A host of websites and blogs have posted lists of books every man should read. These selections, and a handout with more recommended titles, are available at the Lititz Public Library.
The Great Bridge by David McCullough
The building of the Brooklyn Bridge is a story of greed, corruption, optimism, heroism and determination.
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Interviews with Jobs, his friends, family, competitors and colleagues reveal an intense personality that revolutionized personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, and digital publishing.
Deliverance by James Dickey
A canoe trip in the remote Georgia wilderness turns from adventure to horror for four men when one becomes a human hunter.
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
A nameless narrator describes growing up in a black community in the South and moving to New York where he confronts the intellectual and social issues facing African Americans in the mid-20th century.
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain
A satire set in Texas during the war in Iraq explores the disconnection between the war at home and the war abroad.
Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin
The love story between a middle-aged Irishman and a young girl who is dying begins when the man attempts to rob a Manhattan mansion only to find the daughter of the house at home.
Dune by Frank Herbert
The son of a betrayed duke given up for dead on a treacherous desert planet is adopted by its fierce, nomadic people who help unravel the young man’s most unexpected destiny.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
In war-torn Afghanistan, an unlikely friendship develops between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
A father and son walk alone through post-apocalyptic America with only a pistol to defend themselves against lawless bands that stalk the road.
Saturday by Ian McEwan
A successful neurosurgeon and family-man is at ease in his comfortable home and in the operating room but finds the world outside unpredictable.
Watchmen by Alan Moore
Graphic novel chronicles the fall from grace of a group of super-heroes plagued by all-too-human failings.
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
Twenty-two short pieces depict the men of Alpha Company and their relationships, isolation, loneliness, rage and fear during a tour in Vietnam.
A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor
A man intends to take his family from Georgia to Florida for a summer vacation but his mother shows him a news article about an escaped serial killer heading in the same direction.
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
An architect battles against a mindless status quo and fights corruption in order to create buildings according to his own standards.
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
In 1956, toward the end of his life, a minister begins a letter to his young son recounting his life and the story of ancestors who left New England for Kansas to fight for abolition during the Civil War.
The Human Stain by Philip Roth
In 1998, an aging classics professor with a secret is forced to retire when his colleagues charge that he is a racist.
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
A man who decided to end his life based on the flip of a coin, is rescued by a Muslim butcher and given another chance at life.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Centered on the WWII firebombing of Dresden, this anti-war classic follows a young man searching for meaning in life.
February 12, 2016