How many of these '30 Books Every Guy Should Read' have YOU read?

The October issue of “Outside” magazine arrived in my mailbox recently and the front cover featured a headline that read “30 Books Every Guy Should Read.” The October issue of “Outside” was its “Life Issue,” that is, it was crammed with information about how to live your best life. The magazine was divided into sections, according to age groups, with special advise for people from 0 to 65+.

For each age group, the editors provided a list of five recommended books that they felt would benefit readers in each age group. This list of books, which is also referred to in the magazine as “The Life Canon,” appears to have been compiled by Scott Anderson, Tim Cahill, Alexandra Fuller, Steven Rinella, Bob Shacochis and Patrick Symmes. What follows is the complete list, which I’ve alphabetized. The numbers in the parentheses is the age group that the book was listed under in the magazine. Without further ado, here’s the list:

OUTSIDE’S 30 BOOKS EVERY GUY SHOULD READ

1. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas by Charles C. Mann (30-40)
2. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (+65)
3. The Adventures of TinTin by Herge (0-20)
4. Annapurna by Maurice Herzog (+65)*
5. Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez (20-30)

6. Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell, Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia by Janet Wallach (50-65)
7. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby (40-50)
8. The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko (50-65)
9. Fall Higher by Dean Young (40-50)
10. Great Plains by Ian Frazier (20-30)

11. The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood by Helene Cooper (40-50)
12. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (0-20)*
13. Last Places by Lawrence Millman (+65)
14. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (0-20)
15. The Odyssey by Homer (50-65)*

16. Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant (50-65)
17. The Pine Barrens by John McPhee (20-30)
18. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (0-20)*
19. River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey by Candice Millard (50-65)
20. A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush by Eric Newby (0-20)

21. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey (40-50)
22. The Sportsmen’s Sketches by Ivan Turgenev (30-40)

23. The Tempest by William Shakespeare (30-40)

24. A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (30-40)

25. The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke (+65)

26. Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan (20-30)

27. Why Did I Ever by Mary Robison (40-50)

28. Wild by Cheryl Strayed (30-40)

29. Wolf by Jim Harrison (20-30)

30. Younger Next Year by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge (+65)

In the end, how many of these books have you read? What did you think about them? Which is your favorite? Let us know in the comments section below.

* Those that I’ve read as of Sept. 27, 2013.