Top 13 Books For Men Updated 04 /2024

This is a list of 30 must-read books that every man should read by the time he's an adult. They include works by Hemingway, Naipaul and Murakami (and why).

If you haven't read all of them, don't be too ashamed. They're all good. We'll let you have until the end of the week.

Less Than Zero - Bret Easton Ellis

A group of narcissistic, rich Hollywood kids spend their time taking drugs, drinking, and having sex in the back of their cars. What you want your youth to be like, in general. A story of overindulgence and, of course, destruction.

Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris

Thought your life was hard? Sedaris was born in North Carolina, USA, and grew up gay, Greek, and with a lisp. He tells the story of his childhood through a series of funny essays. I think it's worth it just for the short, clever one-liners on their own.

A House for Mr Biswas - V.S. Naipaul

When A House for Mr. Biswas came out in 1961, its author was only 28 years old. Even more impressive than that is the novel's boldness and wit; it's "mind-boggling." We follow Mohun Biswas, a Hindu Indian living in Trinidad and Tobago, as he deals with marriage, parenting, human pettiness (especially his own), and fate in his search for self-determination. This is based on Naipaul's own father, who was a Hindu Indian. (Oh, and Naipaul started writing it when he was just 25).

Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami

Everyone should read at least one book by Murakami. This is one of the best. The Beatles song that this book is named after makes Toru think back to when he was a student in the 1960s and he was against the status quo. A lesson from his relationship with Naoko, who is both beautiful and broken, is that love isn't based on emotional needs.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kessey

A paranoid schizophrenic who is in an asylum tells a story that is full of racial tension, sexual repression, and questions how the mentally ill are cared for. He wrote this after taking LSD. It's clear…

Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's third novel, which was published in 2013, won the National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award. It's about two high school sweethearts in Nigeria who go their separate ways when they move to the U.S. and Britain to start new lives. They reconnect (or not) years later. But the real power of the book comes from Adichie's very specific observations about race in the modern world.

The Picture Of Dorian Grey - Oscar Wilde

In this book, hedonism, vanity, and the selfishness of youth are all very important, and they all come up a lot. Wilde is the original cocky upstart. His precocious wit is also a good lesson in how to make people angry.

The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock - T. S. Eliot

"No! I'm not Prince Hamlet, and I wasn't meant to be Prince Hamlet at all "– There are a few poems that every man should read, even if he doesn't like poetry. Eliot's stream-of-consciousness rant about the frustrations and disappointments of modern life is one of them.

The Satanic Verses - Salman Rushdie

The book that caused the most debate in literature today. Rushie went into hiding for more than a decade because of a fatwa that was made because of critical references to the Prophet Mohammed. This is what happened. This book looks at a man who can't choose between Eastern and Western cultures, and he moves between times and places.

The Secret History - Donna Tartt

Secrets, murder, and conspiracy are the heart of this story about a group of elite Classics students who have a lot of fun with each other. Theme: It shows how people who are young and insecure can be easily fooled.

Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut

He was a German prisoner of war when the Allies bombed Dresden, and he was there when it happened. Vonnegut's most famous book talks about how he was there when it happened. Also, time-shifting is a part of this weird story, which gives us a glimpse into one of the most important events in recent history.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Díaz

Oscar is a second-generation Dominican who lives in New Jersey. He is a nerdy fat kid who likes comics and sci-fi, and he has a lot of weight. He is a good example of the misunderstood outsider because he can't show off the machismo that is expected of boys in the Latin community. Then, haven't we?

The Fall - Albert Camus

A Parisian barrister talks about how he lost everything he had. He is an advocate for the less fortunate, but he doesn't do anything when he hears a woman fall to her death on a river bank. One of the most important things we think about is how we want to be seen by other people.

My Struggle - Karl Ove Knausgaard

You might think that reading Karl Ove Knausgaard's six-volume semi-autobiographical novels would be difficult on your own. But because of the Norwegian author's well-known style, which is forensically detailed, brutally honest, and seemingly effortless, you'll be able to get through them in no time. All of life, love, sex, and death are here. Coffee, too. Coffee is everywhere.

The Golden Notebook - Doris Lessing

A look at Communism in the 1950s through the eyes of Anna Wulf, a radical left-winger in post-war Britain who thought a lot about the subject. Learn what it's like to be the enemy in your own country by reading.

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

 

An old man and his son go south to avoid the coming winter in a dark, post-apocalyptic world. I found this great story of fatherhood even though the words were so short that I couldn't read them!

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love - Raymond Carver

Fickle love and heartbreak aren't the only things that happen in the years from 0-30. People have conversations over gin in this collection of short stories that are dark but important to read.

Generation X - Douglas Coupland

During the early 1980s, three friends who were stuck in dead-end "McJobs" grew up in California. The best post-graduation book for people who don't know what to do with their lives.

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Yes, this is the Great American Novel, but... The debate is still going on! The movie captures the decadence of the Twenties while telling the story of a man who has tried to change himself in order to win back the woman he loves. If you ever tried to find your first love too much, this is something you can relate to! Any bells ring?

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

Any young man who likes The Catcher in the Rye should read Plath's book, which tells the same story from a woman's point of view. In this beautiful story, a young woman is on the edge of adulthood and is having problems with her mental health.

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