What it's all about...

The purpose of this blog is simple: Reading

My friends and me used to get immense joy from reading great books, sharing them, and maybe discussing them over a few beers. We no longer live in close proximity and for most of us free time comes at a premium.

This year, I have made it a personal goal of mine to turn off the TV and read more. I got through 3 books pretty quickly and realized that I wanted "that old thing back" - that community of being able to share these great books with others, so the blog was born.

If you see a book review and the book sounds interesting and you want to purchase the book, you can do so by directly linking to Amazon.com through a text link on the book title. I will be donating all proceeds (probably .15 this year) to Reading Is Fundamental (
http://www.rif.org/).

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Average American Male


The Average American Male: A Novel
By Chad Kultgen

Book Reporter: Joelman

This book was recommended to me by my good friend Steak, who picked up the paperback in an airport bookstore. He handed the book to me rather surreptitiously in front of his apt in the Marina with one stern piece of advice: DON'T LET YOUR WIFE READ THIS BOOK OR EVEN READ OVER YOUR SHOLDER.

Our un-named protagonist is caught in a power struggle of trying to satisfy his basic sexual needs with a girlfriend who is more interested in taking the relationship towards marriage (and less and less interested in being adventurous). This is the story of the "everyman" who yearns to maintain the spontanaeity and freshness that exists early on in the relationship. We follow our protagonist through the intimate details of his inner monologue as he finds himself get sucked in further and further away from what he truly wants. His disdain for his girlfriend grows as she further digs in her heels to keep the relationship moving towards her desired direction.

Bottom line: This book is hilarious with a few exciting twists and turns that will keep you reading. Chad keeps it simple which makes this book a pleasure to read. Additionally, he writes short chapters - which allows the reader to read a chapter whenever a few spare minutes reveal themselves.

Recommendation: MUST READ

1 comment:

Steak said...

I picked this book up in the Detriot Airport between flights. I was flying from Roanoke, Va. to San Fran. This book and the one right next to it stared me right in the face. I purchased both and dug into this one first. This book griped me right from the start. I nearly finished it on the flight. Think Richard Price meets Charles Bukowski meets Norman Mailer meets Bret Easton Ellis. Never let your lady see this book. It's very dangerous. Very very dangerous.