# Compiling Lad Literature (Lad Lit i.e. antonym of Chick Lit) Book List



## Mo Ibrahim (Aug 24, 2011)

I'm trying to compile a list of lad lit books. No offense ladies.  I've started a short list, but would welcome any recommendations.

My short list thus far:

_Tropic of Capricorn/Tropic of Cancer_ Henry Miller
_The Tenants_ Bernard Malamud (no Kindle version yet )
_On the Road/The Dharma Bums_ Jack Kerouac
_Booty Nomad_ Scott Mebus (no Kindle version yet )
_Hadji Murad_ Tolstoy
_Lost Illusions_ Balzac

Looking at my short list, it appears to me that it's up for debate as to what could be considered lad lit.


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## Rory Miller (Oct 21, 2010)

I was expecting something more like Nick Hornby.


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## joshtremino (Jul 31, 2010)

I'm not a huge fan of lad lit, but what about About a Boy? Would you call that lad lit?


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

For those needing a definition, I like this one from britishcouncil.org: _ "Lad Lit is the phenomenon of best-selling books written by men, and bought by lots of men, which tell tales of masculine insecurity in relationships, problems with male identity in the 21st century, and stories which explore the state of play between men and women from an often emotionally confused confessional male perspective.

Like Chick Lit, Lad Lit came from a need to explore the changing demands made on gender roles in modern society as men juggle new stresses and priorities with expectations of how they should behave in work, in love, and in life."_

I would toss in _High Fidelity_ by Nick Hornsby .... well really most things done by Hornsby ...
_Sellevision_ by Burroughs

Maybe some Chuck Palahnuik like _Choke_ or _Survivor_ for a bit of the dark crazy side of lad lit


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

Would Fight Club be edgy lad lit then?


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## soyfrank (Feb 2, 2011)

I thought they were called Bro-mance novels.


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## leep (Aug 25, 2011)

I didn't even know there was such a thing!

Good shout for Nick Hornby, not so sure about About a Boy, but High Fidelity must be a good shout.

Generally I'd have thought Lad Lit was more like Andy McNab, blokes would rather read/discuss how to disembowel someone with a rusty screwdriver than talk about feelings (which is decidedly less comfortable than being disembowelled using a rusty screwdriver).


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## marimorimo (Aug 8, 2011)

Soccerwriter said:


> I was expecting something more like Nick Hornby.


Me too. And I thought the antonym of Chick Lit was *"Dick Lit"* ?


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## musclehead (Dec 29, 2010)

leep said:


> Generally I'd have thought Lad Lit was more like Andy McNab, blokes would rather read/discuss how to disembowel someone with a rusty screwdriver than talk about feelings (which is decidedly less comfortable than being disembowelled using a rusty screwdriver).


I'd choose disembowelment with a rusty screwdriver over talk about feelings every day of the week and twice on Sunday.


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## jherrick (Apr 1, 2011)

I'd add early books by Tom Perrotta, like Bad Haircut, The Wishbones, and Joe College.


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## leep (Aug 25, 2011)

marimorimo said:


> Me too. And I thought the antonym of Chick Lit was *"Dick Lit"* ?


Ahem, maybe we could go with Bloke Books? Masculine Manuscripts?


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

jherrick said:


> I'd add early books by Tom Perrotta, like Bad Haircut, The Wishbones, and Joe College.


I didn't know anyone else had read Joe College.

It's nonfiction, but Dan Zevin's "The Day I Turned Uncool" could fit in as well.


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## NSRob (Jul 29, 2011)

Goodness - well I've learned something today. Lad lit eh.


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## Mo Ibrahim (Aug 24, 2011)

Thanks for all the tips! And bromance and masculine manuscripts are good synonyms too.


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

Early Hornby, I think, defines it.


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

Catcher in the Rye?
Ray Bradbury's works, Dandylion Wine, The Halloween Tree?
Jonathan Maberrys new YA zombie series, Rot & Ruin and Dust and Decay?


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

It was free back in June so I picked up a copy of the _Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook_ by Matt Dunn. It was definitely Lad Lit and the blurb pretty much described it as a Chick Lit plot with the genders reversed. Well, it is. I just finished it and its a book about a guy who's gf dumps him because he lets himself go - there's the chubby protagonist, the pushy but trampy best friend, a barmaid who fills in as the sassy gay friend, the promiscuous, selfish boss and the unattainable hot chick. It's all there.

It's full of British one liners and I enjoyed reading it .... I added a second book by Dunn to my wishlist ....


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## Math (Oct 13, 2011)

I doubt you will find a more ironic genre than Lad Lit.  

I never realised that I was so out of touch:  A genre of books that is written as realistic life situations and issues...which relies on men sharing their feelings with other men...hmmm


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

I think Charlie Huston is very Lad Litty.  I suppose a lot of noir could be considered that.


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## EStoops (Oct 24, 2011)

What about Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes? Or is this too YA for Lad Lit?


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

Have to admit, I thought you made up the term. Hmmmm, the only books I can think of that might fit what I _think_ this is would be

_One Hit Wonder_ by Charlie Carillo
_The Pleasure of My Company_ by Steve Martin



N


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## Andrew McCoy (Sep 17, 2011)

Geoffrey said:


> For those needing a definition, I like this one from britishcouncil.org: _ "Lad Lit is the phenomenon of best-selling books written by men, and bought by lots of men, which tell tales of masculine insecurity in relationships, problems with male identity in the 21st century, and stories which explore the state of play between men and women from an often emotionally confused confessional male perspective.
> 
> Like Chick Lit, Lad Lit came from a need to explore the changing demands made on gender roles in modern society as men juggle new stresses and priorities with expectations of how they should behave in work, in love, and in life."_
> 
> ...


Ah, the navel watchers. I was hoping to find the fans of H. Rider Haggard, Wilbur Smith, Lee Child, and so on. Thanks all the same.


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## TimHodkinson (Jun 3, 2011)

Amazon actually have a "Lad Lit" section/category. I was surprised to see my book in the top 30 of it a few weeks back as I was under the impression it was historical fiction.  
I suppose anything by Nick Hornby would be authentic "Lad Lit"? Otherwise do Frank Skinner of David Baddiel have any fiction out>


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## Todd Trumpet (Sep 7, 2011)

"Lad Lit"?

Like any self-respecting lad, I am now going to pretend that this term was never brought to my attention.

Todd


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Geoffrey said:


> It was free back in June so I picked up a copy of the _Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook_ by Matt Dunn. It was definitely Lad Lit and the blurb pretty much described it as a Chick Lit plot with the genders reversed. Well, it is. I just finished it and its a book about a guy who's gf dumps him because he lets himself go - there's the chubby protagonist, the pushy but trampy best friend, a barmaid who fills in as the sassy gay friend, the promiscuous, selfish boss and the unattainable hot chick. It's all there.
> 
> It's full of British one liners and I enjoyed reading it .... I added a second book by Dunn to my wishlist ....


I really enjoyed Matt Dunn's _From Here to Paternity_. It's a gender reversal of the common chick lit plot of the woman with the ticking biological clock who wants a baby and now needs the matching father. Only this time around, it's a man who desperately wants a baby.


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## Simon Haynes (Mar 14, 2011)

What about a 70's/80's series like The Destroyer? Politically incorrect, violent ... sounds laddish to me.


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## Jim Breslin (Oct 24, 2011)

The first author I thought of was Nick Hornsby also. I first heard this phrase used in talking about his work. My question is this - if "chick lit" is often dismissed as being a light read by highbrow readers, is the same to be said with "lad lit?" (I'm not dismissing it, I'm just saying that it gets that wrap sometimes.)

In a strange way, I think John Updike's Rabbit Run could be included in this - maybe as a forerunner of lad lit. Some of Larry Brown's writing is southern lad lit. Could you include Bukowski?


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## Rory Miller (Oct 21, 2010)

I'm not sure "Lad Lit" gets the same disrespect "Chick Lit" gets by the intellectual/highbrow set.  Might have to do with the fact that Hornby, as the standard-bearer, is much more palbable a person to the intellectual/highbrows.  He's certainly got a upper-middle classs background so that might be part of it, and here in America soccer, which runs through so much of his work, is still seen as a highbrow sport so that might be part of it too.  It seems the best of the "Lad lit" is actually written by intellectuals who want to live out their bad boy fantasies.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Soccerwriter said:


> I'm not sure "Lad Lit" gets the same disrespect "Chick Lit" gets by the intellectual/highbrow set. Might have to do with the fact that Hornby, as the standard-bearer, is much more palbable a person to the intellectual/highbrows. He's certainly got a upper-middle classs background so that might be part of it, and here in America soccer, which runs through so much of his work, is still seen as a highbrow sport so that might be part of it too. It seems the best of the "Lad lit" is actually written by intellectuals who want to live out their bad boy fantasies.


It seems there is quite a bit of Lad Lit coming out of the UK at the moment. I don't think I'd necessarily call them highbrow or written by intellectual authors - but I can see what you're saying. There isn't an existing stigma against a book about a guy trying to deal with a messy breakup where there is one against a book about a chick dealing with a messy breakup. Beyond the obvious, lingering misogyny, I think the difference is that there is enough chick lit out there that its somewhat cliche whereas lad lit is a much smaller sub-genre ....


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## Jeff Tompkins (Sep 17, 2010)

Geoffrey said:


> lad lit is a much smaller sub-genre ....


I'd have to agree with that. It's almost impossible to find beta readers for my new novel, which I'd put in this category. I guess that doesn't bode well for the sales outlook.


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## James Conway (Jul 7, 2011)

Before I read the definition I would have offered up The Lord of the Rings...which I am still offering.


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## DH_Sayer (Dec 20, 2011)

I'd need a good solid definition of this term. There are a few books I've read where I've thought, man, what would a girl get out of the thematic elements of this book? Deliverance by Dickey comes to mind. Very male-centric. Interestingly, I thought it was a complement to Housekeeping by Marilyn Robinson, which I thought, what would a guy get out of this, thematically? I don't mean that guys couldn't get anything out of it, or that girls couldn't get anything out of Deliverance (both have the prettiest prose you will ever read). But that their concerns are so male and female, respectively. I don't know, just found that interesting.


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## SteveScaffardi (Sep 6, 2011)

My understanding of lad-lit is that is is bascially chick-lit but from a man's perspective - what Bridget Jones would be like if written by a man. I published my first novel last year called The Drought, and I would put this in the lad-lit category because it is about relationships from a man's point of view.


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## Mel Odious (Feb 29, 2012)

I just recently ran across the term "Prick Lit" in a review. It was used to refer to guy-thing-driven plots (military/tech/... low-brow humor, etc.) but apparently "Lad Lit" is much closer to Chick Lit in terms of emotional undercurrent and the male protagonist's struggles to find/fill his role in society. So Lad Lit is characterized by a guy wearing one of those front-loading baby sacks while Prick Lit is characterized by a protagonist who _calls_ those things "front-loading baby sacks" .


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## Tinker (Oct 3, 2011)

Mel Odious said:


> I just recently ran across the term "Prick Lit" in a review. It was used to refer to guy-thing-driven plots (military/tech/... low-brow humor, etc.) but apparently "Lad Lit" is much closer to Chick Lit in terms of emotional undercurrent and the male protagonist's struggles to find/fill his role in society. So Lad Lit is characterized by a guy wearing one of those front-loading baby sacks while Prick Lit is characterized by a protagonist who _calls_ those things "front-loading baby sacks" .


Nice definition, I'm going to take an educated guess at which genre (sub genre?) is more popular with the boys.

Julia


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