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Bloomsbury Good Reading Guides
100 Must-read Books for Men by Stephen E Andrews
What do men like to read? This latest title in the successful 100 Must-read series provides a rich crop of selected reads of eternal fascination to men everywhere. With 100 titles fully featured and over 500 recommended, there is something for everyone, from the macho to the sentimental, sex, drugs and rock and roll, old age, childhood, power, seduction, courage and adventure. Written by two experienced male booksellers and writers, the selection draws from a wide range of crime, thrillers, cult classics, classics, biography and non-fiction. Deftly researched with the male audience in mind, this book is an enabling tool for extending your range of reading.A lengthy introduction examines mens attitudes to reading, the differences between male and female reading tastes, the varying ways in which the sexes use/respond to language and how this is reflected in their choices of reading matter. Books featured Crash by J. G. Ballard, Junkie by William S. Burroughs, American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse, Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian, The Book of Dave by Will Self, Touching the Void by Joe Simpson and Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe.
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First published September 10, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 28, 2011
I became a voracious reader because of Stephanie Mayer's Twilight. I was in Columbus (Ohio) International Airport in October 2008 and the flight was delayed by 3 hours. I had no books to read and I already finished reading all the interesting emails and files in my laptop. So I went to the bookstore and checked out the bestseller section. I saw Twilight and read the blurbs. I knew it was about vampires but I said what the hell, it was the #1 in the list so it must be good. I bought it and finished reading the book before I landed in Los Angeles. During my first day in San Diego, we went to Borders in Plaza Bonita and I bought New Moon. I finished that during my 4 day stay in my mom's apartment. On my way back, I bought Eclipse and finished it before I landed in NAIA. Then on my first week in Manila, I bought and finished Breaking Dawn.
Prior to this, I was a 1-book a month guy. Sometimes not even. I did not consult any list. I just went to NBS and looked at the Top 10 Fiction or Non-Fiction List and bought just one of them. I did not horde or collect books. During that time, I was reading Ken Follett, John Grisham and Nicholas Sparks. Earlier than that, I tried reading novels by Charles Dickens and Fyodor Dosteovsky but most of those were left unfinished. Of course, my lawyer-brother used to encourage me to read and I remember that he was the one who convinced me to start and finish the novels that are still part of my best-ever list: Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong and Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes.
Why am I telling you this? Because if I did not start using book lists, I would not have been able to discover lots and lots of better authors. Maybe I would still be reading Nicholas Sparks' and worse, already crying over the books of Jodi Picoult who happened to be the favorite female author of my lady bestfriend in the office. (I tried hard really to appreciate My Sister's Keeper but really, I just could not think that a small girl will file a lawsuit against her parents).
In August 2008, prior to attending my brother's birthday lunch, I gave him a book entitled 501 Must Read Books. He read it and after two weeks I received the book back. He scribbled words on the books that he already read like Read this in Panag-an, Read this in High School, Read this in UST, Read this in UP, Read this I was a lawyer already, those books that he started reading but did not finish, e.g., Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain and those that he wants to read, e.g., Isabel Allende's Paula and Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy.
That book gave me an idea. Why not buy those books that he would like to read and give them to him on his succeeding birthdays? But before doing that, I will read the books first. Ha ha. It will save me the trouble of thinking what gift to give him for his birthdays and Christmas. So, I started buying books and reading them. My brother knew that I started buying and reading books because I used to ask for his suggestions. For example, he was the one who recommended to me one of my top 10 favorites: John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath by describing that it has one of the most memorable opening lines in American literature.
However, on October 9, 2009, my brother gave me the bargained copy of the 2006 version of Peter Boxall's 1001 BOOKS You Must Read Before You Die. I laughed while we was showing me the book. He said, look at the picture of the skeleton guy who is reading a book. Why don't we read all of these? Hmmm, I am not yet even halfway with 501 and you are telling me to read another 1001 books? But he persisted in one condition: that we will not buy regular-priced books. I checked the 1001 books and saw familiar titles and I also got mesmerized by the pictures of the authors and the covers of the earlier editions of their books. Interesting. Okay, let's try.
I was in my around 50th book in 1001 list when I felt that some of them, just like Jodi Picoult's, are too melodramatic for me. One time I was in Fullybooked Greenhills when I saw this 100 MUST-READ BOOKS FOR MEN by Stephen E. Andrews. It says in the introduction that men have different reading preferences and pattern than women:
So far, out of 100, I have already read 13 books suggested in this list:
1) J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye - 4 stars
2) James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice - 4 stars
3) William S. Burroughs' Junky - 3 stars
4) Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho - 1 star
5) Jack London's The Call of the Wind - 4 stars
6) Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint - 2 stars
7) Saul Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March - 3 stars
8) Brendan Behan's Borstal Boy - 2 stars
9) Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - 2 stars
10) Paul Auster's The Music of Chance - 5 stars!
11) Tom Wolfe's The Bonfire of the Vanities - 1 star
12) J. G. Ballard's Crash - 1 star
13) Chuck Palanhiuk's Fight Club - 4 stars
14) The Child in Time by Ian McEwan - 5 stars!
The characters are varied and I did not like those with excessive sex (Crash, American Psycho), masturbation (Portnoy's Complaint), noise (The Bonfire of the Vanities), drugs (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). Borstal Boy got 2 (it's okay) because it felt so outdated.
I read those 13 first because most of them are also in the 1001 list. I still have the following as my to-be-read (non-1001):
1) The Green Man by Kingsley Amis
2) It's Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong
3) Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowen
4) The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
5) Miles by Miles Davis
6) The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto 'Che' Guevara
7) The Road by Cormac McCarthy
8) Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brien
10) City of Night by John Rechy
11) Wonderland Avenue by Danny Sugerman
The list right above looks strong, right? They even look more "manly" than the first set because of Armstrong, Bowen, Guevara, McCarthy and O'Brien. My brother thinks that McEwan's books are melodramatic but the inclusion of his The Child in Time seems to indicate otherwise.
11)
So, what is it about book lists? It helps us in picking the books. They are supposed to be there to guide us. The introduction of this book, 100 Must Read Books for Men closes with these statements.
So, there indeed is a guy-lit a.k.a., books-for-blokes and seems to me that Twilight will not be one of those.
However, buying books, just like reading them, is becoming an addiction. Sometimes after spending an hour or so in a second-hand bookstore trying to find 100, 501 or 1001 books, I leave empty-handed. It just does not feel right. I feel like I wasted my time. So, I go straight to NBS, FB or PB and buy regular-priced books! Then I go home happy instead of frustrated! Ha ha
Now from 1 book a month, I am finishing on the average 12-18 books! In fact this book is my 95th this year. My aim is to reach Nicholas Spark's reading harvest of 200 books a year. But Sparks is a stay-home dad. I still have my 8-hour a day work in the office. I can try though.
Prior to this, I was a 1-book a month guy. Sometimes not even. I did not consult any list. I just went to NBS and looked at the Top 10 Fiction or Non-Fiction List and bought just one of them. I did not horde or collect books. During that time, I was reading Ken Follett, John Grisham and Nicholas Sparks. Earlier than that, I tried reading novels by Charles Dickens and Fyodor Dosteovsky but most of those were left unfinished. Of course, my lawyer-brother used to encourage me to read and I remember that he was the one who convinced me to start and finish the novels that are still part of my best-ever list: Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong and Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes.
Why am I telling you this? Because if I did not start using book lists, I would not have been able to discover lots and lots of better authors. Maybe I would still be reading Nicholas Sparks' and worse, already crying over the books of Jodi Picoult who happened to be the favorite female author of my lady bestfriend in the office. (I tried hard really to appreciate My Sister's Keeper but really, I just could not think that a small girl will file a lawsuit against her parents).
In August 2008, prior to attending my brother's birthday lunch, I gave him a book entitled 501 Must Read Books. He read it and after two weeks I received the book back. He scribbled words on the books that he already read like Read this in Panag-an, Read this in High School, Read this in UST, Read this in UP, Read this I was a lawyer already, those books that he started reading but did not finish, e.g., Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain and those that he wants to read, e.g., Isabel Allende's Paula and Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy.
That book gave me an idea. Why not buy those books that he would like to read and give them to him on his succeeding birthdays? But before doing that, I will read the books first. Ha ha. It will save me the trouble of thinking what gift to give him for his birthdays and Christmas. So, I started buying books and reading them. My brother knew that I started buying and reading books because I used to ask for his suggestions. For example, he was the one who recommended to me one of my top 10 favorites: John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath by describing that it has one of the most memorable opening lines in American literature.
However, on October 9, 2009, my brother gave me the bargained copy of the 2006 version of Peter Boxall's 1001 BOOKS You Must Read Before You Die. I laughed while we was showing me the book. He said, look at the picture of the skeleton guy who is reading a book. Why don't we read all of these? Hmmm, I am not yet even halfway with 501 and you are telling me to read another 1001 books? But he persisted in one condition: that we will not buy regular-priced books. I checked the 1001 books and saw familiar titles and I also got mesmerized by the pictures of the authors and the covers of the earlier editions of their books. Interesting. Okay, let's try.
I was in my around 50th book in 1001 list when I felt that some of them, just like Jodi Picoult's, are too melodramatic for me. One time I was in Fullybooked Greenhills when I saw this 100 MUST-READ BOOKS FOR MEN by Stephen E. Andrews. It says in the introduction that men have different reading preferences and pattern than women:
"After all, although there are many writers enjoyed by both men and women, anyone who has worked around books will recognise that there are writers who are generally considered to be authors of 'women's reads' or 'books for blokes'. Novels in niches such as 'Chick Lit', are pretty clearly aimed at the female market, while A-format ghost-written paperbacks by former SAS operatives with guns on the jackets are doubtless intended for a testosterone-fuelled demographic. Perhaps more crucially, it's interesting to note that when a recent poll of the books men felt most affecting was run (by a team of female researchers), that the clear winner was Albert Camus' and existentialist masterpiece The Outsider (1942), the iconic tale of an indifferent man drawn to murder. So while the ladies voted overwhelmingly for the majestic, slow-burning passion and quiet commitment of classic romance Jane Eyre (1847) as their favourite read, men opted en masse for contingency, solipsism and ambivalence.
So far, out of 100, I have already read 13 books suggested in this list:
1) J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye - 4 stars
2) James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice - 4 stars
3) William S. Burroughs' Junky - 3 stars
4) Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho - 1 star
5) Jack London's The Call of the Wind - 4 stars
6) Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint - 2 stars
7) Saul Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March - 3 stars
8) Brendan Behan's Borstal Boy - 2 stars
9) Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - 2 stars
10) Paul Auster's The Music of Chance - 5 stars!
11) Tom Wolfe's The Bonfire of the Vanities - 1 star
12) J. G. Ballard's Crash - 1 star
13) Chuck Palanhiuk's Fight Club - 4 stars
14) The Child in Time by Ian McEwan - 5 stars!
The characters are varied and I did not like those with excessive sex (Crash, American Psycho), masturbation (Portnoy's Complaint), noise (The Bonfire of the Vanities), drugs (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). Borstal Boy got 2 (it's okay) because it felt so outdated.
I read those 13 first because most of them are also in the 1001 list. I still have the following as my to-be-read (non-1001):
1) The Green Man by Kingsley Amis
2) It's Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong
3) Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowen
4) The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
5) Miles by Miles Davis
6) The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto 'Che' Guevara
7) The Road by Cormac McCarthy
8) Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brien
10) City of Night by John Rechy
11) Wonderland Avenue by Danny Sugerman
The list right above looks strong, right? They even look more "manly" than the first set because of Armstrong, Bowen, Guevara, McCarthy and O'Brien. My brother thinks that McEwan's books are melodramatic but the inclusion of his The Child in Time seems to indicate otherwise.
11)
So, what is it about book lists? It helps us in picking the books. They are supposed to be there to guide us. The introduction of this book, 100 Must Read Books for Men closes with these statements.
"So for contemporary man, there is a whole world of literature published over the centuries for men to discover and enjoy. We hope this book will help men everywhere embark on the next stage of the journey to reading, as although this may not be a man's world any longer, once you open books by our chosen authors, you'll find that at least a man's word still carries plenty of weight"
So, there indeed is a guy-lit a.k.a., books-for-blokes and seems to me that Twilight will not be one of those.
However, buying books, just like reading them, is becoming an addiction. Sometimes after spending an hour or so in a second-hand bookstore trying to find 100, 501 or 1001 books, I leave empty-handed. It just does not feel right. I feel like I wasted my time. So, I go straight to NBS, FB or PB and buy regular-priced books! Then I go home happy instead of frustrated! Ha ha
Now from 1 book a month, I am finishing on the average 12-18 books! In fact this book is my 95th this year. My aim is to reach Nicholas Spark's reading harvest of 200 books a year. But Sparks is a stay-home dad. I still have my 8-hour a day work in the office. I can try though.
October 2, 2012
I got this book to have a quick look at what was recommended. As a male book blogger I thought it might be a good idea to have a look at the books that might help reach a male audience. I'm surprised to see I've only read five of the 100 books but I've got a whole heap of books that look interesting to read now (when I buy them).
September 19, 2023
For being published in 2008, the author's introduction is full of outdated information and attitudes so you might want to just go straight to the books.
May 25, 2009
I detest Chik-Lit so I thought I might get a few ideas from here. Apparently men should read about crime, dragons and sex, not necessarily in that order. I think I have a long enough to read list & need to just stop looking at these kinds of books!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews