Women who disagree with the trend of lumping books concerning relationship-related issues into a fluffy, too-broad genre of "chick lit" have plenty to be concerned about: Should merit not be determined by the quality of the prose rather than the gender of the author, narrator or plot elements?
Luckily, there's a male equivalent to chick lit, and conveniently enough, it rhymes! Lo and behold: Dick Lit. Books belonging to this faux-category have about as much in common with each other as Alice Munro has in common with Danielle Steel. Some concern record shop owners, while others are about expat journalists. What they DO have in common is their inclusion of sex, love and family from a male perspective or a male author. Because female authors are obviously not the only ones thinking about family, friends and first kisses.
These 9 books were selected not for their literary merit or for their placement in a particular non-literary genre, but simply for their ubiquitous popularity among men and the nature of the content. Yes, women enjoy these novels too (our Assistant Editor admits that Chuck Palahniuk was a high-school favorite), but they were all written by men. And after all, degrading categorizations shouldn't just be for women.
Here are 9 "Dick Lit" novels. Check out our list and let us know YOUR favorites in the comments:
