Since most people who work in libraries are female, you would think it might be harder to help the male reader. But I’ve never had trouble making recommendations to men. There are certain authors whose names just always come up. So here’s a short summary.
One writer whose name is frequently mentioned (by both men and women, actually) is the wildly-popular Michael Con-nelly. He’s best-known for his police procedurals featuring Harry Bosch. If this name sounds familiar it may be because of the Amazon Prime series called “Bosch,” which is based on Connelly’s stories. Bosch is a Vietnam veteran and a sort of lone wolf with the LAPD. He always gets the job done but often with unforeseen personal consequences. I highly recommend any title by Connelly. If you want to start at the beginning of Bosch’s long history, start with “The Concrete Blonde” and then go to “Black Echo.” Similar authors to investigate are Lee Child, John Sandford, and Jonathan Kellerman.
For those who like stories that lean more toward historical fiction there are two outstanding authors that come to mind -Wilbur Smith and Bernard Cornwell. Cornwell writes of early Medieval English history (Chronicles of Uhtred series) and also the Napoleonic age. He also has an American Civil War series (Starbuck). In all cases we find strong characters amid the major historical struggles of their times. Wilbur Smith’s special area of interest is South Africa during the Apartheid period. His saga of several generations of the Courtney family starts in the 1860’s and comes into the 20th Century. A book which I read and enjoyed because of its archeological background was “The Sunbird.” You can find a huge number of his stories depicting different parts of the world and different periods of history. Those who enjoy Smith might also try Stephen Coonts, Jeffrey Archer, and John Jakes.
Tom Clancy practically invented the CIA/military thriller. His first book was “The Hunt for Red October,” a huge commercial success. Before his death in 2013 many other titles followed, several of them becoming action movies. Very few females read these books but lots of men swear by them. Read-alikes for Clancy are Dean Ing, John Nance, David Baldacci, Vince Flynn, and Brad Thor.
Southern-born John Grisham is another author whose books often make it to the big screen. Grisham is a lawyer, so almost all his stories have some legal question at their center. Grisham so loves the 20th-century South that it almost seems that the settings themselves are another character in his stories (if that makes sense). Both men and women enjoy his titles such as “The Last Juror,” “The Firm,” and “Sycamore Row.” My favorite is “A Time to Kill.” For similar authors, try David Baldacci, Brad Meltzer, and John Lescroart.
Finally, I’ll mention a “guy” author whose stories fall more on the lighter side. Elmore Leonard writes of gangsters, mobsters, con men, and women of easy virtue. His language is not for the faint of heart (here’s a hint: the movie “Pulp Fiction” comes from one of his stories), and the murders he depicts are sometimes not for the faint of stomach. The cable series “Justified” is one of his incarnations. Read-alikes for Leonard include Carl Hiassen, Mark Childress, Tim Dorsey, Nelson DeMille, Donald Westlake, and Ace Atkins. I hope these suggestions give you male readers a jumping-off point. Happy reading!
