Almost all fiction books are bought by women and the publishing industry is run by women and gay men. There is almost no truly masculine fiction being published. I loved reading growing up and have basically given up on fiction at this point. There is almost nothing of substance published that would appeal to a man.

As Saul Bellow once said, fiction is the higher autobiography and we lead such boring lives now. Look at the background of some of the great novelists of the past. Joseph Conrad was a merchant marine who traveled the world. James Salter flew fighter planes in combat missions in Korea. James Jones was in the infantry in the Pacific theater in WWII. John Le Carre was a spy. Hemingway was an ambulance driver in WW1. Dostoevsky was a prisoner. Albert Camus was in the resistance in Paris. Anyone with interesting experiences and perspectives is not writing fiction at this point.

Just another reason our culture is doomed. Perhaps the only art form capable of capturing the depth of human experience is being relegated to women talking about their feelings. It is sad really....