“You are not required to agree with everything you read. That is submission. But laughing at it and trying to understand something you do not concur with is called being sophisticated.” – p. 7
Greg Proops’ The Smartest Book in the World: A Lexicon of Literacy, A Rancorous Reportage, A Concise Curriculum of Cool (one of our May picks) is book comprised of Proops’ opinions on a myriad of subjects. Some of his thoughts are beautiful:
“There is no poetry in leadership now because it’s not printed on money.” – p. 3
And some of his thoughts are hilarious:
“Between the conventions of email and the stupidity of texting, it has become acceptable to use punctuation in the place of finding the right words to express your pitiful thoughts.” – p. 63
Although I may not have agreed with everything he had to say, the book was an enjoyable ride. He had a chapter called “Art I wish I had the balls to steal” that spoke to the closet art lover that I am. He listed serval pieces of art, how he might go about stealing them, why he would steal them, and where he would put them. Proops has a sophisticated imagination.
The only thing that genuinely annoyed me about this book was Proops’ condemnation of the Oxford comma. I know the Oxford comma is a serious point of contention among those who have a genuine love and appreciation for the English language. I am pro-Oxford comma and was sad to read his opinion.
After reading his rather harsh opinion, however, I noticed that the Oxford comma was used throughout the book. I spent the rest of the book condemning Proops as a hypocrite until I got to his notes at the end of the book:
Notes, addendum, errata, and erik Estrada (on the oxford comma)
“I was sentenced by the publishers to sit captive in a darkened room with ghastly, uncomfortable furnishings, horrible music by Sting, and dismal New York weed while they peppered my masterpiece with this abomination of punctuation. “ – p. 295
I recommend this book to readers who enjoy interesting facts and useless information. I don’t know how to categorize it, for Proops discussed music, baseball, art, language, politics, men, women, film, and more. I would say that if you don’t have a general knowledge of pop culture or an understanding of baseball, you may struggle with many of the references. In order to enjoy this book, I think the quote I opened with from page seven is the only attitude you can approach it with.
Did you get a chance to read it? What is your reaction? Leave a comment below with your thoughts and be sure to tag your copy of the book on instagram with #TWTBookshelf.
Live, Love, Learn,
Candice & The Write Teacher(s) Team