for me and my family. Wonderful!

Fredrik Backman is probably my favourite author. His books make me both laugh and cry. They are heartwarming and heartbreaking. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I was super excited to be able to have an advance copy of his latest - Things My Son Needs to Know About the World. Although very different from his novels, this book of advice and anecdotes was definitely in a style that is all his own. It was a quick and easy read and really very funny. It would make a great gift for a father, new or old, but anyone could enjoy it - I certainly did! 5 ⭐️

I love the concept of writing something for your children to read when they are grown. Sharing all the things you want to tell them but will probably forget to verbalize, and capturing it in the form of a book. So many writers have done a brilliant job at this. I liked this book enough, but it didn't flow as well as I hoped it would. Some of Backman's essays were fantastic and made my heart burst to read them. Others didn't really have a place in this book, in my opinion. I think a little more editing could have been done to cut out a few of the non-essential pieces, but that's fine. I'm okay with these types of books being shorter than Backman's standard work of fiction. *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Brilliant, funny, warm, perceptive. For anyone with sons, this is a lighthearted and genuine story that captures the complicated relationships between fathers and sons

This collection was funny, personal, relatable, and heartfelt- and exactly what I expected from Fredrik Backman. Great read from an author who remains one of my favorites.

Fredrik Backman has become one of my favorite authors. His writing is just so on point and he is truly an exquisite wordsmith. Things My Son Needs to Know About the World is a novel very different from his previous writings, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The way he can take the every day experience and look at it in a way that I hadn't thought about before is just a gift. Any parent can sympathize with the sentiments in this book and relate to each and every page. It would make a perfect gift for any father, new or experienced. I know this is a book that I will enjoy re-reading again and again.

I received this book courtesy of Atria Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fredrik Backman writes a short on all the hilarious, anxiety-ridden, fearful and confusing moments of being a parent. He starts off with the lightest of humors and morphs along the way, carrying with him a plethora of "been there" and "what were you thinking" stories, some of which that will have you surprising yourself in fits of laughter. True to the Backman way.

"Maybe you don't even want to do a sport. You might want to play golf instead! And that's all right too!"

(haha. Sorry to all you golfers reading this...)

He points out the less thought of but oh so true nature of humanity...

"Sometimes we have to get rid of stuff to make room for new stuff, and then we start to miss the old stuff so much that we have to build new stuff that pretends to be the old stuff."

...highlights the confusion of illogical ideas behind children toys...

"The worst crap is actually the crap we bought before you were even born. Like a toy sheep containing a speaker that was meant to simulate "whale song" and help you sleep better. Why wasn't that crap shaped like a whale? Huh? That still bothers me."

(Me, too.)

...has a few hilarious , laugh-out-loud moments that I absolutely will not spoil... you just have to read the book...

...and then manages to end with a twist of a story that might have you in tears, especially if you have ever experienced anything remotely like what he experienced. Again, I will not spoil this moment. You have to read it for yourself...

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books and Fredrik Backman for this ARC.

"Your mother loves nothing in this life as much as she loves dancing, and she chose to share her time on Earth with a man she can't dance with without seriously fearing for her safety. She chose me. And then you came along. And you love music. And when you dance, you and she... If I could only choose one single moment to live inside for all eternity, it would be that. I can't tell you anything about love. Nothing more than that."

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(my only reason for 4 stars instead of 5 was because the beginning of the book was very repetitive. It felt like fillers. But the book truly grew and he did a fantastic job showing us the Fredrik Backman we know and love in all his books. Thankful for such a talented writer and for his family, supporting him for all the world to get to enjoy.)

This is a charming and honest look at what it's like to be a parent in today's world. I could relate to Backman 100% and found the humorous inserts between the chapters to be a breath of fresh air. He has a genuine and relatable voice. This is unlike his fiction, and much more personal. Once I finished the book, I wanted to know much more about Backman's family life.

One of my favorite author's writes a book to his son about the world. It's a great book musing on how a new father feels and what he thinks he needs to teach his son about the world. Great gift for expectant and new dads. Really heartfelt and funny essays to a newborn on fatherhood and how to take on everything the world may toss at you. Peppered in apologies for being an embarrassing parent, hopes his son will like his soccer team, and lots of yummy food descriptions made me laugh out loud. You don't need to be a parent to appreciate this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Backman, in my opinion, does no wrong. He is the greatest writer of this generation, period. All the anecdotes and personal life experiences were so heartwarming to read. 10/10 recommended.

This will post to my blog on Wednesday June 12th at 2:15 pm. I LOVE all of the books by Fredrik Backman and he did an excellent job with this one even though it isn't a novel.

This book is deceptively humorous. I say that because the cover and title make it seem like you are about to read some deep thoughts about how to navigate the world. There are moments like that in this book, but a lot of it is just fun. I could still see some guys I know telling their kids these little lessons, and that is what makes it such a great book. It goes against what you think it is going to be, but somehow, is still what you were looking for.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Author: Fredrick Backman
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: 07 May 2019

https://www.hippocampusmagazine.com/2019/06/review-things-my-son-needs-to-know-about-the-world-by-fredrik-backman/

Fredrik Backman burst onto the scene in American bookstores with A Man Called Ove and Beartown, two novels which immediately solidified Backman as a master of ensemble fiction. Known for his keen ability to create fully human characters, Backman shifts deftly into nonfiction with his unconventional essay collection, Things My Son Needs to Know About the World (Atria Books, May 2019).

Here, readers experience characterization as rich and fully-developed as any in the author’s novels. The real gem, though, is a new and unfiltered look at Backman as a person; throughout the collection, he readily acknowledges parenting mishaps and failures, candidly speaks to his insecurities and vulnerabilities, and bravely tackles hard conversations like masculinity and evil in today’s world. Though not as overtly political as Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me, Backman does not shy away from conversations about privilege and power structures.

“This world sometimes seems like it’s full of incomprehensible, unintelligible, unembraceable, inexorable evil. Violence and injustice and greed and blind rage,” he writes, “But it’s also full of all that other stuff. Love at first sight…Two brothers reconciled…And all you can do is decide which side you want to be on.” These flashes of honesty pepper otherwise lighthearted, humorous essays. The combination is welcome, as the collection never feels either too personal or too moralizing. As with parenting itself, moving through the book is a journey filled with laughter, chaos, discomfort, and, yes, lessons that challenge us to do better, be better.

For me, it was refreshing to read a book on fatherhood that neither centered itself on practicalities and finances nor took itself too seriously. Those books have their place, but it is no secret that parenting books marketed to fathers seem centered on the logistics of raising children, while books centered on the human side of parenting appear targeted to mothers.

Backman uncharacteristically turns the focus back on himself, telling his son early in the collection, “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 this every ounce of everything I had.” moments

These brief moments of vulnerability ground the collection, but it is the absurd and relatable anecdotes that drew me into the collection. The author ashamedly recounts a morning during which he spills milk onto the diaper bag. Thinking it better to use a grocery sack until he is able to clean the diaper bag, he makes one terrible decision after another as he tries to get his son to childcare. Laughter abounds, and the shame of shared understanding is inevitable. Despite his stature in the literary world, Backman makes clear that he is every bit the bumbling fool that so many of us are in the first months of parenthood.

Ultimately, the book often lacks the nuance and sophistication so often attributed to Backman’s fiction, but the simpler tone makes for a quick read with broad appeal. Vignettes also complement longer essays, at once breaking the flow with entertaining quips and catering to the often unpredictable nature of parenting schedules. While the longer essays may require fifteen or twenty minutes of attention, these vignettes can often be read in under three minutes, which is approximately the amount of time between “threenager” meltdowns. As summer begins and children swarm, I appreciated the balance and found that it motivated me to keep the book near me throughout the day.

Things My Son Needs to Know About the World is equal parts hilarious and poignant charming insight into fatherhood and necessary retooling of masculinity for the twenty-first century.

Backman's books are all wonderful. I love the way his mind works, his imagination and his sense of humor. The book is filled with advice to his infant son that will have you wiping tears from your eyes as you laugh out loud. From his biography it looks like he has two children that are both older, so I'm wondering whether they've read this book now and rolled their eyes at their dear old dad's advice or laughed along. I really hope the latter.

As a huge fan and avid reader of Fredrik Backman’s novels, I was thrilled to receive an advance reader copy of his personal essays, Things My Son Needs to Know About the World, in exchange for an honest review.

Once again, Backman gives readers a book full of charming, poignant and heartwarming truths as he gives life advice to his young son through beautiful and laugh-inducing essays and anecdotes. Whether advising him on love, friendship, and trips to IKEA, venting his disdain for motion-sensitive bathroom light, or talking about poop, Backman writes with a unique mix of heart and humor that not only makes readers laugh out loud, but also brings tears to their eyes. His thoughts on parenting are real and so relatable, and the love he has for his son:

“I mean that I love you as though you were a runaway goods train thundering through every cell in my body. I mean that this love didn’t grow on me, it knocked me over. It’s an ongoing state of emergency.”

And his wife:

“Because the reason I don’t know much about love is that I’ve really only ever loved one woman. But every day with her is like being a pirate in a magical land far away full of adventures and treasures. Making her laugh is a bit like wearing rain boots that are a little too big and jumping in the deepest of puddles. I’m blunt and sharp and full of black and white. She’s all my color.”

Simply cannot be denied.

As a mother of two young boys, I loved every second of this book, and although it’s focused on advice to a son, there is a lot that applies to daughters and young girls as well. I highly recommend this book, and I think it would make a great Father’s Day gift for dads both young and old. This book hit shelves May 7, so make sure to grab your copy today! Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read and review this heartwarming book.

Very unlike his other novels that I've read. Though it seems written from the heart, it also seems flippant in its approach to sharing important worldly knowledge with his young son. Quick read; humorous in places; later writing is so much better.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC to read and review.