That photo is actually from the vault, so Birch Wisdom is still not operating at its full capacity--but thanks for the kind words all the same. I guess more people read novels in their youth because they tie in more neatly with dreams of fame and glory. But I didn't make that stuff up about men being from Mars; a language arts teacher told me that it's been researched and that men read 70% non-fiction/30% fiction and that for women it's 70/30 in the other direction. But I don't know, maybe that's just for middle school kids. All I know is that if I'm browsing in books (or actually really just waiting for Cara to finish up with her housewares obsession--and how much of a cliche it that?) in Target or Wal-Mart there is virtually no fiction targeted at men. Check it out: you'll see I don't lie. And anyway, what happened to that manly school of fiction where Hemingway was the headmaster? Now, even the books that men might enjoy, like About a Boy, are all about discovering the feminine side.
And hey, there's nothing wrong with that. I'm a social worker, so I've been wearing the pink collar for a long time. I'm just saying, is all I'm doing, just saying...