'TKAM' named to list of '50 Best Books for Boys and Young Men'

One of my favorite Web sites, one that I check almost daily, is The Art of Manliness, which is located at www.artofmanliness.com.

Earlier today, the good people who run this outstanding Web site posted a neat recommended reading list called “The 50 Best Books for Boys and Young Men.”

According to the compilers of this list, it was drafted with male readers ages 9 to 15 in mind. I have to admit though that while I’ve read more than a few books on this list, there are still a bunch of them that I’ve always wanted to read. And I’m a 35-year-old man.

Readers in my neck of the woods will likely be interested by the fact that Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” is No. 25 on the list. To read more about this list and the books that made the cut as well as a little about a few books that didn’t make the cut, visit http://artofmanliness.com/2009/11/15/50-best-books-for-boys-and-young-men.

Without further ado, here’s the complete list of The Art of Manliness’ “50 Best Books for Boys and Young Men”

1. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
2. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
3. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
4. The American Boy’s Handy Book by Daniel C. Beard
5. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
6. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
7. The Last Mission by Harry Mazer
8. The First Edition of the Boy Scout Handbook
9. Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
10. Watership Down by Richard Adams

11. The Johnny Dixon Series by John Bellairs
12. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
13. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis
14. Canoeing with the Cree by Arnold Sevareid
15. The Giver by Lois Lowry
16. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
17. Heat by Mike Lupica
18. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
19. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
20. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

21. Holes by Louis Sachar
22. The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B White
23. The Outsiders by S.E Hinton
24. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
25. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
26. Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson
27. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
28. Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen
29. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
30. Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

31. The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
32. The Blue Star by Tony Earley
33. The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
34. The Cay by Theodore Taylor
35. Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
36. The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden
37. The Little Britches Series by Ralph Moody
38. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
39. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
40. The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

41. The Hardy Boys Series
42. The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle
43. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
44. The Thief of Always by Clive Barker
45. That Was Then, This is Now by S.E. Hinton
46. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
47. Heart of a Champion by Carl Deuker
48. Blue Skin of the Sea by Graham Salisbury
49. Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
50. The Art of Manliness by Brett and Kate McKay

In the end, how many of these books have you had the chance to read? Which did you like or dislike? Which would you recommend and why? Which of the books above is your personal favorite? Are there any books that should have been included on the list but weren’t? Let us know in the comments section below.