Recommendations based on Manhood for Amateursby Michael Chabon

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story

    by Chuck Klosterman
    An exploration of life and death, featuring road trips to music-related death sites.

    Building on the national bestselling success of, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, preeminent pop culture writer Chuck Klosterman unleashes his best book yet—the story of his cross-country tour of sites ... (Goodreads)

  2. When You Are Engulfed in Flames

    by David Sedaris
    Humorous reflections on everyday life, navigating the absurdities of the human condition.

    It's early autumn 1964. Two straight-A students head off to school, and when only one of them returns home Chesney Yelverton is coaxed from retirement and assigned to what proves to be the most ... (Goodreads)

  3. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

    by David Sedaris
    A humorous collection of autobiographical essays reflecting on family relationships.

    David Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters. He goes on vacation with his family. He gets a job selling drinks. He attends his brother’s wedding. He mops his sister’s floor. He gives directions ... (Goodreads)

  4. How to Be Alone

    by Jonathan Franzen
    A collection of essays exploring the complexities of solitude, self-reliance, and personal growth.

    From the National Book Award-winning author of, The Corrections, a collection of essays that reveal him to be one of our sharpest, toughest, and most entertaining social critics While the essays in ... (Goodreads)

  5. Zeitoun

    by Dave Eggers
    A man's struggle to survive and reunite with his family amidst the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

    Abdulrahman Zeitoun grew up in Syria. After a few years of apprenticeship in the Syrian port city of Jableh , Zeitoun spent twenty years working at sea as a muscleman, engineer and fisherman. During ... (Wikipedia)

  6. Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota

    by Chuck Klosterman
    A humorous and nostalgic look back at the heavy metal culture of the early 1990s.

    Empirically proving that – no matter where you are -- kids wanna rock, this is Chuck Klosterman's hilarious memoir of growing up as a shameless metalhead in Wyndmere, North Dakotoa (population: 498). ... (Goodreads)

  7. Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

    by Brené Brown
    An exploration of vulnerability, courage, and the strength to embrace imperfection.

    The #1, New York Times, bestseller. More than 2, million copies sold!,Look for Brené Brown’s new podcast,, Dare to Lead, as well as her ongoing podcast, Unlocking Us,!,From thought leader Brené ... (Barnes & Noble)

  8. Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef

    by Gabrielle Hamilton
    A memoir of a chef's journey from childhood to adulthood, exploring the struggles of creating an independent life.

    Before Gabrielle Hamilton opened her acclaimed New York restaurant Prune, she spent twenty hard-living years trying to find purpose and meaning in her life. Blood, Bones & Butter follows an ... (Goodreads)

  9. Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

    by Beverly Daniel Tatum
    Exploration of racial identity and the role of schools in creating and maintaining racial divides.

    Walk into any racially mixed high school and you will see Black, White, and Latino youth clustered in their own groups. Is this self-segregation a problem to address or a coping strategy? Beverly ... (Goodreads)

  10. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

    by Alison Bechdel
    An autobiographical story of a daughter's complex relationship with her father and her own journey of self-discovery.

    The narrative of Fun Home is non-linear and recursive. , Incidents are told and re-told in the light of new information or themes. , Bechdel describes the structure of Fun Home as a labyrinth , ... (Wikipedia)

  11. The White Album

    by Joan Didion
    Collection of essays exploring 1960s counterculture in America.

    First published in 1979, Joan Didion's The White Album records indelibly the upheavals and aftermaths of the 1960s. Examining key events, figures, and trends of the era—including Charles Manson, the ... (Goodreads)

  12. This is the Story of a Happy Marriage

    by Ann Patchett
    An exploration of love, relationships, and a life well-lived.

    Blending literature and memoir, Ann Patchett, author of State of Wonder, Run, and Bel Canto, examines her deepest commitments — to writing, family, friends, dogs, books, and her husband — creating a ... (Goodreads)

  13. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

    by Christopher McDougall
    A thrilling exploration of the Tarahumara tribe and their superhuman running abilities.

    Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does ... (Goodreads)

  14. Food Rules: An Eater's Manual

    by Michael Pollan
    A guide to mindful eating, exploring the connection between health, environment and culture.

    A DEFINITIVE COMPENDIUM OF FOOD WISDOM Eating doesn't have to be so complicated. In this age of ever-more elaborate diets and conflicting health advice, Food Rules brings a welcome simplicity to our ... (Goodreads)

  15. Lies & the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair & Balanced Look at the Right

    by Al Franken
    Satirical look at the right, exposing their lies and hypocrisies.

    Al Franken, one of our savviest satirists ( People ), has been studying the rhetoric of the Right. He has listened to their cries of slander, bias, and even treason. He has examined the Bush ... (Goodreads)

  16. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto

    by Chuck Klosterman
    An exploration of pop culture and its influence on contemporary life.

    Countless writers and artists have spoken for a generation, but no one has done it quite like Chuck Klosterman. With an exhaustive knowledge of popular culture and an almost effortless ability to ... (Goodreads)

  17. Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils

    by David Bayles
    A guide for artists on how to overcome the fears and doubts that come with creating art and how to persevere through the creative process.

    "This is a book about making art. Ordinary art. Ordinary art means something like: all art not made by Mozart. After all, art is rarely made by Mozart-like people; essentially-statistically ... (Goodreads)

  18. A Short History of Nearly Everything

    by Bill Bryson
    A captivating overview of the natural sciences, spanning the history of the universe.

    In Bryson's biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand—and, if possible, answer—the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as territory ... (Goodreads)

  19. Letters to a Young Contrarian

    by Christopher Hitchens
    A collection of essays offering philosophical reflections on society and the power of dissent.

    From bestselling author and provocateur Christopher Hitchens, the classic guide to the art of principled dissent and disagreement In Letters to a Young Contrarian , bestselling author and world-class ... (Goodreads)

  20. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

    by Jon Krakauer
    A gripping narrative of the 1996 expedition on Mount Everest that resulted in tragedy.

    When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. ... (Goodreads)

  21. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

    by Chip Heath
    Exploring ways to make change easier in life and work, using practical strategies.

    Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives? The primary obstacle is a conflict that's built into our brains, say Chip and Dan Heath, authors ... (Goodreads)

  22. Stumbling on Happiness

    by Daniel Todd Gilbert
    A scientific exploration of why we often fail to predict what will make us happy and how we can find happiness in unexpected ways.

    • Why are lovers quicker to forgive their partners for infidelity than for leaving dirty dishes in the sink? • Why will sighted people pay more to avoid going blind than blind people will pay to ... (Goodreads)

  23. Life

    by Keith Richards
    A personal journey of a legendary rockstar, reflecting on the highs and lows of his life.

    With the Rolling Stones, Keith Richards created the riffs, the lyrics and the songs that roused the world, and over four decades he lived the original rock and roll life. Now, at last, the man ... (Goodreads)

  24. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls

    by David Sedaris
    A collection of humorous essays and stories, exploring the absurdities of everyday life through the lens of the author's unique perspective.

    A guy walks into a bar car and... From here the story could take many turns. When this guy is David Sedaris, the possibilities are endless, but the result is always the same: he will both delight you ... (Goodreads)

  25. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

    by Candice Millard
    The riveting story of the assassination of President Garfield, a tragedy of medical science and mistake.

    James A. Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, and a renowned and admired ... (Goodreads)

  26. Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes

    by Elizabeth Bard
    A memoir of a young American woman who falls in love with a Frenchman and discovers the joys of French cuisine and culture.

    In Paris for a weekend visit, Elizabeth Bard sat down to lunch with a handsome Frenchman — and never went home again. , Was it love at first sight? Or was it the way her knife slid effortlessly ... (Barnes & Noble)

  27. The Fire Next Time

    by James Baldwin
    Reflection on the plight of African Americans in a candid and deeply moving essay.

    A national bestseller when it first appeared in 1963, The Fire Next Time galvanized the nation and gave passionate voice to the emerging civil rights movement. At once a powerful evocation of James ... (Goodreads)

  28. In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto

    by Michael Pollan
    Argument for a return to traditional diets and away from processed, industrialized food.

    Michael Pollan's last book, The Omnivore's Dilemma , launched a national conversation about the American way of eating; now In Defense of Food shows us how to change it, one meal at a time. Pollan ... (Goodreads)

  29. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

    by Michael Lewis
    How an unconventional approach to baseball changed the competitive landscape.

    Billy Beane, general manager of MLB's Oakland A's and protagonist of Michael Lewis's Moneyball , had a problem: how to win in the Major Leagues with a budget that's smaller than that of nearly every ... (Goodreads)

  30. Everything is Figureoutable

    by Marie Forleo
    Empowering guide to overcoming obstacles and achieving goals by adopting a "figure it out" mindset.

    Do you ever have trouble finishing what you start? Do amazing ideas come to you all the time but after the initial excitement wanes you struggle to follow through? If you're creative and ambitious, ... (Goodreads)