What are the five to ten "Must Read Books" for every 35 year old male?

We seem to have similar tastes (and I must say, you have good taste!). So if you can accept the disclaimer that I am of the female persuasion and a few years younger than you, I believe that you'll enjoy many of the following recommendations.

1. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. If you haven't read it yet, run, don't walk, to your booksellers. I was transported everytime I picked it up and alien to my own body whenever I put the book down.

2. Everything by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He is wonderful and timeless. If he's new to you, begin with "Chronicles of a Death Foretold (novella) and then move to his larger works, "100 Years of Solitude" and "Love in the Time of Cholera."

3. Catch-22 and God Knows by Joseph Campbell. Laugh out loud funny and, in the case of Catch, equally heartbreaking at times.

4. Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Every man by 30-something should have read her books. You may decide to love her or hate her when you're done, but apathy is not an option and either way she will challenge the core of your beliefs.

5. The Alchemist. It's philosophy-lite, but oh so charming.

6. If you had not already read John Irving, this is where I would have recommended him to you. I simply adore The World According to Garp. Instead, I'll say, "Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo. I just watched the movie last night and was reminded at how good the story is. Also, he was the inspiration of many (MANY) modern authors. It's like learning Latin to understand English better - go to the source.

7. Here's an usual one: movie scripts. Take your favorite movies and read their scripts. The Matrix. Star Wars. Lord of the Rings. You will be amazed (I was) at how good many of them are, and you get to experience some of your favorite stories with a whole new dimension. Good movie scripts read even faster and more fluidly than most books, because it focuses only on the action and atmosphere. I thought The Matrix script was especially good. You can find scripts just by googling them, but make sure you get the writer's original, not some fan's version.

8. Tolkein, C.S. Lewis, Issac Asimov and the rest of the usual suspects of fantasy and sci-fi. Every man should have read them by the time they're 18 or younger, so if you haven't already, you have some catching up to do.

9. The Peaceful Warrior. My brother is your age and this book helped shape him, along with many other young men. It is inspiring, philosophical and at your age, you should be ready for the spiritual journey.

10. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. This has been mentioned by my male friends as one of the most inspiring and influential books they have ever read (the other is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand). When I was reading it I must have been stopped a dozen times in airports and subways by people who just had to tell me that the book changed their lives.

Happy reading to you!

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Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, forget authors

The Taming of the Shrew - Wm. Shakespeare

Moby Dick

Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand

All Quiet on the Western Front

The Snows of Mt. Kilimanjaro - Hemingway

Gone With the Wind

The Shining - S. King

2001, A Space Odyssey

I'm female, but from what you have said I'm pretty sure you would like these few

No Country for old Men by Cormack McCarthy

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Devil in the White City by Eric Larson

In Cold Blood - Truman Capote

See if you can find the May 2007 issue of GQ magazine (it has Stephen Colbert on the cover). Inside is a list of "new" classics every man should read (or so "they" say).

Speaking from personal experience, 4 recent favorites I've read in the last year are:

"The Road" - McCarthy

"Gilead" - Robinson

"The Year of Magical Thinking" - Didion

"The Book of Lost Things" - Connolly

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

The Children of Men by P.D. James

...I'm in the middle of Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, and absolutely love it...

Don't know if these are what you would call literary classics, but they are very good reads:

Little Big Man by Thomas Berger

Roots by Alex Haley

Lauchlin of the Bad Heart by D.R. MacDonald

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

Hawaii by James Michener

Forrest Gump by Winston Groom

enjoy!

See if you might like any of these:

McCarthy - The Road

McCarthy - All the Pretty Horses (it really is guy fiction)

Robbins - Jitterbug Perfume

Moon - Speed of Dark (not really sci fi like it is classified)

Miller - Canticle for Leibowitz

Bissinger - Friday Night Lights

Palahniuk - Fight Club

Toole - Confederacy of Dunces

Bowden - Black Hawk Down

Abby - Monkey Wrench Gang

Might not think thisis true but Harry Potter is HONESTLY a must read for every human being on the face of the Earth. I am serious.

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