The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion

Can a rigidly scheduled, highly prepared genetic scientist make his marriage work with a free-thinking, spontaneous wife? And what happens to Don's carefully calculated spreadsheets when an unexpected pregnancy adds another variable to the equation?

In this sequel to The Rosie Project, Australians Don and Rosie are married and living temporarily in America to teach and study, respectively, at Columbia in New York. It's a comedy of errors as Don tries (secretly, so as not to add stress and increased cortisol levels) to learn as much as he can about babies, pregnancy, and fatherhood.

Along with the return of the first book's supporting characters, this story adds a great new bunch of friends Don accumulates in New York. He's got a guy gang with whom he regularly schedules ballgame-and-beer nights, and they become his sometimes ill-advising support network as he tries to navigate Rosie's pregnancy hormones and some unfortunate legal concerns Don's hiding from his wife.

Overall it's a mad-cap fun story, and a lovely light diversion.

How to Cook Like a Man: A Memoir of Cookbook Obsession by Daniel Duane

Duane dealt with the birth of his first child in a unique way: he took over the dinner preparation for his family, but rather than focusing on simple food preparation and nutrition or sustenance he went off the deep-end into obsessive cookbook mania (never repeating the same recipe twice, checking recipes off toward an epic unattainable goal).

This isn't a cookbook - you'll have to find the books Dan's reading to replicate his progress. More, it's a story about his obsessive-compulsive cooking saga and the ups and downs of his life that drive it.

The book's entertaining, and Duane is a smooth, talented writer who blends the cooking mania and food preparation stories into the tale of his personal growth and family life. He twines things together in a rare way: one paragraph of biography on a famous chef may also somehow tell you about the progress of the remodeling of the Duane family home.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and both envied and pitied his wife throughout. Early on in the book (and in their relationship) Liz explains her preference for simple, uncomplicated food - which Dan resolutely and dramatically ignores for years.

A Working Theory of Love by Scott Hutchins

Neil Bassett is a thirty-something emotional trainwreck: He's a little obsessed with his ex-wife, he's going to strange extremes to hook up with women, and he's been hired to help build an "intelligent" computer ... based on his dead father.

The gist of the story is Neil learning to act like a grown-up and navigate his own emotions and relationships, while at the same time he's helping the computer HAVE emotions and relationships. Since the program is a virtual version of his own father, Neil's got a strange beyond-the-grave opportunity to hammer out his relationship and past mis-steps with his cold, distant father.

There's a point in the book where the computer, Dr. Bassett, begins to explore the missing parts of his "memory" and ask questions. I had an "OH! This won't be good," moment - you really start to think of the computer as a person and worry about its future. The characters do too - Dr. Bassett becomes a sounding board and adviser to nearly every character; the IM small talk and chit-chat they're all having with the computer (to give it form and correct dialog mis-cues) becomes extremely confessional, even though his advice tends toward the kind found in fortune cookies.

I liked this book; I became very emotionally involved with the computer Dr. Bassett, and couldn't wait to see what happened next. While it's not overly technical, I did tend to skim parts where they discussed the artificial intelligence technology and philosophy. And I really wanted to see if Neil could come out of this a better person, or if it would break him permanently.

Tales for very picky eaters

by Josh Schneider

This book is technically an early reader.  However, I don't know if kids should be allowed to know the secrets held within its pages.  It might be better as a true guidebook for parents.  OK, not really.  This is a funny account of a father trying to get his boy to eat.  The dad concocts wild stories about the food that is being snubbed until the boy decides the only choice is to at least give it a try. 

Things I Learned About My Dad (In Therapy) edited by Heather B. Armstrong

Since I was about 7millionth on the hold list for Armstrong's new book, I thought I'd give this old one a chance. Armstrong wrote 2 essays here, and her husband Jon wrote one also. For fans of her dooce.com, it's just a bit more about her life.

Each contributor is a well-known blogger, and the theme of the book is fatherhood - be it as a father, having a father, or having a husband who's a father - any and all facets of fatherhood. Some essays are funny (actually, a lot of them are at least funny in part), and many are heart-warming. It was a perfect pre-Father's Day read.