In my last post, I wrote about the many reasons men don’t read fiction. For many men it comes down to one reason: they believe they can learn more from a work of non-fiction than from a novel, which, as we all know, is made up.
So, as a sort of public service announcement dedicated to all fictionally-challenged men, I offer not just one but twenty-five reasons why men should read fiction.
To entice men to crack open a novel and to prove they can actually learn many essential things from reading a made-up story, here’s my list of the top 25 sometimes painful but always manly and very useful things men can learn from fiction. (Okay, from reading my novel Sons and Fathers.)
The top 25 things men can learn from reading Sons and Fathers:
- How to woo your future wife
- How to start your career and land your dream job
- How to be a best friend
- How to support your wife while she gives birth
- How to give a speech
- How to cope with getting a vasectomy
- How to swear
- How to be a good son
- How to win a gunfight when you’re grossly outnumbered
- How to manage your time most effectively
- How to look your best on TV
- How to stave off aging and stay in shape
- How to cope with working in an open office environment
- How to deal with rejection
- How to make stuff up
- How to win (an election, a chess game, at life, whatever)
- How to master social media
- How to be a great leader/and hire the best people
- How to conduct yourself if you ever find yourself in a book club
- Where to urinate publicly in Rome
- How to manage a crisis
- How to deal with the death of your father
- How to apologize (publicly if you have to)
- How to make, and keep, a vow
- How to write a book
Sons and Fathers offers practical, easy-to-follow tips on all of the above!
Daniel Goodwin 