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5 fantastic books for guys who don't like to read
Put down the remote and pick up one of these stellar 'guy approved' novels.
Guys, a word? I'd like to encourage you to read more. I don't mean the sports page or the ticker that's constantly running across the news channel; I'm talking fiction. Good fiction, not the dry, complicated stuff you were assigned in high school that put you off reading (looking at you, Moby Dick). There are lots of excellent novels out there packed with action, adventure, bravery in the face of impossible odds — all that good stuff. Below I've rounded up five books I think any guy would like. I'm a guy; I liked all of them. Actually I kind of loved them.
No money in the discretionary fund? No problem: Head to your local library for all the free books you can eat. They can also set you up with accounts for Libby and/or Hoopla (hopefully both), services that let you check out e-books and audiobooks alike. (Yes, audiobooks count as reading! Fight me.) Then you can read or listen on your phone or tablet.
Even better, go distraction-free by choosing one of the best e-readers. I know that when I fire up the Kindle app on my phone, it can be hard to concentrate on the book because of constant texts, notifications and the like. An e-reader lets you skim pages in peace.
While you're at it, consider installing Library Extension in your desktop web browser. When you shop books at Amazon, it'll let you know if print and/or digital copies are available from your local library — very handy.
OK, here are my top books for guys who don't like to read. (Still not convinced? Check out all these benefits of reading fiction.)
Before writer David Benioff went off to work on a little show called Game of Thrones (maybe you've heard of it?), he wrote this novel about two young men in war-torn Russia. It has everything: guns and bombs and impossible missions and ... eggs? Yeah, eggs. It's quite funny in places, but also pretty raw in others. Lev and Kolya are the best mismatched duo since Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. I defy you not to love City of Thieves.
Andy Weir writes some of the most accessible (and enjoyable) science fiction out there. Exhibit A: The Martian, which runs this book a close second in terms of relentlessly entertaining reads. All you need to know: Earth is doomed, and the only hope is one man, one mission. There's a reason this was a New York Times No. 1 bestseller for nine weeks, and a reason it's headed to the big screen starring Ryan Gosling. By the way, the audiobook version of this is especially spectacular.
Don't judge a book by its title. It may not scream "manly," but this story of four Depression-era orphans on the run is full of surprising twists, daring escapes and harrowing mishaps. A river runs through it all, calling to mind the adventures of one Huck Finn. Seriously, guys, don't be thrown by the word "Tender." This book could just as easily be called This Unputdownable-Page-Turner Land.
If City of Thieves whetted your appetite for historical fiction, look no further than Anthony Doerr's dazzling World War II thriller. A blind girl in bombed-out Paris, a young German soldier with a penchant for radios — how will their stories possibly intertwine? Just talking about it makes me want to go back and read it again; it's that good.
Reason #38 we need small, independent bookstores like The Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor, MI: personal recommendations. I walked in asking for something a little less heavy than what I'd been reading lately. The clerk handed me The Guncle, and while it definitely has some heavy themes in it, it's also lighthearted and charming and hilarious. Insightful, too, with ruminations on parenting and death and all that fun stuff.
Honorable mentions
If you're interested in some big, meaty two-handers, read 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster (and be prepared to take notes), Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr, The Overstory by Richard Powers and especially The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne (another one you shouldn't judge by its title). I won't say these are specifically "guy books" like the ones listed above, but they're sprawling, epic and beautifully written.
If fiction just isn't your bag, there's plenty of great non-fiction out there as well. Start with Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, the crazy-insane true story of an Olympic runner whose path to glory is interrupted by World War II. It's wrenching, brutal and an important reminder that if you think you're having a bad day ... you're not. (Everything is relative.)
Another fantastic survival story: Frozen in Time by Mitchell Zuckoff. It's like if the famed Shackleton expedition took place during World War II and involved a downed airplane instead of a stuck ship.
OK, guys, there's my list. If you're already a reader and have recommendations of your own to share, hit the comments section below!
