Manly Pages: East of Eden

A series where I’ll provide book recommendations specifically for men.

This is the final post in a trilogy dedicated to Steinbeck’s classic, East of Eden. Wednesday’s Words: Steinbeck & Novel Wisdom: Steinbeck & McCarthy

I decided very early in the year to tackle any books I had been putting off, specifically larger, thicker books. I’ve never liked picking up giant books to read. It seems so daunting. You can read for hours and still only make a dent. There’s also the fear of getting started and realizing you don’t like it. I’ve never been one to just put a book down. I’ll torture myself for weeks with the same horrible story just to see how it ends.

But I made the decision it wasn’t going to stop me this time. So as I set off on this path I knew this book was sitting on my shelf. It was big, lumbering, and took up a mighty portion of space among the others. It just felt like an asteriod traveling through space that I knew I’d slam into at some point.

I picked it up and started. The pages turned slowly, but they still turned. There are some books that from the moment you begin, you can’t put down. This book felt more of an assignement, but was still just as rewarding. At first the story was confusing. Too many names, too many characteristics of each person that seemed unneccessary. Eventually they all became relevant. Names turned into stories and experiences that intertwined with others. He covers a range of manly topics from farming, prohibition, sin, spouses, man’s draw to the use of technology and innovation, love, loss, and the all-powerful relationship of father and son. Through all the dialogue and thoughts expressed you uncover so much of what makes Steinbeck a prolific American writer. He was one of the greats and should make an appearance on any man’s reading list at least just once. Here’s a few of my favorite quotes:

“A man so painfully in love is capable of self-torture beyond belief.”

“Man has a choice and it’s a choice that makes him a man.”

 

“You’re going to pass something down no matter what you do or if you do nothing. Even if you let yourself go fallow, the weeds will grow and the brambles. Something will grow.”

 

“No story has power, nor will it last, unless we feel in ourselves that it is true and true of us.”

 

“The Hebrew word, the word timshel – ‘Thou mayest’ – that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open…Why, that makes a man great…He can choose his course and fight it through and win…I have a new love for that glittering instrument, the human soul. It is a lovely and unique thing in the universe. It is always attacked and never destroyed – because ‘Thou mayest’.”

Manly Pages: Bond

A series where I’ll provide book recommendations specifically for men.

Most guys tend not to be big readers. I think that’s because a lot of men think of reading as a mix between Pride & Prejudice and The Notebook. And it’s not their fault. It seems the majority of the books that make the leap to the silver screen are something like Eat, Pray, Love. But there’s one example of a series of movies that almost every man enjoys, that are rooted first in paperback.

Bond.

(I won’t say the obvious next two words that follow, but you can’t say them to yourself quietly if you need to.)

I’ve read several of the Bond novels by Ian Fleming and each have been great. I’m currently reading a different book right now, but On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is something I’ve been wanting to read for a long time. So much so, that it’s making read through my current book probably a little faster than I would otherwise.

 Of course like most people I first learned of James Bond through movies. It wasn’t until a few years ago that the thought of actually reading one of his novels came to mind. I wasn’t sure which book to read first so I started with the same one Ian Fleming started with, Casino Royale.

And it was good.

It didn’t read like a campy action movie from the ’60’s. It read like a spy novel, a great one. And Bond the character, not an actor’s portrayal of him, became one of my favorite characters of any book I’ve read.

After reading a few other books I found myself wanting more. So I picked up From Russia With Love. This one is considered by most to be the second best novel, behind Casino Royale. It was one of the first films made and said to be one of JFK’s favorite reads.

Over the years I continued to pepper in a few Bond books each year. They’re short and packed full of action, while still providing character development and great storytelling.

Pick up a few copies for yourself. They’ve been given new covers and a lower price. Check out the video below or click here:

If you liked this post you may also enjoy:

• My 18 of ’13
• Manly Pages: Covers
• Life’s Better as a Trilogy
• Books for Guys Who Like Movies

Manly Pages: London For a Buck

A series of book recommendations specifically for guys.

A lot of guys don’t read. That’s how this series began. A great place to start is with this guy. Most men know who Jack London was, but still haven’t read his works. He lived a full life and wore many hats. He just happened to be most successful at writing. Not to mention he had a killer name. If you haven’t had a chance to read some of his classics like The Call of the Wild or White Fang, you definitely should.

But most people completely forget about London’s short stories and one of the best being To Build a Fire. It’s a great, short read. You can easily kill some time by reading it on your phone in a waiting room or standing in line at the grocery store. Pick up a copy of all of these works for less than a buck a piece on Amazon. Get it, Buck? If you read TCOTW you would. Here’s an excerpt To Build a Fire:

“The trouble with him was that he was without imagination. He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significance.”

If you liked this post you may also enjoy:

• Novel Wisdom: London & Durham
• My 18 of ’13

Manly Pages: Covers

A series where I’ll provide book recommendations specifically for men.

Despite the well known saying, we all judge a book by it’s cover. I’ve talked about it here before. Whether I’m looking online or browsing the isles of a bookstore, covers help me decide what I’m going to read. If it’s yellow and red and says Eat, Pray, Love I’m passing that one up. But if it has a wheat field on fire and says Cities of the Plain I’m reading the back flap.

So here’s a few covers that caught my eye. They each have a masculine feel and made me think of this series. There may be several different covers available for the books below, but these are the ones I prefer.

1. Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West – Desert tracks leading to a lonely covered wagon creates imagery that comes close to matching the mystery of this epic novel. (artwork by Richard Adelson)
2. Casino Royale – Is there anything that symbolizes the classy work of a spy like a poker chip? This book is the reason why the two go together. (via Thomas & Mercer)
3. Hatchet  – With just a few images you know immediately this book is going to be good. A boy, a wolf, a hatchet, and endless wilderness are elements that would cause any man to grab this one off the shelf. (via Aladdin Paperbacks)
4. A Painted House – While the scene is simple, the tones of it are not. Only showing the portion of what appears to be a very plain house creates a feeling that there’s more to this situation that can be seen at first glance. Combine that with the name of this prolific author and it is sure to grab attention. (cover by Patti Ratchford & Shasti O’Leary)
5. The Pearl – The beach, a man concealing his treasure, and a knife in the sand automatically gets the mind creating all sorts of plots. Not to mention how slim this book really is make it one that will attract the eye of any guy looking for something to read. (artwork via Penguin)
6. Woe to Live On – This is the only book on the list that I haven’t read, but it’s on my list for a reason, the cover. I’ve read works from this author before so when he comes out with a book that reminds me of the classic scene from Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid it was only a matter of time before I checked it out.

These all appear to be great books and that’s what a good cover is supposed to do. The images here looked like they were aiming to be read by a guy. Because of that they may be destined to live next to a toilet bowl for a few weeks.

Manly Pages: A New Series

A series where I’ll provide book recommendations specifically for men.

I’ve mentioned several times about how difficult it is for guys to find book recommendations. Most best-seller lists are dominated by women’s books and young adult fiction. So unless you’re a man who enjoys reading Eat Pray Love while taking a dip in a bubble bath or steaming it up with 50 Shades of Gray, you might have a hard time finding the right book for you.

To change that I’ve created this new series of posts to present books I think guys should read and would actually enjoy. These aren’t going to be girly books. These are books that you won’t want to put down. Ones with masculine storylines that will leave you wondering how you would compare to the characters you read.

The Classic

• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway– This is one of Hemingway’s best and tells a story of regret despite living a life most all would enjoy. Travel with friends and good food but still riddled with the angst of the Lost Generation. This story has unforgettable characters as Hemingway always had a knack of producing.

The Vintage

• The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy– Think Peter & the Wolf meets Tombstone. This book is the second of “The Border Trilogy” series. Few things are more manly than a man and his horse. This is the story of a boy trapper turned traveler and the encounters he has out West. This book will have you combing the pages quickly to see what happens next then cause you to pause and think on what you just read. A great work that barely outshadows some of McCarthy’s other classics.

The New

• Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward – I had my doubts about this book; A story written about a girl and her family living outside New Orleans. Those doubts were erased quickly. There’s a reason this won The National Book Award. This story is powerful and holds no punches. I provided a highlight of the book below. Here a boy is whispering to his beloved dog before sending her into a dogfight;

Skeetah’s tongue darts out of his mouth and a razor I did not know he had in his cheek flips out and over the tip of his tongue before he sucks it all back inside. He is reciting something, and he is saying it so fast that it sounds like he is singing it. China White, he breathes, my China. Like bleach, China, hitting and turning them red and white, China. Like coca, China, so hard they breathe you up and they nose bleed, China. Make them runny, China, make insides outsides, China, make them think they snorted the razor, China. Leave them shaking, China, make them love you, China, make them need you, China, make them know even though they want to they can’t live without you, China. My China, he mumbles: make them know, make them know, make them know.

There’s my three recommendations. Pick these books up and see how long it takes you to put them down.

If you liked this post you may also enjoy:

• Books for Guys Who Like Movies
• Novel Wisdom:London and Durham
• The Gist of the List