for father’s day, lazy weekends or summer trips…
There are plenty of beach reading options for male readers (and women too!). Psychological thrillers and essays, biographies, and nonfiction from New York Times favorite authors, scientists, filmmakers, award winners, corporate executives, and storytellers! choose some to read for pleasure, to escape from reality and learn from them.
Take Your Breath Away by Linwood Barclay
You are reading: Top books for men 2022
From the new york times bestselling author of find you first and elevator pitch, comes a gripping psychological thriller about a formerly missing woman who suddenly returns under mysterious circumstances.one weekend, While Andrew Mason was on a fishing trip, his wife, Brie, disappeared without a trace. Almost everyone assumed that Andy had gotten away with the murder (he’s always her husband, isn’t he?), but the police were never able to build a solid case against him. For a while, Andy hit rock bottom: he drank too much to numb the pain, was dumped by all of his friends except one, nearly lost his business, and became an outcast in the place he once called home. Now, six years later, Andy has finally put his life back together. He sold the house he once shared with Brie and moved out. to tell the truth, he wasn’t saddened to learn that the old place was torn down and a new house was built on the site. He’s settled down with a new partner, Jayne, and life is good, but Andy’s peaceful world is about to be shattered. One day, a woman shows up at his old address and yells, “Where is my house? what happened to my house? And then, as suddenly as she appeared, the woman, who bears a striking resemblance to Brie, is gone. the police are notified and old questions and dark suspicions resurface. is it possible that brie is really alive after all these years? if so, where has she been? It soon becomes clear that Andy’s future and the lives of those close to her depend on finding out what the hell is going on. the trick will be whether he can stay alive long enough to discover the answers.
City of Orange by David Yoon
A man who can’t remember his own name wakes up in an apocalyptic landscape, hurt and alone. he has vague memories of the previous life, but he cannot see it clearly and cannot understand how his current situation came to be. he must learn to survive by finding water sources and searching for food. then he meets a boy and realizes that nothing is what he thought it was, neither the past nor the present. Orange City is a novel that is both heartbreaking and moving, charged with speculative energy but grounded in intimate character study. it is a novel about facing the worst that has happened to us and finding our way home again. penetrating, at times funny and challenging, and at all times deeply human.
How the World Really Works by Vaclav Smil
We’ve never had so much information at our fingertips, and yet most of us don’t know how the world really works. This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities that govern our survival and prosperity. From energy and food production, to our material world and its globalization, to risks, our environment and its future, How the World Really Works offers a much-needed reality check, because before we can tackle the problems effectively, we must understand the facts.
In this ambitious and thought-provoking book, we see, for example, that globalization is not inevitable: the dangers of allowing 70% of the world’s rubber gloves to be made in a single factory became apparent in 2020, and that our societies have progressively increased their dependence on fossil fuels, making their complete and rapid elimination unlikely. for example, each greenhouse tomato purchased in a supermarket requires the equivalent of five tablespoons of diesel for its production; and we still lack commercially viable ways to make steel, ammonia, cement, or plastics on the globally required scale without fossil fuels.
vaclav smil is neither pessimistic nor optimistic, he is a scientist; he is the world’s leading energy expert and an amazing scholar. this is his magnum opus and a continuation of his quest to make facts matter. Drawing on the latest science, including his own fascinating research, and tackling sources of disinformation head-on, from Yuval Noah Harari to Noam Chomsky, Smil ultimately answers the deepest question of our age: are we irrevocably doomed or A brighter utopia awaits us? Compelling, data-rich, and revisionist, this wonderfully comprehensive interdisciplinary masterpiece finds fault with both ends. Looking at the world through this quantitative lens reveals hidden truths that change the way we view our past, present, and uncertain future.
If Nothing Changes Nothing Changes: The Nick Donofrio Story by Nick Donofrio with Michael DeMarco
guiseppe d’onofrio emigrated to america in 1904 and became a milliner in beacon, new york’s italian ghetto. His third son, Nicholas Joseph Donofrio, served as an aircraft mechanic in World War II and returned home to become a guard at a hospital for the criminally insane. Nicholas’s son, nick donofrio, grew up to lead IBM as executive vice president of innovation and technology. if nothing changes, nothing changes is a powerful testament to our ability as human beings to drive transformation, not just within the realm of technology but across generations. With heart and candor, Donofrio explains how he led IBM’s global technical team in taking a market-centric approach that redefines innovation and sparks global collaboration for a new big blue. Featuring cameos from interviews with luminaries like Sam Palmisano, Jon Rubinstein, Lisa Su, Bernard Charles, Linda Sanford, Vic Reis, and Paul Horn, this unique autobiography will change everything you think you know about what it means to forge the cutting edge of technology. p>
Every Cloak Rolled in Blood by James Lee Burke
In his most autobiographical novel to date, James Lee Burke continues the epic saga of the Holland family with a writer grieving the death of his daughter while battling outlaws both earthly and supernatural.the novelist Aaron Holland Broussard is devastated when his daughter Fannie Mae dies suddenly. As he tries to honor their memory by saving two young men from a life of crime in the midst of their opioid-ravaged community, he finds himself embroiled in a web of villainy that includes a violent ex-clan member, an unholy minister, a motorcycle club . posing as evangelicals and a killer who has been hiding in plain sight. Aaron’s only ally is state police officer Ruby Spotted Horse, a no-nonsense woman hiding some powerful secrets in her basement. Despite the air of mystery that surrounds her, Ruby is the only one Aaron can trust. That is, until the ghost of Fannie Mae appears, guiding her father through a tangled web of past and present and helping him vanquish her enemies from both this world and the next. in blood is a devastating exploration of the nature of good and evil and a deeply moving story about the power of love and family.
Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe
from the award-winning new york times bestselling author of say nothing and the empire of pain, twelve gripping stories of trickery and intrigue written by one of the most decorated journalists of our time.patrick radden Keefe has garnered awards ranging from the National Magazine Award to the Orwell Award to the National Book Critics Circle Award for her meticulously informed and hypnotically engaging work on the many ways people misbehave. rogues brings together a dozen of his most famous items from the New Yorker. As Keefe says in his preface to it, “they reflect some of my abiding concerns: crime and corruption, secrets and lies, the permeable membrane that separates the licit and illicit worlds, family ties, the power of denial.” . keefe brilliantly explores the intricacies of counterfeiting $150,000 vintage wines, examines whether a whistleblower who dared expose money laundering at a swiss bank is a hero or a fabulist, spends time in vietnam with anthony bourdain, narrates the quest for take down a cheerful international black-market arms dealer, and profile a passionate death penalty advocate who represents “the worst of the worst,” among other bravura works of literary journalism. forms an always gripping yet deeply human portrait of criminals and scoundrels, as well as those who oppose them.
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Dear Papa: The Letters of Patrick and Ernest Hemingway
an insightful and intimate look at ernest hemingway as a father, revealed through a selection of letters he and his son patrick exchanged over twenty years.in the public imagination, ernest hemingway It looms larger than life, but the real person behind the legend has long remained elusive. Now, his son Patrick shares the letters they exchanged over two decades, offering a glimpse into how one of America’s most iconic writers interacted with his children. these letters reveal a father who wanted his children to share his interests (hunting, fishing, travel) and a son who was receptive to the experiences his father offered. Edited and featuring an introduction by Patrick Hemingway’s nephew Brendan Hemingway and his grandson Stephen Adams, and featuring a foreword and afterword by Patrick reflecting on his father’s legacy, Dear Papa is a loving and collaborative family project and portrait nuanced and fascinating of a father and son.
Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone
You think you know a person. . .ariel price wakes up in lisbon, alone. her husband is gone, without notice, without note, without answering her phone. Something’s wrong. She starts with hotel security, then the police, then the American embassy, to each of the questions she confronts she can’t quite answer: what exactly is john doing in lisbon? Why would he drag her on her business trip? who would want to hurt him? And why does Ariel know so little about her new husband, much younger than her? time flies. Ariel grows increasingly frustrated and desperate, her time is running out, and the only person in the world who can help her is the person she least wants to ask. she pushes and how far she will go when everything is in danger. With sparkling prose and sharp insights, bestselling author Chris Pavone delivers a surprising and sophisticated international thriller that will linger long after the shocking final page.
The Twilight World by Werner Herzog
The great filmmaker Werner Herzog, in his first novel, tells the incredible story of Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier who defended a small island in the Philippines for twenty-nine years after the end of the Second World War
In 1997, Werner Herzog was in Tokyo to conduct an opera. his hosts asked him, who would you like to meet? he replied instantly: hiroo onoda. Onoda was a former soldier famous for quixotically defending an island in the Philippines for decades after World War II, unaware that the fighting was over. herzog and onoda developed an instant rapport and met many times, talking for hours and together unraveling the story of onoda’s long war.
in late 1944, on lubang island in the philippines, with japanese troops about to withdraw, lieutenant hiroo onoda received orders from his superior officer: hold the island until the return of the imperial army. you must defend their territory with guerrilla tactics, at all costs. . . . there is only one rule. you are forbidden to die by your own hand. in the event that the enemy captures you, you should give them as much misleading information as you can. Thus began Onoda’s long campaign, during which he became fluent in the hidden language of the jungle. soon the weeks turned into months, the months into years, and the years into decades, until finally time itself seemed to vanish. Meanwhile, Onoda continued to wage his fictional war, both surreal and tragic, at first with other soldiers and then eventually alone, as a character in a novel of his own creation.
In the Twilight World, Herzog immortalizes and imagines Onoda’s years of absurd yet epic struggle in an inimitable, hypnotic style – part documentary, part poem, part dream – that fans of his films will instantly recognize. The result is a completely stand-alone novel, a kind of modern Robinson Crusoe tale: a brilliant, dancing meditation on the purpose and meaning we give to our lives.
Sparring Partners by John Grisham
“homecoming” takes us back to ford county, the fictional setting of many of john grisham’s unforgettable stories. Jake Brince is back, but he’s not in the courtroom. He is called in to help an old friend, Mack Stafford, a former attorney in Clanton, who three years earlier became a local legend when he stole money from his clients, divorced his wife, declared bankruptcy, and left his family behind. in the middle of the night, never heard from again, until now. Now Mack is back, and he relies on his old friends Jake and Harry Rex to help him get back. his return to his house does not go as planned.
In Strawberry Moon, we meet Cody Wallace, a young man on death row just three hours before his execution. his lawyers can’t save him, the courts slam the door and the governor says no to a last-minute clemency request. As the clock ticks down, Cody has one last request.
The “sparring partners” are Malloy brothers, Kirk and Rusty, two successful young lawyers who inherited a once-thriving firm when its founder, their father, was sent to prison. Kirk and Rusty hate each other and talk to each other only when necessary. As the company falls apart, the resulting fiasco falls into the hands of Diantha Bradshaw, the only person the partners trust. Will she be able to save the malloys or will she take a stand for the first time in her career and try to save herself?
Suspenseful, hilarious, powerful and moving at the same time, these three novels are some of the best stories John Grisham has ever told.
Tree Thieves by Lyndsie Bourgon
A gripping account of the billion-dollar black market in timber, and how it intersects with environmentalism, class, and culture.In Tree Thieves, Lyndsie Bourgeon takes us to the most deep illegal timber market. As he tracks three cases of timber poaching, he introduces us to tree poachers, law enforcement, forensic timber specialists, enigmatic residents of former logging communities, environmental activists, international timber cartels, and indigenous communities along the way. Mature trees are invaluable and irreplaceable to both humans and wildlife, and are the oldest living things on earth. But the morality of tree poaching is not as simple as we might think: tree poaching is a deeply embedded form of protest and a side effect of preserving and protecting the environment that does not include communities that have been uprooted or marginalized. when the park boundaries are drawn. As Bourgeon discovers, failing to include working class and rural communities in preserving these amazing ecosystems can lead to catastrophic results. Featuring excellent investigative reporting, fascinating characters, logging history, political analysis, and cutting-edge tree science, Tree Thieves takes readers on a thrilling journey into the intrigue, crime, and incredible complexity that lurks beneath the forest canopy.
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Look Closer by David Ellis
From the award-winning bestselling author comes a fast-paced, wickedly clever novel about greed, revenge, obsession, and quite possibly the perfect murder.Simon and Vicky couldn’t seem more normal : a wealthy couple of chicago, he a respected law professor, she an advocate for victims of domestic violence. a stable marriage, albeit boring. But one thing is for sure… absolutely nothing is what it seems. the pair is far from normal, and one of them may be a murderer. When the body of a beautiful socialite is found hanging in a mansion in a nearby suburb, Simon and Vicky’s secrets begin to unravel. a whirlwind secret affair. a twenty million dollar trust fund about to expire. a decades-long grudge and an obsession with revenge. these are just some of the lies that make up the complex web… and they will have devastating consequences. And while both Vicky and Simon are liars, who exactly is cheating on whom? part missing girl, part strangers on a train, take a closer look is a wild roller coaster of a read that will have you questioning everything you think you know.
Happy Go-Lucky David Sedaris
David Sedaris, the “Champion Storyteller” (Los Angeles Times) returns with his first new collection of personal essays since the best-selling Calypso.
back when restaurant menus were still printed on paper and wearing a mask, or not, was a decision made mainly on halloween, david sedaris spent his time doing normal things. As the carefree begins, he’s learning to shoot guns with his sister, visiting muddy flea markets in Serbia, buying gummy worms to feed the ants, and telling his nonagenarian father wheelchair jokes. but then the pandemic hits, and so many others, he’s on lockdown, unable to tour and read for the public, the part of his job that he loves the most. to cope, he walks miles through a nearly deserted city, smelling only his own breath. he vacuums his apartment twice a day, failing to put anything away and contemplating how the sex workers and acupuncturists will get by during quarantine. As the world gradually settles into a new reality, Sedaris finds itself changed as well. his offer to fix a stranger’s teeth is rejected, he straightens his own and ventures out into the world with a newfound confidence. newly orphaned, he considers what it means, in his seventh decade, to stop being someone’s child. And back on the road, he discovers an America scarred by battle: tired people, empty storefronts or festooned with “help wanted” signs, graffiti-painted walls reflecting the mixed messages of our time: eat the rich. trump 2024. black lives matter. In a nonchalant, David Sedaris once again captures what is most unexpected, hilarious, and poignant in these recent upheavals, personal and public, expressing in precise language both the misanthropy and the desire for connection that drives us all. If you have to live in interesting times, no one better to narrate them than the incomparable David Sedaris.
Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World by Barry Lopez
An urgent and deeply moving nonfiction capstone from the national book award-winning author arctic dreams and horizon, a literary icon whose writing, fieldwork, and mentorship inspired generations of writers and activists.
one of the most anticipated books of 2022-lit hub, bookpage
An ardent steward of the land, an intrepid traveler, and an unparalleled observer of nature and culture, Barry Lopez died after a long illness on Christmas Day 2020. The previous summer, a wildfire had consumed much of of what was dear to him back home and the community around him, a tragic reminder of the climate change he had long warned about.
At once a cri de coeur and a memoir of pain and wonder, this remarkable collection of essays adds indelibly to lópez’s legacy and includes previously unpublished works, some written in the months before his death. They reveal both personal and political memories, including tender, sometimes painful, stories of his childhood in New York City and California, reports of expeditions to study animals and marine life, recollections of trips to Antarctica and other extraordinary places in the world. earth, and meditations on finding yourself in the midst of vast and dramatic landscapes. he reflects on those who taught him, including indigenous elders and scientific mentors who sharpened his eye for the natural world. We witness poignant returns from his travels to his backyard shrine in Oregon, along the McKenzie River. and in prose of searing candor, he recounts the cycle of life, including his own, and, as he has done throughout his career, the dangers facing the earth and the people on it.
with an introduction by rebecca solnit who speaks to lopez’s keen attention to the world, including its spiritual dimensions, fearlessly embracing the world on fire opens our minds and souls to the importance of being fully present to beauty and complexity of life.
Rickey by Howard Bryant
From the author of The Last Hero: The Life of Henry Aaron comes the definitive biography of Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, baseball’s epic leadoff bat and base stealer who also stole America’s heart for nearly five decades. electric in the game.
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