Book Review- Why do Men Have Nipples?

Why Do Men Have Nipples?: Hundreds of Questions You'd Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Martini by Mark Leyner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I read the sequel to this book, Why do Men Fall Asleep During Sex when it came out in 2006. I always meant to come back to this one (published in 2005) but never did. ..Asleep.. I bought as an airport book as both books had been huge smashes and I only at that time put together it was that Mark Leyner.

Leyner put out a couple of novels and some short story collections in the 90s which made it look like he was going to be one of the premier writers of his time (and I think it is still fair to say he is). It is interesting to see all the reader reviews of these books and the vitriol at Leyner. In retrospect, for whatever reason, Leyner took off a decade from fiction. He has only recently returned to it. Also, clearly I feel that Leyner should not be begrudged for making money to allow him to write whatever he likes later on.

Although this type of "bathroom reader" will always have an appeal, there was probably no better time for it than when it appeared to go straight to the top of the book charts. That period of roughly 2003-2007 was a heyday for a new kind of hypermasculinity. It was born out of metrosexuality, but pushed into a different direction. So we got it: Maxim, Mens Health, Crossfit, Tom Leykis, Axe Body Spray, Dr Drew Pinsky, UFC, Spike TV, Tucker Max, Joe Rogan, the Man Show, Muscle Milk, and Barney Stinson. You can guess where most of this stuff landed 10-15 years later and we won't go there, but the point is part of what came out of that was a concern for men and their health, which certainly feeds into the macho posturing of these books.

The other factor was the days of Web 2.0 and a search for knowledge inspired by the internet. Now, this wasn't always a noble pursuit, but certainly we were allowed to search out questions that we might be too embarrassed to ask You know like "Can you breastfeed with fake boobs?". It was reflected in the popularity of websites like The Smoking Gun, Snopes, the Straight Dope, HowStuffWorks, and ultimately of course, Wikipedia. Although these sites are still popular, their novelty has worn off abit. Still, they speak to some of the stuff that interests and sometimes titillates us. Now, of course, we have unlimited internet access and we have all spent hours upon hours jumping from one wikipedia article to the next and watching endless YouTube footage.

Still, I think the two factors combined at a time to make sure these books sold well. I think they would do fine today, but certainly it was released at the right place and time.

So the book itself? The book has a lot more of Leyner's popularity than I remember the sequel having. Maybe it's because it' s the original. Still, you can't miss out on the Leynerisms. Both books have interludes that are Leyner and Goldberg instant messaging each other. i know some people find these asides annoying, but they are usually pretty funny. Again, you get some prime Leyner.

The questions are pretty good. Some are urban legends, others old wives tales, some prurient locker talk. Most of them things you want to know.

The answers are mostly good. Some will find them too short or frustratingly incomplete ("science hasn't concluded" or "it just is"). Not everyone has the same interests so it's probably smart to keep it snappy, though.

This is a very quick read and without a doubt, a total bathroom reader. I read this as an ebook after reading the sequel in paperback form. In any case, it very light reading and you will be finished in no time. The ebook really made me feel like it was pretty small, but the experience was much the same as the physical form. In any case, I doubt many people would finish it in an afternoon, though certainly they will finish it in two or three afternoons.

I am probably a sucker for this book for a variety of reasons. I suspect many people would feel the same. If you are in that group, then check it out.



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