Rabbit, Run John Updike The literary tastes of the men in iUMBC range from dudes who will only read a book all the way through if there is a steady barrage of explosions, shootings, and space aliens to dudes who were English majors and read books seeking out the aspects of a novel […]
Reservation Blues PREview
March 15, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Sherman Alexie is a renowned author, who has won multiple awards for his writing. His book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian won the 2007 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. He is also a filmmaker, and won Audience Award and Filmmaker’s Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival for his […]
Manly Story Formula: Your Guaranteed Guide to Writing a Best Selling Book
January 31, 2025 by 3 Comments
Luke posed some interesting questions yesterday. It got me to thinking about what makes a story interesting and engaging? Without any writing style at all, can you create a story base that would make people excited for the tale about to be told. And with that, I present you with the quick and easy Manly […]
Christmas Movies for Men
December 8, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Guys, we know how it is. The weather is cold, snow’s coming, and at night, you either want to curl up with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, or you are ready to watch a great Christmas movie. The lady in your life gets excited, because you two can watch it together! She quickly grabs her favorites: […]
Happy (Belated) Birthday, Mark Twain!
November 30, 2024 by Leave a Comment
“Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? It is because we are not the person involved.” - Pudd’nhead Wilson Happy Birthday, Mr. Twain! We here at iUMBC do not celebrate every manly author’s birthday, though we are waiting for an invite to Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s (C’mon Carlos, we […]
A Child of the Books
November 10, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Every Friday afternoon, for an entire year, Mrs. Schmidt would sit us down and read a book to us. Some kids hated it. Some kids went to sleep. Some…especially my cousin, stared out the window waiting for the moment sweet freedom would be announced. I myself was enthralled. She read from many different genres. I […]
Some Manly Halloween Thoughts and Books
October 31, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Ultra Manly Rules for Trick or Treaters: Give away a manly treats…like motor oil. No candy for anyone dressed like any character form Twilight. Remember that scaring kids is an okay exchange for candy….making them wet their costumes is a bonus. No candy for anyone dressed like Justin Beiber. Demanding single moms’ phone numbers in […]
Review: Round Ireland With a Fridge
September 23, 2025 by 4 Comments
Round Ireland with a Fridge Tony Hawks Some books seem to be written purely for the enjoyment of the author. There is of course no problem with that, provided that the reader and the author have a similar sense of humor, and view life through similar lenses. I personally loved this book. It […]
A Book in the Hand is Worth 3,500 in the Kindle
September 15, 2025 by 12 Comments
Why Printed Books Will Never Die- A Rebuttal to The Death of the Book Some things are immortal. The Highlander, HeLa cells, Beethoven, my love for Jessica Biel. And Books. There are some who will say that the good old fashioned paper and ink book is a dinosaur, doomed to be cast away into our […]
Review: Shadow of the Wind
September 11, 2025 by 9 Comments
The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafón Fire. Murder. Spies. And Love. When Daniel Sempere is taken into the hallowed crypts of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, he has no idea that he is about to become involved in a mystery whose tapestry is woven with these threads. The Cemetery of Forgotten […]
