Second off, I really don’t place much value in the blow job, and would surely choose the gift of a good book over the gift of a good blow job any day of the week. Give me Bolaño (whose 2666 I have not read, in part because Barnes and Noble wanted to take $30 of my hard-earned money for a fucking book. It’s a book, not a college tuition. Same reason no on buys CDs any more) over a blow job any day of the week. Then again, I am not representing the majority. (See paragraph one.)

Third off — and I didn’t read the Huffington post article in full, or Mr. Ross’s post in full either, and I am nothing but a young man, so I am not qualified to comment here — I cringe when people try to analyze the supposed downfall of the publishing empire. Because you can’t do such things, you can’t analyze something as large as an industry, not to mention one as hallowed or sacrosanct as the publishing (read: books) industry, in the moment.

The Romans were not able to see beyond their leaded paints and orgiastic ways, just as we are not able to see beyond our TiVos and orgiastic ways. Suffice it to say, I am sick and tired of people trying to prematurely prognosticate. (Not to be confused with … well, at any rate.)

Some men read, others do not. Each man who reads derives something personal from a book, just as each man derives something personal from life, or I guess from a blow job.

Stop trying to make sense of out things as they happen — it will lead you nowhere. Just go read a book, or get a blow job, or go bowling, or drink some beer, or cook a fucking steak. Or read the new Wray. Just don’t talk to me about your fucking declining book sales and how that corresponds to the inadequacies of men. I love all my fellow men, including the Dudes (for they know now that they do), and so I suppose I am a bit irked by such accusations.

Strangely, my university professor said the same thing; her experience is that guys read more than girls. But all the numbers say women buy more books. Maybe guys save their money for lap dances and steal the books.

Actually, of all the people I know, the guys read more than the girls. And the girls who read read the guy authors, most of which were listed. That could just be a small failure example of the bigger picture. It is true that every woman I know–girlfriend, mother, hot friends of girlfriend–all own and swear by that Twilight series of books.

But yeah, a dude is easy enough to sell on anything. Christ, by nature, we’re the same gender who would sit through an hour of late night TV fuzz just for the prospect of a nipple. Even if there isn’t T&A in the book, tell us there is and we’re bound to it like a puppy is bound to piss on anywhere but the newspaper. Or something.