I've been on a romcom and "chick-lit" binge lately, and while I believe these genres can be enjoyed by everyone, I also know these genres are usually aimed at a female audience.
I'm curious about exploring some books that are often stereotypically seen as more "manly" or geared towards male readers. Before you cancel me, please know I don’t mean to reinforce outdated ideas about who should read what, and I know anyone can enjoy any book! But as a female reader, who tends to gravitate to Emily Henry/ Abby Jimenez type books, I’m looking to branch out and see what’s out there in the realm of so-called “guy books.” Or more like, what would your typically dude pick up at a bookstore.
I’d love to hear your recs. I’m open to anything- except really hardcore horror or gorey violence books.
Some other non romance books I’ve enjoyed:
-Recursion, Dark Matter, Upgrade by Blake Crouch
-The Martian, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
-The Measure by Nikki Erlick
-Pachinko by Lee Min Jin
by vermlingo
11 Comments
Dungeon Crawler Carl.
Jack Reacher series.
Dungeon crawler carl is what you are looking for.
[This old Toast list is actually pretty good](https://the-toast.net/2015/05/12/books-that-literally-all-white-men-own/) (though they puzzlingly omit *Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance*). I personally liked *Catch-22* by Joseph Heller most off that list (and LoTR, though I wouldn’t really call it “dude lit”).
A Gentleman in Moscow, though recommended a lot, is definitely something a guy would pick up in a bookstore, and in many ways feels like a male version of a chick-lit book.
If you’re looking for something that captures a man’s experience well, The Remains of the Day is very good.
– Lonesome Dove
– Boys in the Boat
– American Gods
– The Name of the Rose
– Ready Player One
– Dune
– Shantaram
*Edited formatting/spelling
Anything from Ben Macintyre if you’re into non fiction, he’s able to take moments of history and make it feel like you’re reading an action movie
Rogue Heroes is my favourite
No need to cancel! This is a great question and as a man who loves reading I try to balance my consumption as well. I’ll read Kristin Hannah and follow it up with Jim Harrison.
I’ll try to give some good recs that you may enjoy:
Lonesome Dove
Legends of the Fall
East of Eden
The Road
The Moon is Down
Cider House Rules
Brown Dog
All the Light We Cannot See
There are so so so many others but hopefully something out of this list catches your fancy. Happy reading!
Anything by Elmore Leonard should fit the bill.
I think Cormac McCarthy, Chuck Palahniuk, John LaCarre, and, if you don’t mind laughing at outdated misogyny, Ian Fleming’s James Bond scratch that itch for me.
I would also argue that Alan Moore’s graphic novels count and should be read. Watchmen and V for Vendetta are deep and phenomenal literature.
Cherry by Nico Walker.
*Children of Time* by Adrian Tchaikovsky (it’s actually the first of a trilogy!). For nonfiction that reads like fiction, you can’t go wrong with anything by Jon Krakauer.