Dear Dad:

How have you been?  It's been a while since we talked--oh, wait.  Your birthday was just last weekend so I guess I called you then.  But yeah, it's been a while since we really talked.  This leaves me in a tight spot, because Father's Day is just a few days away.  I mean, seriously?  I'm supposed to come up with two gifts in two weeks?  REALLY?  I spend so much time in the bookstore, I supposed I'll find something fantastic for you here.  I'll throw out a few suggestions, and you tell me which one you think you might like.  'S'that work for you?  Excellent.

I know you are fond of your pickup trucks (you are a former farmer, after all), so I'm thinking you might enjoy the book Truck: A Love Story by Michael Perry.  Actually the book is about more than a man and his truck.  There is also a man and his garden (I do know you enjoy prettyin' up your yard), and a man in a small town.  And it's entertaining!  I know you need a day to just sit outside with a cold beer and a cigarette and enjoy a little reading.  If that doesn't sell this book to you, maybe the first sentence of Chapter 7 will:  "The squirrel wars are on."

Knowing you are a farmer and a cowboy at heart, if perhaps trapped in suburbia, I also think you will enjoy Plainsong by Kent Haruf.  In fact, since it is one of my favoritest books EVER, I can't believe I haven't given it to you before this.  Typically I keep to "women's fiction" and stuff I can easily relate to, but Haruf writes of the stark Eastern Colorado countryside with such sparse beauty, I was entranced.  The book is peopled with characters who are good and evil, all of them struggling to find a little love in the world.

Finally, what is Father's Day without a little tussle with the grill?  Steven Raichlen's The Barbecue! Bible includes great tips and over 500 recipes that will take your basic steaks and burgers to the next level.  There are even color photographs, which is always a cookbook "win!" in my opinion.  There are delicious side dishes, exotic sauces and rubs, and desserts you want first.  It even won the coveted Julia Child Cookbook Award.  (That makes it a double "win!")

So...tell me which one sounds good to you.  Knowing you as I do, I actually think I know exactly which one I'm going to send to you.  I don't want to ruin the surprise however.  We are far away from each other, and this may be the only I can offer you some delight on your special day.  How is the weather in Illinois, by the way?  I hope you manage to find some time to sit outside, relax and read.

I'll see you at the bookstore...someday!
Love,
Pamela.