Sam Gagner's Book Collection

by Jonathan Willis on Jun 4, 2009 3:00 AM MDT

Future Greats and Heartbreaks - Gare Joyce. Perhaps the best recent work about the NHL draft, and perhaps not coincidentally containing some comments on, you guessed it, Sam Gagner. Joyce himself has a high opinion of Gagner, but does criticize him in places.

The Shock Doctrine - Naomi Klein. This is a hockey blog, not a political one, so I won't give my personal opinion of the book but it is a rather abrasive look at what Klein calls "disaster capitalism" where unpopular economic policies are enacted while the public at large is dealing with large-scale upheavel.

Mind Gym - Gary Mack and David Casstevens. I haven't read this book, but here's what Barnes & Noble says about Mack:

Gary Mack is a leading sports psychology consultant and counselor who has worked with athletes in the NBA, NFL, NHL, WNBA, and Major League Baseball. He is president of two consulting firms, Sports Assist and Planning Solutions; the director of sports psychology for Griffey International; and team counselor for the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury.

The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama. A political document in many ways, the book outlined Obama's core policy positions before his election. It isn't a highly partisan book; a rarity in and of itself, and it's also surprisingly readable.

The Satanic Verses(?) - Salman Rushdie. The title isn't completely legible, but I believe this is the book that resulted in Ayatollah Khomeini pronouncing a fatwa (a religious opinion) calling for Muslims to kill Rushdie and his publishers. The fatwa resulted in the assassination of one translator, attempts on many others, and the Sivas massacre. The novel itself deals with the alienation faced by immigrants (although that's a gross oversimplification), but many Muslims regard the references it makes to Muhammed and the Quran as blasphemous.

Playing for Pizza - John Grisham. Wikipedia makes the novel sound like the story of Ty Conklin; a third-string NFL'er is pressed into service and blows a 17-point lead in a pivotal game in only 11 minutes. He's subsequently vilified, unable to find work except for a pittance on an Italian team, and falling back in love with the game he plays.

The Race - Richard North Patterson. A political novel about a left-leaning Republican senator and war hero who falls for a liberal African-American actress while running for presidential nomination.

On a different note, fast-forward to the end of the video to watch Scott Oake talk to Snoop Dogg. It's worth watching.

Tweet Comment 4 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

You forgot Chuck Palahniuk (writer of Fight Club). Can’t tell which book this is by him. So the question is "Does Sammy really read all these books or are they window dressing to impress the “older” chicks?"

Either way, pretty impressive collection for a 19 year old who got his education through the CHL “correspondance” system.

by Matt.N on Jun 4, 2009 7:01 AM MDT reply actions

David Staples

Now that is journalism! Next you’ll be snooping through his medicine chest and going through his garbage ;)

Interesting books, though, and you seem very well read yourself Jonathan. I own a copy of Satanic Verses, but like most folks who bought it, I never read it … Maybe one day when I’m not obsessing about hockey stats. ….

by David Staples @ The Cult of Hockey on Jun 4, 2009 12:27 PM MDT reply actions

The Satanic Verses is a dense, dense novel (in the thick and complex sense, not “dumb” sense). Hard to imagine any 19 year old picking that one up for fun.

I’ll avoid adding my thoughts on Naomi Klein as well.

Matchsticks and Gasoline

by Kent Wilson on Jun 6, 2009 9:44 AM MDT reply actions

You never know

I bought War and Peace at 18; of course, I only made it about fifty pages in before giving up on it.

It's only my opinion, but it's right.

Writer for The Copper & Blue, OilersNation, and CanucksArmy.

by Jonathan Willis on Jun 6, 2009 9:52 AM MDT up reply actions

Comments For This Post Are Closed

Northwest Standings

	GP	W	L	OTL	PT
Vancouver Nucks Misconduct	53	33	15	5	71
Minnesota Hockey Wilderness	53	25	20	8	58
Colorado Mile High Hockey	55	27	25	3	57
Calgary Matchsticks and Gasoline	53	24	22	7	55
Edmonton The Copper & Blue	53	21	27	5	47

(updated 2.8.2012 at 7:10 AM MST)

21 - 27 - 5

Streak: Lost 1

Oilers Schedule

Next 5 Games

@ Detroit Winging It In Motown	Wed 02/08	5:30 PM MST
@ Ottawa Silver Seven	Sat 02/11	12:00 PM MST
Toronto Pension Plan Puppets	Wed 02/15	8:00 PM MST
Colorado Mile High Hockey	Fri 02/17	7:30 PM MST
Vancouver Nucks Misconduct	Sun 02/19	7:00 PM MST

Last 5 Games

@ Toronto Pension Plan Puppets	Mon 02/06	L 3 - 6
Detroit Winging It In Motown	Sat 02/04	SO - W 5 - 4
Chicago Second City Hockey	Thu 02/02	W 8 - 4
Colorado Mile High Hockey	Tue 01/31	W 3 - 2
@ Vancouver Nucks Misconduct	Tue 01/24	SO - L 2 - 3

Clear Victory Standings

Western Conference

Detroit Red Wings (22-7, .759)
San Jose Sharks (13-5, .722)
Vancouver Canucks (17-7, .708)
St. Louis Blues (12-6, .667)
Chicago Blackhawks (16-12, .571)
Los Angeles Kings (10-9, .526)
Nashville Predators (11-10, .524)
Phoenix Coyotes (12-12, .500)
Dallas Stars (11-15, .423)
Edmonton Oilers (11-15, .423)
Anaheim Ducks (10-14, .417)
Colorado Avalanche (9-13, .409)
Calgary Flames (9-15, .375)
Minnesota Wild (7-13,.350)
Columbus Blue Jackets (5-19, .208)

Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins (21-3, .875)
New York Rangers (18-8, .692)
Pittsburgh Penguins (16-9, .640)
Philadelphia Flyers (14-11, .560)
Toronto Maple Leafs (14-12, .538)
Washington Capitals (14-13, .519)
Montreal Canadiens (11-11, .500)
New Jersey Devils (10-12, .455)
Ottawa Senators (10-13, .435)
Winnipeg Jets (10-14, .417)
Carolina Hurricanes (9-13, .409)
Florida Panthers (7-12, .368)
Buffalo Sabres (7-14, .333)
Tampa Bay Lightning (9-20, .310)
New York Islanders (6-14, .300)

Division Standings

Central (51-39, .567)
Northeast (49-39, .557)
Atlantic (45-37, .549)
Pacific (37-36, .507)
Northwest (34-44, .436)
Southeast (33-54, .379)

Network Bar

The Copper & Blue -

An Edmonton Oilers Fan Site - ...because rebuild.