#58 in Biography & memoir
Things My Son Needs to Know about the World
- 208
- Pages
- about 4 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“Things My Son Needs to Know about the World” is a warm, funny set of essays in which Fredrik Backman writes to his young son about becoming a father. He is candid about his own blunders as a new parent, and the jokes sit alongside real tenderness. At around two hundred pages, it is a sweet, light read. It suits anyone who knows Backman’s novels, or is about to become a parent.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove shares an irresistible and moving collection of heartfelt, humorous essays about fatherhood, providing his newborn son with the perspective and tools he’ll need to make his way in the world. Things My Son Needs to Know About the World collects the personal dispatches from the front lines of one of the most daunting experiences any man can experience: fatherhood. As he conveys his profound awe at experiencing all the “firsts” that fill him with wonder and catch him completely unprepared, Fredrik Backman doesn’t shy away from revealing his own false steps and fatherly flaws, tackling issues both great and small, from masculinity and mid-life crises to practical jokes and poop. In between the sleep-deprived lows and wonderful highs, Backman takes a step back to share the true story of falling in love with a woman who is his complete opposite, and learning to live a life that revolves around the people you care about unconditionally.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.1 across 82 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 36% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Biography & memoir average of 8.1. That is how 8.1 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.7 | 6 | 7% |
| Hardcover | 8.1 | 76 | 93% |
Frequently asked
How long is Things My Son Needs to Know about the World?
It has 208 pages — shorter than 87% of the ranked books in Biography & memoir.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Biography & memoir — with scores between 7.6 and 8.3, closest to this book.
