The Gentlemen’s Reading List is devoted to making men better through great books, new ideas, systemically challenging what we think we know. This project is dedicated to learning, relearning, and continuously assessing our opinions and deeply held beliefs.  As gentlemen, books are one of our most valuable resources toward becoming better a better person. Yet, too few men really take the time and effort required to become the best version of ourselves. The easy path is to scroll our social media feeds or mindlessly consume 24 hour news in the hope that someone else will tell us what to think.

Men today are struggling to find their way. Many are feeling lost. We get conflicting messages on what it means to be a gentlemen today. Unfortunately, the antidote many choose is to follow those screaming the loudest. This project rejects this path.  Rather than following the loudest voice, we men need to think critically in order to interpret the world and what is happening around us. This notion, however, takes effort. It requires that we challenge ourselves and embrace ideas we may find uncomfortable. It requires critical thinking and self-evaluation.

A common theme this website seeks to promulgate is that in order to become our best, we must make ourselves mentally uncomfortable. Only by challenging ourselves and our fixed opinions can we come out better on the other end. It is a weak man that cannot challenge themselves. A weak man cannot abide alternative or unpopular viewpoints.  It is the belief of The Gentlemen’s Reading List that books are a tool in which we use to challenge ourselves and expose ourselves to new and exciting ideas. Contained in these pages are books that each man should read. Each contains some nugget of advice or idea that will help us grow.

We look at all types of genres: history, philosophy, fiction, political science, self-help, business, as well as the classics, children’s books, and even so-called ‘chick-lit.’ From each of these books, we will glean lessons to make up better men, better husbands, better fathers, and better citizens.

I agree that many men feel stuck and conflicted. But I also believe that great books and new ideas are the solution. I, personally, have found not only great happiness in the comfort of books so also in the ideas I’ve wrestled with. I have come out of these struggles a better person.  Sometimes I have been able to reinforce my deeply held beliefs. Other times, I have been forced to admit I was wrong. And that is OK. Once I became at peace with my own mental infallibility, the more at peace I became.

And that is what I think makes a real gentlemen. In the immortal words prescribed to F. Scott Fitzgerald, “the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” A gentlemen should have this ability. But if we ignore the wisdom in great books, this ability is jeopardized at our peril.