lad lit

I love love love a good beach read. You know the type - raunchy, completely lacking in depth, but easy to read in a day or so. They're my go-to summer read. Usually I follow in the lane of anything by Elin Hilderbrand, but sometimes I tire of reading about a femme fatale who has either (a) just gotten terribly terminal news, (b) found out her husband / boyfriend / significant other is really a tramp, or (c) just wants to go to the island to "find herself." Don't get me wrong, I love Elin and read most of her work (new book from her this Tuesday, y'all!), but I tire of the estrogen overdose. Sometimes, we men need a lighthearted read about relationships that will make us laugh, that will be a quick read, and that will ultimately leave us appreciative of the relationship we have. Gentlemen, we are in luck! No longer are we constrained to "chick lit" for our beach reads. Allow me to introduce what I would like to call "lad lit" (let's make that a thing!). 
For my return from #251, I had lined up Christopher Noxon's debut novel Plus One, a random audiobook I stumbled upon while perusing the library. After a disappointing listen on the trip down, I was glad to have this one for a pick-me-up. The book centers around Alex Sherman-Zicklin (yep, he took his wife's name) and his life as his television writer wife's "plus one" at red carpet events. When Figgy (nope, not making that up) wins her first Emmy (on her 14th series attempt), she becomes the talk of Hollywood and Alex begins to struggle with his new role as the secondary bread winner at home. When Figgy gets an insane pay raise, Alex decides to become a stay-at-home dad for precocious 7-year-old Silvia and cosmetic-making fourth-grade Scott (this book truly has every element of the modern family). Alex also begins hobnobbing with other plus ones and discovers artisanal butchers, Vietnamese day spas, man-scaping, and the ever-terrifying snip-snip down below (just wait for the plot twist on that one!). In the meantime, the butcher's assistant tries to start a fling with Alex only to advance her own career by getting in with Figgy, leaving him really struggling with his identity and worth as a man. I won't spoil the plot for you, but it may not necessarily end as you think. 
Overall, Noxon does a great job of capturing the male perspective on relationship. So many times, light-hearted reads that delve into the deeper aspects of what makes marriage work are centered on the wife's perspective, and this was refreshing. He used zingers when necessary, kept the plot moving forward with excellent prose, and kept the reader interested at all times. It's nice to find a book geared toward men (at least in my head, that's the target audience here; who really knows?) that isn't all war, guns, and spies - not that I don't like those things. Again, this was a breath of fresh air and something different. I would read more of Noxon's work.

4 (of 4) dusty book jackets.