Support bookstores and buy books for Father’s Day. I asked my husband what books he enjoyed reading last year and here’s a list of his suggestions. Five are fiction and three are nonfiction.

STORM TIDE Wilbur Smith

1774, The Courtney family is torn apart as three generations fight on opposing sides of a terrible war that will change the face of the world forever, set against the backdrop of the American revolution.

THE RIVER WE REMEMBER William Kent Krueger

1958, a murder in a small Minnesota town exposes deep-rooted prejudices and secrets, challenging a war-scarred sheriff to uncover the truth.

WAGER: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder David Grann

1742, a story of shipwreck, mutiny and murder, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth

BOMBAY MONSOON James Ziskin

1975, An ambitious American journalist arrives in Bombay for a new assignment during the Emergency

THE ARCHITECT’S APPRENTICE Elif Shafak

Sixteenth century Istanbul: a stowaway arrives in the city bearing an extraordinary gift for the Sultan. The boy is utterly alone in a foreign land, with no worldly possessions to his name except Chota, a rare white elephant destined for the palace menagerie.

THE BOYS IN THE BOAT Daniel James Brown

Nine working class University of Washington students and their epic quest for a gold medal at the 1936 Olympics

AMERICAN NATIONS Colin Woodard

According to award-winning journalist and historian Colin Woodard, North America is made up of eleven distinct nations, each with its own unique historical roots. In American Nations he takes readers on a journey through the history of our fractured continent, offering a revolutionary and revelatory take on American identity, and how the conflicts between them have shaped our past and continue to mold our future.

UNION Colin Woodard

The story of how the myth of U.S. national unity was created and fought over in the nineteenth century–a myth that continues to affect us today