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The mere thought of the syllabus from your Intro to American
Literature class might make you shudder. But college was a long
time ago—and chances are, your tastes and habits have changed
considerably since then. For starters, it’s cool to read for pleasure now,
and you don’t have to zip through an entire novel the night
before your mid-term. Plus, your professors assigned those classics
for a reason: they’re really good—and chock full of important
lessons that can guide you through life. Here, some of the country’s
top literary scholars and authors offer up their picks for the
timeless books that deserve a second read.
1. The Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald is best known for his iconic work, The Great Gatsby , but
Kirk Curnutt, a professor at Troy University, says this collection—
specifically “Head and Shoulders,” “The Offshore Pirate,” and “The
Diamond as Big as the Ritz”—contains some of the author’s best
advice. “Fitzgerald has a whole romantic side that men can really
enjoy,” Curnutt says. “He teaches men about the need to be
interesting and dynamic. It’s the idea of winning someone over—
that performance goes into romance.”
2. The Border Trilogy , Cormac McCarthy
Try All the Pretty Horses first, which suggests that your fantasies
aren’t as great as they seem. “All men dream of being cowboys, and
all men should be disabused of their dreams,” says Curnutt.
3. The Things They Carried , Tim O’Brien
“This is certainly the best modern book for me,” says Jay Parini, a
novelist and poet whose works include The Last Station . “It’s about
a group of foot soldiers on patrol through the jungles of Vietnam. I
can’t imagine a more profoundly interesting or compelling book for
a young man to read.”
4. Walden , Henry David Thoreau
Parini calls Walden —which chronicles Thoreau’s journey to live a
simple life in solitude—“the most deeply spiritual book I can
imagine.” It’s a story full of wisdom, Parini says, and he likens it to
another American classic. “It’s really Thoreau’s personal
Declaration of Independence .”
5. My Antonia, Willa Cather
Cather’s 1918 novel is a story about the lives and relationships of
an immigrant family in America. The main character, Jim Burden, is
a successful businessman, but has a few holes in his personal life
that need filling. (Sound familiar?) “It’s a very subtle book in which
the details matter,” says Alfred Bendixen, Ph.D, executive director
of the American Literature Association and professor at Texas A&M
University.
6. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin , Benjamin Franklin
The Founding Father’s autobiography “shows us we can reinvent
ourselves,” says Bendixen. Franklin draws from his life to teach you
how to “be creative, rise economically, live an inventive and
creative life, and develop bold humor.” Thanks, Ben.
7. The Nick Adams Stories, Ernest Hemingway
“These are all stories of Hemingway’s alter-ego,” says Curnutt. “He
goes through war and deals with relationships. A lot of the stories
are about men’s sense of ritual and institution, and finding one’s
place in nature.”
8. Little Women , Louisa May Alcott
This female coming-of-age novel might be the hardest sell, but
Curnutt thinks every man should read it. “It gives an anatomy and
classification of different types of women,” says Curnutt. “There are
four very different sisters, and each one represents stereotypes of
women that men meet every day—and it breaks those stereotypes.
Men see from a woman’s point-of-view the constrictions they used
to be brought up under, and get to understand their desires for a
profession, what they want from a relationship, and more.”
9. Grapes of Wrath , John Steinbeck
Steinbeck’s best-known book experiments with structure, telling its
story in alternate chapters. “The basic idea is not to show just the
struggles of one family, but of all poor people in America during
the Great Depression,” says Curnutt. “There is real poetry to it. It
expresses an empathy and solidarity that we need to have for the
poor.”
10. Sanctuary, William Faulkner
Faulkner’s Southern Gothic novel about a scumbag who abandons
his girlfriend in a time of need “encourages men to learn what kind
of man you don’t want to be,” says Curnutt. “It’s a harsh critique of
entitlement some men have for simply being a man.”
Culled from mens health
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