Wow, I Love How That Shapeless Sweater Fits!

Welcome back Frieknds (anyone want to help make "frieknds" a new knitting word?)! Today I'm going to tackle one of the issues that may prevent men from really delving into to the world of knitting: Lack of good, readily accessible projects, specifically in the sweater category. Recently while browsing blogs, I came across a woman who has a running joke with her husband that she knits him sweaters that he'll never wear. I've also seen books with titles like "Sweaters He'll Wear," or something like that at least. One would get the impression that men are very difficult when it comes to sweaters. I'd like to propose that men are, in fact, extremely easy when it comes to sweaters. All we want is something simple, comfortable, and that fits well. If a boyfriend, or husband, upon browsing through his girlfriend's, or wife's, knitting books was to feature such a sweater, he might just have the urge to make an effort to learn. While he'd invariably start with easy projects, it'd be with an eye towards a big project.

Unfortunately, it's very easy to get frustrated with what's out there for menswear. Frankly, the books that I've seen have been awful. The sweaters look bulky and shapeless and would do little to make a man feel well-dressed. Here is exactly what I'm talking about:
This is a sweater I will WILL NOT wear. Now maybe this guy on the cover likes unflattering sweaters. Maybe he has several growths he prefers to keep covered up. But me? I like clothes that don't require flippers...because I'm swimming in them? Get it?

Now this, this is what I want to see more of:
Notice the clean fit, the simple pattern. I would knit this sweater, if only I could decode all those abbreviations, which leads me to my next point.

Want to get your guy a good book to start with? Good luck. With all likelihood you'll end up with a general learn to knit book that may have a scarf or hat he'd be interested in, but little else to knit for himself. Granted, he may get great joy out of doing only projects for you, but that might not be enough to really get him excited. What I'd like to see is a book that demystifies patterns. Yes, the abbreviations make the pattern much shorter, but when embarking on your first big project, it can be annoying to constantly be flipping back and forth to a glossary, when simply spelling out the instructions, at least for the first portions of a pattern would take out a great deal of complexity.

Speaking from experience, looking at a knitting book without knowing definitions is literally like reading a foreign language and could easily turn a guy off from trying right from the get-go. I imagine non-baseball fans feel similarly stupefied when looking at box scores containing stats like OPS, OBP, WHIP, and SLG. Would a "dumbed-down" box score get you more interested in the game? Who knows, but at least you wouldn't feel like you were speaking an entirely different language.

To get back to the point I think I've strayed significantly from at this point, we men need projects to feel excited about. I want a sweater I'm going to feel good about wearing, not because I knit it, but because it's a nice sweater. I want something that doesn't make me feel like I should be setting dinner at the Huxtable residence. Heck, I'd take a throw pillow with the Sox logo on it!

If I'm missing something here in the available literature, please let me know. I look forward to hearing from all my new frieknds! (See catchy isn't it?)

UPDATE:
This looks like a very promising book and is on sale at Knit Picks!
http://knitpicks.com/Knitting+with+Balls_BD30877.html