Books and some more. However as of now it is all about books. Some that you read. Some that you have been wanting to read and some that you read and give up along the way. There are books that kids must read. There are books that all women must read. There are books that everyone must read and then there are books that all men must read. That is one heck of a long list; however we shall restrain it to Top 10 books that every man must read.
Here goes the list: (this list is purely from a man’s perspective, going to as recommendations to other men.)
1. What We Talk about When We Talk about Love by Raymond Carver: It is in your face love stories. A collection supreme – talking about masculinity and love and how to love more importantly. This is a collection of stories that men will identify with hands on and the situations more so. A highly recommended collection.
2. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck: A family torn in the times of the Great Depression. It is up to the men to get things back on track and life in order. How can any man resist reading this one? It screams testosterone and is a read that should not be avoided by any man.
3. The Brothers Karamazov: A book about brothers – both in times of war and in peace. A read that no man must miss. It is about life smashed in little pieces and served to the men of today.
4. Legends of the Fall by Jim Harrison: Because sometimes it is about revenge and honour and family. This book is unrelenting and raw. It does not mince words or actions. A read that will get the man in for a fight.
5. Dispatches by Michael Herr: Because a list for the must-read books for men is not complete without a war book. War which takes a lot and does not give anything in return. This one is about Vietnam and surprisingly so manages to explore the softer side of men.
6. Revolutionary Road: A marriage gone wrong and the little compromises we make to ensure that lives are led in a better manner. Richard Yates talks of men – their strengths and their weaknesses, in the face of turmoils and tough decisions.
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey: Because all that a man wants sometimes is freedom to make his choices – even at the cost of sanity or the pretence of it. A read that should not be missed by you.
8. The Bridges of Madison County: Because a woman wants to see a softer side. She wants the man to be romantic and yearn for her, as the man in this book did. A read for the times when you want to be a man who loves his woman the most.
9. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie: Magic Realism, Entering Dreams, Men who are confused, Men who do not surrender and men who want to. Salman Rushdie’s book is everything rolled into one and more. For the child in the man as well. Most of the time.
10. On the Road by Jack Kerouac: Since every man has ever dreamed of this – a road trip. Of wanting to explore the world and getting high with friends, with life as his teacher. To connect with that, Kerouac it is for you.
These are the absolute 10 gems you must read, if you are man. More so if you are a man. The ones that almost made it are:
11. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
12. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
13. A Death in the Family by James Agee
14. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
15. Underworld by Don DeLillo
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