Contemporary Fiction By Male Authors

A few months ago, I wrote a post on some of my favorite authors of contemporary women's fiction.  One of the things I realized while writing it is that I read WAY more books by women authors than I do by male authors.  But another thing I realized is that there isn't a genre called "contemporary men's fiction."  If a woman writes a book set in the present day about every day life and relationships, unless it is written in an extremely highly literary style, it's most likely to be called "contemporary women's fiction."  But if a man writes a book set in the present day about every day life and relationships, it's just going to be called "fiction."  What's up with that?

Man reading or man-spreading?

Anyway, just as I did for my post on contemporary women's fiction, I'm going to exclude any books that fall into other genres - science fiction, mystery and thrillers, young adult, etc. - and focus on books set in the present (or relatively present times) by men, books that aren't super literary but just about realistic characters.  These books may or may not have male protagonists - some male authors also like to write from the point of view of women, just like some female authors like to write from the point of view of men.  And while I would generally recommend these books for guys to read, I would equally recommend them to women - I am a woman myself after all, and they're books I like!  But I can also tell you that my husband Dan has read almost all the books below and enjoyed them all.

First, 3 authors that came to mind thinking about the male equivalents to contemporary women's fiction, and then some other favorite books in this genre that I have semi-invented.

Jonathan Tropper - The first author that immediately jumped to mind  was Jonathan Tropper.  I've read all 6 of his books, and enjoyed them all very much - one of those authors who creates very real characters and really brings them to life, and manages to be funny and moving at the same time.  My favorite of his is definitely "How to Talk to a Widower," which made my 2008 10 Favorites list, but I would recommend any of them.  You may also have seen the movie adaptation of his book "This Is Where I Leave You" which was made into a movie with Justin Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, and more.  Unfortunately he seems to have moved on to creating tv shows, and he hasn't published a novel since 2012.  He supposedly lives in the next town over from me, New Rochelle, so if anyone knows him, please tell him I'm anxiously waiting for him to write his next book!

Nick Hornby - Nick Hornby might have semi-invented contemporary male fiction with his first novel "High Fidelity," all the way back in 1996, and it's still my favorite of his.  I haven't gotten around to his most recent novel "Funny Girl" (which was actually published 4 years ago, oops), but have read the rest of his novels.

Tom Perrotta - For some reason  I never read "The Leftovers" (basis for the HBO tv series and definitely not realistic fiction), but I've read all of Tom Perrotta's other books, which definitely fall into the same groove as Jonathan Tropper and Nick Hornby of realistic and funny novels by men.  His books "Little Children" and "Election" were both adapted into movies - and would recommend both - but I think my favorite is his first novel, "The Wishbones."

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion - This book is soooo charming and made my 2013 Top 10 list.  I mentioned "The Rosie Project" in my post on light fiction - it's a really sweet and funny book about a guy with Asperger's who sets out on a scientific project to find the perfect mate.  The sequel, "The Rosie Effect," is also very enjoyable.

Sideways by Rex Pickett - This book is about two friends - one about to get married and one recently divorced - who go on a trip together to wine county in California.  There's a strong likelihood that you've heard of this one because of the movie adaptation with Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church.  I actually saw the movie before I read the book, but the book is just as smart and funny.  I still remember Dan guffawing while reading this one - I think he enjoyed it even more than I did.

One Day by David Nichols - A lot of people read this one back when it was published, so you might already be familiar with this one.  It's about two characters, Dexter and Emma, and the ups and downs of their friendship/relationship over the course of 20 years, told in chapters each of which covers just the one day of the title per year (always July 15th).  I loved this one and it was on my 2010 Top 10 list.  But let's face it, if a woman wrote this one it probably would have been called chick lit.

How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely - This is probably the most obscure book on this list, an extremely funny satire of the publishing industry.