...and the ladies too, who appreciate good, intelligent fiction that doesn't spend half the book wrapped up in a sleepy New England town emasculating the male characters and bringing together generations of female characters that have finally found their voice. Sorry for the broad (no pun intended)
generalizations, but how many times can they be Waiting to Exhale at The Joy Luck Club for heaven's sakes?
I like my characters with a little dirt under the nails and a little crazy under the lid. I know that guys in general don't read a lot of current fiction, and when we do it tends to be science fiction, which is cool also. But I have read my favorites in this genre to death and would love any new suggestions that somebody may have stumbled across.
For example, my top 3 are Chuck Palahniuk (father of Fight Club), Elmore Leonard (noir's last hope), and Irvine Welsh (mostly to help my fake cockney accent). These are 3 writers who keep me on my toes with wit, sarcasm, and a relevant point! A fearless disregard for the ridiculous and general loathing of preconception doesn't hurt, either. (Yeah, I actually dressed as Hunter S. Thompson for Halloween last year. Interesting? Not even to my date.)
I like the idea of authors, as opposed to a single book reccommended, because I think that when you read through an author's works you start to see the subtle things that only come with reference that extends beyond a single one of their books. I like to be in on the joke, I guess! I do realize that there are a lot of great "one hit wonders" out there, so obviously whatever has moved you.
Oh, and one last request - although I am sure that Tommy Lee has put together a great book with wit, sarcasm, etc., I could never give my friends the satisfaction of seeing me with "Tommyland" and confirming what a poser I really am... plus I caught him on Conan and I think I got the gist of it.
I'll stop now. Thanks for the space to blather on.