Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Best of 2010
In October of last year I challenged my friends to help create of Best of 2010 list, a la the Best American series. Genre and medium do not matter. The only odd rule was that the work had to be discovered by one of us in 2010, not necessarily written in those 12 months.
My initial enthusiasm was dampened once I considered how little I've read in the last year. Typically my capacity for digestion is roughly equal to new material on hand. This has been a very mild 12 months, and quite front-loaded. But on the other hand, it's possible that I'm overlooking a lot of material. My reading has shifted from memorable pieces (books and long form articles) to more forgettable essays.
I'll start with books and move on to articles.
Nixonland
My initial enthusiasm was dampened once I considered how little I've read in the last year. Typically my capacity for digestion is roughly equal to new material on hand. This has been a very mild 12 months, and quite front-loaded. But on the other hand, it's possible that I'm overlooking a lot of material. My reading has shifted from memorable pieces (books and long form articles) to more forgettable essays.
I'll start with books and move on to articles.
Nixonland
This portrays Nixon in a fair and stark light. It initially draws sympathy in a way I was not prepared for. I assumed it would be a firefight from the get-go. But the description of his beginnings and struggle for accomplishment is something anyone can and must appreciate. Then, as it follows his later power grab years, it illuminates a disgusting person. I've said this before, but shame on the press and shame on the priests of popular culture for cementing Watergate has his greatest taint. That was a slap stick banana peel compared to, say, the bombing of civilian dikes in Cambodia.
The Know-It-All; One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person Ever by A.J. Jacobs
This is less an epistemic how-to and more along the lines of trivia porn. The author reads the entire Encyclopedia Britannica and writes about it. His excerpts and commentary are interesting but the book has an annoying B-story plot.
The Wisdom of Crowds - James Surowiecki
A fun read on the Googleization of our world. Ironically this book is already outdated, but the principles are sound and it's still an interesting read. Information, and the liberalization of information, is a powerful thing. It's pretty easy for me to dismiss Twitter as trivial. Then Iran, Tunisia, Egypt and Libya happen.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.
This brilliantly empathizes with an increasingly common situation. Additionally it's mind candy for your math side.
Thomas Jefferson, Author of America - Hitchens
The founding fathers were too legit to quit. Write this down and don't take anything away from it: MC Jefferson was verily, verily the truth.
The Times' Opinionator blog is a fascinating series of essays. Their best attribute is the capacity to draw from a cross section of fields. If you ask a historian, director and scientist to write about what they care about you'll gather some interesting responses.
Errol Morris wrote a delightful 5 part series.
Questions for Vicente Fox
I never tire of reading questionarires in this format. The editing delivers a concentrated dose of goodness.
Also, Vanity Fair's Proust Questionaires are always a delight.
Foreign Policy's Stories You Missed in 2010, especially China's one child policy. Oddly enough, throughout my childhood, I've always considered this policy from the perspective of the parents. It was only recently that I considered the single children's situation. I can't imagine growing up in a community where the words "brother" and "sister" have a stronger association with the Communist Party than the familial way we think of them.
The Know-It-All; One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person Ever by A.J. Jacobs
This is less an epistemic how-to and more along the lines of trivia porn. The author reads the entire Encyclopedia Britannica and writes about it. His excerpts and commentary are interesting but the book has an annoying B-story plot.
The Wisdom of Crowds - James Surowiecki
A fun read on the Googleization of our world. Ironically this book is already outdated, but the principles are sound and it's still an interesting read. Information, and the liberalization of information, is a powerful thing. It's pretty easy for me to dismiss Twitter as trivial. Then Iran, Tunisia, Egypt and Libya happen.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.
This brilliantly empathizes with an increasingly common situation. Additionally it's mind candy for your math side.
Thomas Jefferson, Author of America - Hitchens
The founding fathers were too legit to quit. Write this down and don't take anything away from it: MC Jefferson was verily, verily the truth.
The Times' Opinionator blog is a fascinating series of essays. Their best attribute is the capacity to draw from a cross section of fields. If you ask a historian, director and scientist to write about what they care about you'll gather some interesting responses.
Errol Morris wrote a delightful 5 part series.
Questions for Vicente Fox
I never tire of reading questionarires in this format. The editing delivers a concentrated dose of goodness.
Also, Vanity Fair's Proust Questionaires are always a delight.
Foreign Policy's Stories You Missed in 2010, especially China's one child policy. Oddly enough, throughout my childhood, I've always considered this policy from the perspective of the parents. It was only recently that I considered the single children's situation. I can't imagine growing up in a community where the words "brother" and "sister" have a stronger association with the Communist Party than the familial way we think of them.
Labels: the writing on the wall is just one of the things I'd like to be able to read
¶ 10:15 PM
