The Rusty Book Club

Let’s be honest: Most book clubs are run by women.

Now, before you fire off an email, hear me out—this is not a complaint. Quite the opposite. Women are out there leading discussions, building community, diving deep into meaningful stories, and actually finishing the books.

Meanwhile, a lot of guys are on the couch doom-scrolling or watching highlights of a game they already watched live.

Respect to the women. They’re crushing it.

But here’s the thing that bugs me: when did men check out of the conversation? When did we decide that real spiritual and intellectual growth was someone else’s department? 

Somewhere along the way, we traded iron-sharpening-iron for beer-sharpening …well, nothing. We outsourced our curiosity and replaced it with rusty thinking. We stopped wrestling with big ideas. We replaced a complete sentence with, “Huh.” And we sure as heck stopped reading anything that made us uncomfortable.

So I’m starting a different kind of book club. Well, a book recommendation list club. (Is that a thing? Sure it is.) Let’s call it the Rusty Book Club.

At the Rusty Book Club, we read books that leave dents and have ideas that make us shift our ass uncomfortably in the Lazy-Boy.

Of course, let’s get real for a minute. We’re not going to gather together and talk about this. I’m smart enough to know that getting guys to gather together and talk about a book is a fool’s errand. Ain’t gonna happen no matter how many craft beers we offer. 

But  maybe, just maybe, I can get a few guys to actually read a book if I post them as suggestions. 

For years I’ve listed my favorite books of the year around Christmas time. A few guys write to me and say how much they appreciate it, but far more women tell me it gives them gift ideas for the guy in their life.  

So this time it’s going to be hyper focused on including books guys might actually read (not just use it as a door stop) and make them think (not just laugh). Well, okay, maybe they will make guys laugh a little. 

Anyway, the women can keep their book clubs—and thank God they do. But maybe it’s time for men to gather in the metaphorical junkyard, surrounded by rusted-out assumptions, and dig into something that matters.

And women are welcome, of course. Join us. Teach us something. 

Every 2-3 months I’ll recommend just one book I hope guys will like. If you like the idea, please tell me and I’ll do more.

Here is my first recommendation:

Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt, by David McCullough 

Is there anyone cooler than Teddy Roosevelt? A true bulldog of a man, who craved adventure and never compromised. The book is about how he grew and changed from his experience in the wild west, amidst buffalos, tough winters, and cowboys. The author, David McCullough, was one of the greatest American history writers our country has ever known. His writing is beautiful, his ideas well crafted, and his topics fascinating. 

Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s a 40-year old book. But hey, it’s the RUSTY book club. Let’s start with something that’s been accumulating dust on the bookshelf and deserves a second look.