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Showing posts sorted by date for query boom town. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Dave's Book List: 2018

Another end of the year book list . . . yuck . . . so let me boil it down to something practical. First some boilerplate: I read a bunch of good books this year, and I'm proud of that (or fairly proud . . . Stacey delivered a healthy whack to my self-esteem) but I understand that you're probably not going to enjoy the same books as me. Certainly not forty-three of the same books.

It's really hard to recommend a good book. Reading-- real reading-- is deeply personal. In the end, it's what you think about the words that makes the book good for you or not. Not that I subscribe to relative aesthetic ethics . . . I think some sentences are written far better than others. But once a book reaches a certain level of competence, then it's really up to the reader to appreciate and make sense of it. And if it sounds like "hillbilly gibberish," as Darryl McDaniels categorized the lyrics to "Walk This Way"-- then even if you sing it like you mean it, it still might not mean much to you at all (even if everyone else loves it).

So skip the list if you want, but grant me one sincere, universal, sure-fire recommendation. A list of one. I would trade all the books on my list for #39. Boom. Literally.

I'm talking about Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, Its Chaotic Founding, Its Apocalyptic Weather, Its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World Class Metropolis by Sam Anderson. Anderson is so passionate about his subject matter that it doesn't matter if you're a Thunder/Flaming Lips fan, or a tornado junkie, or a history buff who wants to know more about the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889-- which Anderson says should either be called "Chaos Explosion Apocalypse Town" or "Reckoning of the Doom Settlers: Clusterfuck on the Prairie-- none of that matters, as the book races along at EF5 speed towards the inevitable explosion.

Read it.
  1. The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us About the Relationship Between Parents and Children by Alison Gopnik

  2. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

  3. Glass House: The 1% Economy and the Shattering of the All-American Town by Brian Alexander

  4. White Tears by Hari Kunzru

  5. The Amateur: The Pleasure of Doing What You Love by Andy Merrifield

  6. The Night Market by Jonathan Moore

  7. Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist by Paul Kingsnorth

  8. The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles C. Mann

  9. The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life by Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson

  10. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt

  11. Global Discontents: Conversations on the Rising Threats to Democracy by Noam Chomsky

  12. Beartown by Fredrik Backman

  13. Requiem for the American Dream by Noam Chomsky

  14. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin

  15. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson

  16. The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli

  17. Drown by Junot Diaz

  18. The Consciousness Instinct: Unraveling the Mystery of How the Brain Makes the Mind by Michael S. Gazzaniga

  19. When Einstein Walked with Gödel: Excursions to the Edge of Thought by Jim Holt

  20.  The Changeling by Joy Williams

  21. The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students by Allan Bloom

  22. Florida by Laura Groff

  23. Ask the Dust by John Fante

  24. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie

  25. Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America by Jill Leovy

  26. The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke by Andrew Lawler

  27.  Calypso by David Sedaris

  28. World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech by Franklin Foer

  29. The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World -- An Us by Richard O. Prum

  30. Borne by Jeff Vandermeer

  31. The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell by Mark Kurlansky

  32. A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron

  33. Authority by Jeff Vandermeer

  34. Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher

  35. The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt

  36. The Shakespeare Requirement by Julie Schumacher

  37. Vox by Christina Dalcher

  38. Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh

  39. Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, Its Chaotic Founding, Its Apocalyptic Weather, Its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World Class Metropolis by Sam Anderson

  40. Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data Andrew Wheeler

  41. American Prison by Shane Bauer

  42. Middlemarch by George Eliot

  43. Farsighted: How We Make the Decisions That Matter the Most by Steven JohnsonFarsighted: How We Make the Decisions That Matter the Most by Steven Johnson

Literacy: It's Not a Contest . . . Or Is It?

Over the past year, my friend (and fellow philosophy teacher) Stacey did something rather remarkable. I'm going to let her tell her story . . . but, before she begins, I have some rather remarkable commentary about her story (of course I do). I've conveniently put my words in vivid red, so if you want to skip them, you can proceed directly to Stacey's post. But you'd be missing out on some interesting context (and, not only that, you'd be missing out on all my thoughts and feelings, which-- if you've made your way to this corner of the internet-- you find either incredibly fascinating or so annoying that you can't stop reading them).


When Stacey started this project I was worried. Worried that she threw out the proverbial baby with the proverbial bathwater. I use the word "proverbial" here so readers unfamiliar with the idiom do not call DYFS and report Stacey for infanticide.


The "proverbial baby" Stacey tossed out of her life has more than a passing resemblance to an actual baby. It's immature, needs support in getting established, and possesses great potential. And it has a cute name. Podcast. Stacey threw out listening to podcasts, the nascent audio format that's still toddling around the media-milieu with an adorably anachronistic name. This freaked me out, because Stacey and I have both bonded with a number of different podcasts. It seemed kind of cold-blooded of her to cut ties completely with the art form (especially since we make one of our own). This would be like Steven Spielberg deciding not to watch movies (which might be the case, judging by how old the movies are that inspired him).


I'll let Stacey explain the specific ins and outs of why she quit this fledgling media cold turkey, but her general reason was so she could read more books. Now I'm all for reading books, but I don't like these kinds of arbitrarily strict deontological rules. I prefer case-by-case utilitarian ethics. The "deon" in deontological is Greek for duty, and Stacey decided it was her duty as an English teacher and an intellectual to change her ways. But I don't think you should completely quit something with as much potential value as podcasts. The right number of podcasts to listen to isn't zero. The right number is of podcasts to listen to is difficult to determine, but the golden mean, the amount of podcasts you can enjoy while still finding time to read, is probably somewhere around two per day. That seems reasonable. I wrote a long and winding post about the difficulties with this kind of Aristotelean morality and I do concede that it's easier to make a categorical rule if you want to get things done, but a good podcast is better than a bad book. I explained all this to Stacey, but she stuck to her principled guns.


I had other reasons for worrying about Stacey's project, some of them altruistic and some of them selfish. In all sincerity, I wanted Stacey to enjoy the new season of Serial. I wanted her to listen to two fantastic takes on human memory, one of them dead serious serious (Revisionist History "Free Brian Williams") and the other absurd and funny (Heavyweight "#16 Rob"). I wanted her to enjoy the weirdness of Benjamin Walker's Theory of Everything "Victory is Ours." But she would not bite. She was determined and focused.


Slightly more selfish was the fact that I wanted to be able to kill time at work discussing these podcasts with Stacey. I'd recommend them and she'd tell me "Not yet. I want to finish strong . . . December 2nd." I'd tell her she was nuts, that life is too short for hard and fast rules, and she shouldn't deny herself the pleasure, but there was no talking to her.

I was also worried that she might be reading a bunch of crap, just to amass a huge list of books. Loads of Jojo Moyes and Liane Moriarty and Nicholas Sparks. Chick-lit and cheese. This was rather stupid and sexist of me, it turns out.


My greatest anxiety was a selfish one. I was worried that she would read more books than me. I average forty-some books a year, a number I'm quite proud of. I always post the list, and I'm always impressed with myself (which isn't difficult . . . I set the bar low). It turns out I didn't need to worry about this. It wasn't even close. Stacey read so many books that I'll never count how many books I read in a year again. Because I'll never live up to her list, so why bother to count? It's not a contest anyway. Right? And the point of this blog is to slow down . . . so perhaps with my shorter list, I'm winning the contest.

I'd also like to clear up what might be a misconception: if you think Stacey was doing some sort of analogue back-to-basics return to reading on paper from books checked out from the library, you'd be dead wrong. She spent a shitload of money on this project-- that's how she rolls. She checked zero books out of the library. She bought zero hardcovers with which to adorn her shelves. Instead, she purchased the Kindle version of each book and the discounted Audible version as well, so she blew through books in an efficient digital combination; she read for about an hour or so each day on her phone, and then when her eyes got tired or she was driving or getting ready for school or working out, she listened to the audio version. High tech.



Stacey's Story of Her Badass Book list (In Her Own Words)




Every year around this time, I try to reflect on my life. I evaluate my strengths and weaknesses and think about the type of life I want to lead.


My father and I had a conversation once about how New Year’s resolutions are always so strict and limiting. They force you to place unnecessary rules and restrictions on your life.  These resolutions tell you what you can’t do and seldom leave room for any fun. We both agreed we were sick of resolutions telling us “don’t drink soda,” “don’t eat sweets,” “don’t watch as much tv” and the worst: “don’t drink beer.”


We decided that, from that point on, we would make our resolutions positive. For a full year we resolved that we would curse more — much to the chagrin of my mother. Whenever I called, my dad would bellow: “How the fuck are you?!”


Cursing more was fun. It was funny. It was easy. At the end of the year, we wished each other a “happy fucking New Year,” and I set to work picking another positive resolution.


Last year, I realized I was wasting an inordinate amount of time listening to podcasts hosted by self-congratulatory comedians boasting about the importance of their work. Of course, there would be an episode of Serial or Waking Up With Sam Harris thrown into the mix, but overall, I was not listening to anything of real academic merit. The etymology of the dick joke could not be considered high brow media consumption. Clearly, this was not a valuable use of my time.


My resolution became clear: I wanted to read more. Anytime I would normally spend idly listening to a podcast - I would instead pick up a book.


I started December 1st (I am never ready to make big life changes on the 1st of January). I find I can keep my resolutions if I have a month to ease into them, but it didn't matter for this one. I did not “ease” into this resolution. In December of 2017 I read eight books. This quickly turned my resolution into a challenge. I wanted to see how many books I could read in one year. I didn’t think I could maintain the pace of two books a week while still working full time - but I wanted to see what I was capable of.


Any time one of my friends mentioned a book they were reading, I immediately added it to my list. I scoured the New York Times and Washington Posts “Best Books of the Year.” I joined Goodreads at some point in this venture (I can’t believe it took me this long). If a book was highly rated - I was going to read it.


I did not select books based on how long they were (even though Dave would like to believe I did). Maybe next year I will do that, so I can double my list — but that doesn’t sound very appealing.


As this year draws to a close, I can say that my resolution was a success. I am incredibly proud of myself for what I have accomplished. I’ve read more this year than I have in probably the past six or seven years combined.


I have not yet decided my next resolution - if you have a suggestion, I am open... As 2018 draws to a close, I can truly say “this was a good fuckin’ year.”


(Editors note: Dave has bolded all the books he has read, and therefore approves of. Thirty of them! So many good ones, but number 80 is my favorite book I read this year).


2018 Books:


1. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders


2. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie


3. Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris


4. The Power by Naomi Alderman


5. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath


6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou


7. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline


8. The Relic Master by Christopher Buckley


9. The Outline by Rachel Cusk


10. Little Fires Everywhere by Celest Ng


11. Lab Girl by Hope Jahren


12. What Made Maddy Run by Kate Fagan


13. Atonement by Ian McEwen


14. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman


15. Hillbilly Elegy by J.D Vance.


16. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut


17. Tenth of December by George Saunders


18. Heroes of the Frontier by Dave Eggers


19. American Gods by Neil Gaiman


20. Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut


21. Bear Town by Fredrik Backman


22. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman


23. White Houses by Amy Bloom


24. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers


25. Cemetery John by Robert Zorn


26. The Breakdown by BA Paris


27. The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand


28. Less by Andrew Sean Greer


29. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson


30. This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz


31. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte


32. Lathe of Heaven by Ursula LeGuin


33. Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate


34. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones


35. I’ll Be Gone In The Dark by Michelle McNamara


36. Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella


37. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jasmine Ward


38. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston


39. The Woman in The Window by AJ Finn


40. Drown by Junot Diaz


41. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho


42. Artemis by Andy Weir


43. Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman


44. Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell


45. Calypso by David Sedaris


46. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman


47. A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay


48. The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz


49. The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen


50. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell


51. The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine


52. The Hating Game by Sally Thorne


53. All The Missing Girls by Megan Miranda


54. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer


55. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel


56. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah


57. The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena


58. The Alice Network by Kate Quinn


59. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green


60. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles


61. Ask The Dust by John Fante


62. Lamb by Christopher Moore


63. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal


64. Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff


65. Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher


66. American Pastoral by Philip Roth


67. The Shakespeare Requirement by Julie Schumacher


68. Straight Man by Richard Russo


69. Where the Crawdad Sings by Delia Owens


70. Warlight by Michael Ondaatje


71. The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman


72. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas


73. This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel


74. Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson


75. Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt


76. Florida by Lauren Groff


77. The Other Woman by Sandie Jones


78. Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates


79. The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt


80. Boom Town by Sam Anderson


Boom Goes the Book

Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, Its Chaotic Founding, Its Apocalyptic Weather, Its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World Class Metropolis by Sam Anderson is a platinum-level-must-read for American men (and hairy-chested American women) and when I list the topics, you'll understand why I make this claim-- and these manly topics are all woven together in a rocket-fueled tapestry of a narrative . . . a manly tapestry:

1) Oklahoma Thunder basketball during the Westbrook, Durant, Harden era and the post-Harden Reconstruction;

2) the Land Rush of 1889 . . . retitled by Anderson as either the "Chaos Explosion Apocalypse Town" or "Reckoning of the Doom Settlers: Clusterfuck on the Prairie;

3) the Sooners, who actually had the gall and wherewithal to cheat at the Doom Chaos Apocalypse Town Clusterfuck;

4) tornadoes, extreme weather, and the men and women that predict and chase these monstrous storms;

5) Clara Luper and the Oklahoma City Civil Rights movement;

6) city planning and the tension between top-down bureaucracy bottom-up up emergence;

7) enigmatic, experimental, anomalous and loyal native OklahomanWayne Coyne and his band The Flaming Lips;

8) domestic terrorism and a tragic explosion more devastating than the original formation of Oklahoma City;

and if there's nothing on this list that piques your interest, then I've got nothing much to say to you; this is the book of the year (and maybe the book of the last ten years . . . I loved it!)

Boom Goes the Book

Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, Its Chaotic Founding, Its Apocalyptic Weather, Its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World Class Metropolis by Sam Anderson is a platinum-level-must-read for American men (and hairy-chested American women) and when I list the topics, you'll understand why I make this claim-- and these manly topics are all woven together in a rocket-fueled tapestry of a narrative . . . a manly tapestry:

1) Oklahoma Thunder basketball during the Westbrook, Durant, Harden era and the post-Harden Reconstruction;

2) the Land Rush of 1889 . . . retitled by Anderson as either the "Chaos Explosion Apocalypse Town" or "Reckoning of the Doom Settlers: Clusterfuck on the Prairie;

3) the Sooners, who actually had the gall and wherewithal to cheat at the Doom Chaos Apocalypse Town Clusterfuck;

4) tornadoes, extreme weather, and the men and women that predict and chase these monstrous storms;

5) Clara Luper and the Oklahoma City Civil Rights movement;

6) city planning and the tension between top-down bureaucracy bottom-up up emergence;

7) enigmatic, experimental, anomalous and loyal native OklahomanWayne Coyne and his band The Flaming Lips;

8) domestic terrorism and a tragic explosion more devastating than the original formation of Oklahoma City;

and if there's nothing on this list that piques your interest, then I've got nothing much to say to you; this is the book of the year (and maybe the book of the last ten years . . . I loved it!)
A New Sentence Every Day, Hand Crafted from the Finest Corinthian Leather.