logo
James Patterson says latest release may be 'the most important book I've done by far'

James Patterson says latest release may be 'the most important book I've done by far'

Yahoo06-06-2025
James Patterson doesn't need any more money. He's the first to admit it. "I really don't," he says. "That's not why I wrote this book."
The new book in question from the prolific gagillion-selling author of thrillers (OK, for the record, it's 319 books written and 450 million copies sold worldwide) is in fact not only a labor of love, but also a love letter to fellow fathers.
"The #1 Dad Book: Be the Best Dad You Can Be – In 1 Hour!," out May 12 ($25, Little, Brown and Company), sounds a bit like it got its title from a late night infomercial. But there is some truth in that bold advertising.
The slim volume actually can be read in about 60 minutes (that's what the "1 Hour" in the title refers to) and features short chapters with titles such as "Be Consistent, Consistently," a litany of dad-experience quotes from friends ("Sometimes you have to let them sink to learn how to swim"), and a breezy voice that eschews hectoring for cajoling ("You've probably figured out that not everyone is in love with the sound of your voice," Patterson writes. "But guess what? Your baby is.")
For Patterson, proud father with wife Susan to son, Jack, 27, the book was a way to help guys who "just don't know how to talk about such things with other guys, but they need someone to talk to and I just figured I'd offer some advice, that's all."
The Essentials: James Patterson spills his writing must-haves
The author's own father might have benefited from this book, Patterson says.
"The only time I got a hug from my father was on his death bed," Patterson tells USA TODAY. "That was just the era. He grew up in a poor house, he didn't have a father, didn't know how to be a father. He was a good guy in his own way, but you talk about distance. Anyway, that's still an issue for some dads today; dads who can't say I love you and don't hug."
"The #1 Dad Book" tackles hugs, of course. In the chapter "You're Not A Hugger? You Will Be in a Minute," Patterson relates the short story of visiting a friend with two hulking football player sons. When the kids started to head out the door, their father called them back saying, "Where do you think you two are going?" And he gave them hugs.
"And that's when that routine became a part of my life, and Jack's, because every night he got a hug," says Patterson, smiling. "Jack's a good kid, he calls us every day."
Likely many fathers and fathers-to-be will recognize some familiar themes in the book. A few that Patterson highlights include being truly present (don't talk to your kid while you, or they, are half-looking at a phone) and growing up. Fast.
In the chapter called "Tattoo This Behind Your Eyeballs," Patterson is blunt with dads. "We're pals now, right? So you can take it when I give you some bad news," he writes. "It's time to grow ... No more BASE jumping, no more treks to Burning Man, no more swimming with sharks," no more beer league softball tournaments or all-day golf outings (this from Patterson, an avid golfer).
"It's just hugely important, because you're taking on a big new responsibility and you have to step up," Patterson says. "And hopefully you're cool with it."
Patterson also encourages men to seek out male friends who are willing to talk about dad issues, instead of "just what's going on with the local sports team." He notes that these days, "it's often women that are the primary bread winners, and some guys are just lost as a result, they don't know what their role is, and sometimes there's a lot of anger which is not useful for anyone."
So is there any advice he's doling out in "The #1 Dad Book" that he wishes he'd gotten years ago upon entering his first fatherhood years?
Patterson mulls a bit. Turns out, for him it was paying closer attention to Jack. "I was always home and around for him, but I could have been more present," he says, noting that while he was writing at home he often was lost in his projects. "I was there, but I wasn't ... I could have done more trips I didn't want to do, like going to the Galapagos, things like that. I'm not big on it, but Jack, he would have liked that."
With this book, which Patterson says cryptically he "won't make money on, they way I've structured it," he's hoping that perhaps wives and daughters will pick one up for "husbands and fathers and maybe those two knuckle-headed brothers."
Patterson leans back in his office chair. "This honestly could be the most important book I've done by far," he says. "It doesn't matter if someone reads an Alex Cross book. I mean, of course it's nice, but you know."
Then almost as a challenge to dads everywhere, he adds: "It's one hour, dude. One hour ... you can't improve your golf game in an hour but here, maybe you can learn a few things in that short amount of time that will make you a little bit better father, or partner. And that's a good thing."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'The #1 Dad Book' is James Patterson's salute and challenge to fathers
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

New must-read poetry from Joy Harjo, Ada Limón, Tracy K. Smith and more
New must-read poetry from Joy Harjo, Ada Limón, Tracy K. Smith and more

USA Today

time4 hours ago

  • USA Today

New must-read poetry from Joy Harjo, Ada Limón, Tracy K. Smith and more

A poem a day keeps the mind at play. That's the beauty of picking up a poetry collection: There's no pressure to read the book cover-to-cover. Readers can take it slow, savoring the verse and emotion. We can skip as many poems as we want, and reread favorites over and over. Reading poetry shouldn't be intimidating – think of a poem as a magnifying glass, not a riddle to be solved. The very act of reading poetry is about letting the words on the page guide you to a feeling, or help you make sense of the world around you. It can be both transformative and political. "Every person will have a different reaction to a poem and you will have a different reaction to a poem depending on how you're feeling," Ada Limón, the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States, tells USA TODAY. "Part of the poetry's magic is that it is a collision with what is on the page and the human being experiencing the poem. It's supposed to connect." This year has seen a slew of poetry collections from new and beloved writers intent on making human connections through written words. Here are 14 of our favorites: 'Washing My Mother's Body' by Joy Harjo (out now) Written in honor of her late mother, this work is a moving, comforting and raw display of grief. Harjo, who was appointed the 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate in 2019, explores the complexities of her grief as she reflects on her mother's life and the heartbreak of losing a parent. "Washing My Mother's Body" isn't a poetry collection, but rather a single poem set against the backdrop of watercolor illustrations by award-winning Muscogee artist Dana Tiger. 'Poetry offers us a powerful space': Janel Pineda, Clint Smith, on magic of poetry 'A Little Daylight Left' by Sarah Kay (out now) Spoken word poet Sarah Kay returns with her second collection, "A Little Daylight Left," a decade after her debut "No Matter the Wreckage." Through 42 poems, the New York-based poet explores family, heartbreak, nature, self-expression, grief, uncertainty and joy. "What if you aren't as bad as you suspect you are? What if you'll never be as good as you ache?" Kay writes in one of her poems. Kay's is a vulnerable collection about facing the good, the bad and the ugly of our humanity with grace and curiosity. More: Fatherhood helped Clint Smith lean into 'levity' and 'silliness' in poetry collection 'Above Ground' 'Doggerel' by Reginald Dwayne Betts (out now) Reginald Dwayne Betts is a legal scholar, educator and prison reform advocate who has penned a memoir, "A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison," and three poetry collections. His latest, "Doggerel," examines the way prison shapes and transforms American life through a "more prosaic − but equally rich − lens: dogs," says the publisher. "He reminds us that, as our lives are broken and put back together, the only witness often barks instead of talks." Betts' collection of poems is a meditation on family, falling in love, friendship and community. 'Florida Water' by aja monet (out now) It's been eight years since Brooklyn-born performer and activist aja monet released her first full collection of poems, "My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter." Now she's back with a vulnerable meditation on her migration to South Florida in search of love, connection and belonging in "Florida Water." In a social media post announcing the poetry book's cover, monet wrote she was "looking forward to finally letting go of this deeply personal and political collection." Need a book that feels like a hug? 8 comfort reads for when life gets hard. 'The Space Between Men' by Mia S. Willis (out now) "The Space Between Men" by poet and educator Mia S. Willis explores culture, faith, the natural world, Black history and what it means to be at the intersection of being Black, Southern and queer. "As the collection evolves, the reader is challenged and empowered to seek expansiveness in spaces that have not previously been excavated, reckon with the complexities of interpersonal relationships, and explore memory as a catalyst for self-determination," according to the poetry collection description. 'Gaza: The Poem Said Its Piece' by Nasser Rabah (out now) Born in Gaza in 1963, author Nasser Rabah spent his formative years in Egypt before returning in his early 20s and has lived there ever since. Rabah, a member of the Palestinian Writers and Authors Union, has penned five collections of poetry and two novels, but this is his first book translated into English. "Gaza: The Poem Said Its Piece" include a selection from three of his published collections with new poems that were written after October 2023, during the Israel-Gaza conflict. Need a book? 15 new releases to read right now, from romance to memoir 'What the Deep Water Knows' by Miranda Cowley Heller (out now) "What the Deep Water Knows" by Miranda Cowley Heller is a series of reflections on love in all its seasons. The collection "paints a moving portrait of a rich life from childhood to love to marriage to motherhood to divorce and beyond," according to the publisher. 'Dead Girl Cameo' by m. mick powell (Aug. 5) In poet m. mick powell's debut collection, "Dead Girl Cameo," the deaths of iconic Black female singers and musicians − Whitney Houston, Aaliyah, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Billie Holiday and Phyllis Hyman − go beyond the headlines. Powell resurrects their vivid lives and artistry to paint a more humanizing picture of their legacy while exploring themes of sexuality, survival, grief and stardom. Celebrities tell all: Everything from aging, marriage and Beyoncé in these 10 bingeable memoirs 'Lullaby for the Grieving' by Ashley M. Jones (Sept. 16) "Lullaby for the Grieving" by Ashley M. Jones is the poet's fourth collection and her most personal to date. "He will never come. The world is a blur behind tears, an ache in my chest, my biggest pain. The road home brings me no more comfort," Jones writes in "Grief Pantoum" of her late father. "Lullaby for the Grieving" isn't only a rumination on personal grief but the political grief tied to her Black Southern identity. 'Hindsight' by Rosanna Warren (Sept. 23) "Hindsight" by Rosanna Warren is rich with spiritual and political references that speak to our current struggles and fears, delivering a tender meditation on aging, injustice and uncertainty. "This daring collection of poetry is a search for forms of the sacred that attempts to find the language to describe the shocks of the COVID-19 assault and our politically torn nation," says the publisher. 'Startlement: New and Selected Poems' by Ada Limón (Sept. 30) With six poetry collections under her belt, Ada Limón is looking back at nearly 20 years of work − drawing poems from "The Hurting Kind," "The Carrying" and "Bright Dead Things" − and featuring new poems in "Startlement." The Poet Laureate of the United States since 2022, Limon continues to wade into the unknown, including the "strangeness of our brief human lives, the ever-changing nature of the universe and emerges each time with new revelations about our place in the world," reads the publisher's description. USA TODAY's The Essentials: US Poet Laureate Ada Limón on writing, surrendering to nature (and her pug snoring) 'My Perfect Cognate' by Natalie Scenters-Zapico (Sept. 30) In "My Perfect Cognate," Natalie Scenters-Zapico, an educator and award-winning poet from El Paso, Texas, interrogates the connections and contrasts of her duality: violence and softness, motherhood and isolation, the border between the United States and Mexico, and more. Scenters-Zapico wrote her latest poetry collection "from the depths of severe post-partum depression," according to the publisher description, and she "searches for a language that can hold both personal and communal pain." Desperate to keep kids off screens? They won't be able to put these books down 'Cord Swell' by Brittny Ray Crowell (Oct. 7) How can we memorialize our dead, and how can our remembrance pierce the veil between the living and the dead? That's what brittny ray cowell's debut poetry collection "Cord Swell" seeks to answer. Sifting through decades of obituaries, journals and other ephemera, cowell uses those materials to exhume generations of her family from her Texas hometown. Books shape our identities: LGBTQ+ titles our staff keeps coming back to 'Fear Less' by Tracy K. Smith (Nov. 2025) In "Fear Less," Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Tracy K. Smith explores how poetry can serve as a powerful tool of connection and understanding in a fractured and complicated world. Smith, who was a former U.S. Poet Laureate, argues in "Fear Less" that poetry is "rooted in fundamentally human qualities innate to our capacities to love, dream, question and engage across diverse cultures and backgrounds," according to the publisher. Smith invites readers to brave their misconceptions of poetry as an art form and open their eyes to a new world.

The Fringe Festival is a bat signal to S.F. theater weirdos
The Fringe Festival is a bat signal to S.F. theater weirdos

San Francisco Chronicle​

time4 hours ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

The Fringe Festival is a bat signal to S.F. theater weirdos

For relief from all the doom and gloom in Bay Area arts news, for a counterexample to the slick homogeneity of for-profit art, behold: The San Francisco Fringe Festival is still here, a bat signal alerting all the city's theatrical weirdos that it's time to come out and play. This year's iteration, Exit Theatre's 34th such event, takes place exclusively at the Taylor Street Theatre, now that the company has shuttered its Eddy Street venue. But there are still plenty of goodies to be had, starting with a return of San Francisco native Genie Cartier, whose 'The Curve' two years ago brought offbeat charm to her story of daring to be an acrobat despite her spine's unpromising shape. This time, in 'Box [M],' she directs Landyn Endo and Os Roxas in the story of a trans son and his father. Other highlights include three clown shows, including one whose character's name is Gherkin Picklewater, and the relatably titled 'I'm Mad as Hell and I'm Going to Take It Just a Little Bit Longer.'

Spoilers! What that 'Fantastic Four' end-credits scene means for Marvel
Spoilers! What that 'Fantastic Four' end-credits scene means for Marvel

USA Today

time5 hours ago

  • USA Today

Spoilers! What that 'Fantastic Four' end-credits scene means for Marvel

Spoiler alert! We're discussing important plot points and the ending of 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' (in theaters now), so beware if you haven't seen it yet. Marvel's new 'Fantastic Four' hints at the coterie of bad guys who inhabit the heroes' 1960s comic-book world, with names like Mole Man, Red Ghost, Wizard and Puppet Master. But by the end of the film, audiences will have met a villain who brings doom and a glimpse of one who's named Doom. 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' marks the Marvel Cinematic Universe debut for Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm, aka the Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). Years after gaining superpowers from being bombarded by cosmic rays in space, the astronauts-turned-superheroes face a new threat when the mysterious Silver Surfer, Shalla-Bal (Julia Garner), heralds the coming of the world-devouring Galactus (Ralph Ineson). And the only way he'll spare Earth is if Reed and Sue give him their newborn son, Franklin. Let's dig into that cataclysmic ending, those post-credits scenes and the oh-so-teasing glimpse of none other than Doctor Doom. Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox What happens in the ending of 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps'? Because Franklin possesses the 'Power Cosmic,' Galactus seemingly eyes the baby as his planet-consuming successor. Reed and Sue convince people around the world to set up large devices that would allow Reed to teleport Earth out of Galactus' path of destruction. That doesn't work, so the Fantastic Four instead sets a trap for him in New York City, using Franklin as bait. Galactus figures out what they're doing, but Sue unleashes her powers to push the villain into a wormhole that would send him to the farthest reaches of the universe. It works, until Galactus starts to escape it. Johnny Storm decides to sacrifice himself and flies toward Galactus to send him back into deep space but at the last minute, Shalla-Bal knocks Johnny off course and does it herself, ending the threat to Earth. The exertion to defeat Galactus has seemingly killed Sue, but Franklin brings her back to life using his abilities. We'll see if the Surfer, who had sacrificed a life with her daughter to spare their planet from Galactus, comes riding back one day into the MCU. But Garner loved her character's ending because of how 'completely different' it was from her entrance. 'I always like it when you think somebody is a certain way on screen and then it ends up not being that way, and you end up being surprised,' she says. Who is Franklin Richards, the superpowered baby in 'Fantastic Four'? In the Fantastic Four comics, Franklin is one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel universe, and even as a baby in the movie, he's clearly not going to be a pushover in the MCU either. 'I always liked that this movie was about the smallest, newest, most innocent thing on a collision course with the largest, oldest, scariest thing in the universe,' director Matt Shakman says. The filmmaker wanted to play with the idea of parental anxiety and wanting to protect them from everything, but from the point of view of a superhero mom and dad who have to deal with threats constantly. Instead, Shakman says, Reed and Sue realize 'their child is so much more powerful than they could ever imagine.' At the end of the movie, Sue says to Reed, 'Who knows what he will become but he's here now.' 'That's all we can do,' Shakman says. 'Love our family and enjoy every precious moment that we have because the future is unknown.' Does the new 'Fantastic Four' movie have a post-credits scene? It has two! Shakman includes a fun little clip from the cartoon-within-a-movie 'Fantastic Four' show after all the credits roll. But the more significant sequence is a mid-credits bit set four years after the final 'First Steps' scene. Sue is reading to young Franklin, and he's already done Darwin's 'The Origin of the Species,' so she goes looking for the 1958 children's book 'A Fly Went By.' She comes back and is horrified to find a strange hooded figure speaking to Franklin and holding a familiar silver mask as Alan Silvestri's ominous 'Doom?' theme plays in the background. Enter Doctor Doom, the infamous Fantastic Four supervillain set to be played by Robert Downey Jr. in 'Avengers: Doomsday' (in theaters Dec. 18, 2026), though with just a taste and not even a proper reveal. 'He's so iconic, he's not in my movie,' Shakman quips. 'Doom is amazing. I mean, he's Tony Stark meets Doctor Strange – the idea of magic and mysticism mixed with science and technology. He and Reed are two sides of the same coin. They're both incredibly brilliant, but Doom also has vanity and hubris and all of this stuff." Will there be another 'Fantastic Four' movie? A sequel probably depends on if 'First Steps' is a hit. But fans won't have to wait too long to see Pascal, Kirby, Quinn and Moss-Bachrach back in action. They're all starring in 'Doomsday' – and likely its follow-up, 'Avengers: Secret Wars' (Dec. 17, 2027) – as the Fantastic Four will team up alongside Avengers, Thunderbolts, X-Men and various other superheroes against the not-so-good Doctor.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store