Bibliophiles unite!

Some time ago a friend of mine told me about goodreads.com, a place where people who love books can connect, get recommendations and reviews on books, and participate in other ways in the world of books and the people who love them. I was hesitant at first, but a year or so back I got into it and decided to use it for a special purpose. I knew that I wanted to embrace a regular reading program because I love to read and also because I knew that it would be a great way to renew my mind and learn more about the world around me. But in order for that renewal to occur, I needed to process my experience somehow, and I decided that writing a review after I finish a book and then posting it on goodreads.com would be an excellent way to do just that and also enlighten anyone who happened to read my reviews (at least I hope they are enlightened).

So now that I finished my latest tome, I decided after posting my review to goodreads.com that I would post it here as well. And if you care to see what else I have been reading, there is a link at the bottom of the post that can help you with that. Enjoy!

Fatherhood by Bill Cosby

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
So with Father's Day in June, I thought it appropriate to choose this tome for my next read. My experience was not what I expected.

I remember when I was a kid Bill Cosby had this show called Picture Pages. The show featured a workbook with pages that the kids would complete together with Bill on the tele. I never had Picture Pages, but I remember watching the show and wanting so very much to have that workbook so that I could follow along. Then as I got older I remember The Cosby Show and how funny it was. So my expectations going into this book was to laugh myself silly and have a totally fun read.

What surprised me first was that Bill Cosby's words are not the only ones in the book. There is a foreword and afterword by Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint, who approached the subject of fatherhood from a rather serious point of view. I liked the sociological and psychological perspectives provided by Dr. Poussaint, but the seriousness of his writing was at odds with my expectations of laughing myself silly.

It also tempered Cosby's own style, or at least my own reading of him. Or maybe it was that I have grown and matured since I watched The Cosby Show as a teenager and what I found funny then no longer amuses me now. Granted, many of he stories he shared were hilarious. Take these words, for instance.

"You see, the wives pretend to turn over the child-raising job to us fathers, but they don't really mean it. One day, my wife said to me, 'He's your child. I wash my hands of him.' Where is this sink where you can wash your hands of a child? I want to wash my hands too, and then the boy can go free."

And to illustrate the point, Cosby tells this story. His wife awakens him at 6AM and tells him to go downstairs and fix breakfast for the kids. He naturally tries to resist, and he naturally fails. He then finishes the tale with these words:

"And so, downstairs I went, wondering about the divorce laws in my state, and I started slamming things around. I had bacon, sausages, and eggs all lined up when my four-year-old arrived, looking so adorable with her cute face and little braids.

"'Morning, Daddy,' she said.

"'Okay,' I said, 'what do you want for breakfast?'

"'Chocolate cake,' she replied.

"'Chocolate cake? For breakfast? That's ridiculous.'

"Then, however, I thought about the ingredients in chocolate cake: milk and eggs and wheat, all parts of good nutrition.

"'You want chocolate cake, honey?' I said, cutting a piece for her. 'Well, here it is. But you also need something to drink.'

"And I gave her a glass of grapefruit juice.

"When the other four children came downstairs and saw the four-year-old eating chocolate cake, they wanted the same, of course; and since I wanted good nutrition for them too, I gave each of them a piece.

"So there my five children sat, merrily eating chocolate cake for breakfast, occasionally stopping to sing:

"Dad is the greatest dad you can make!
"For breakfast he gives us chocolate cake!

"The party lasted until my wife appeared, staggered slightly, and said, 'Chocolate cake for breakfast? Where did you all get that?'

"'He gave it to us! He made us eat it!' said my five adorable ingrates in one voice; and then my eight-year-old added, 'We wanted eggs and cereal.'"

The book is filled with such stories, and I did have a good laugh. But Cosby's words also had a serious side to them, and it was that mixture that made me think as well as laugh. For example, the dedication contained these words: "And to those people with no children but who think they'd like to have them some day to fulfill their lives. Remember: With fulfillment comes responsibility." For some reason that made me think of that line from Spider-Man: With great power comes great responsibility. And while the power foremost in my mind was that of creating life and extending the generations, I also thought about the power of influence, and that is a power that we all have and therefore a responsibility that we all have also. So as I said at the start, my experience with this book was not at all was I expected. I expected to laugh and forget about life for a time. What I got instead was both laughter and a recollection of what life really can be. I recommend this book.
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