preamble | books | albums | breweries | eats | other places

2015 was a year. It was a nervous and risky, an angry and anxious, a confident, wonderful year.

In January, we sold the bookmobile. In February, we flew out to Denver and found an apartment. In March, we resigned from our jobs, donated most of our stuff to Goodwill, and drove the cats in our one remaining vehicle to our new home in Capitol Hill. Nine months later, I can safely say that moving to Denver was the best decision we’ve (and I’ve) ever made.

Kelly got a badass librarian job. I’ve settled into a service year with AmeriCorps, where I’m getting to try out two things I’ve always wanted to try: teaching math and coaching basketball. I wrote one two-page short story and four notebooks’ worth of lesson plans. We explored Denver inside-out, and, largely by virtue of moving four blocks away from The Denver Public Library, I read a lot of books, and I listened to a lot of music.

I experienced a lot of new things this year. I’m here not so much to share some (eightyish) of those experiences with you, but to recommend that you experience all of these things for yourself.

Perhaps by now you know how I do this. My books and albums lists are built from books and albums I first experienced in 2015, indiscriminate of release date. I’ll occasionally, for one reason or another, elaborate on one of my choices. I also try to include a sample of what to expect from each book, album, and place. The books have links to excerpts (or individual stories from short story collections) and if not, to the book’s Goodreads page. Each album has an embedded video of a song off the album. The breweries, places to eat, and other places all include website links and (if applicable) photo links, which are often articles on/reviews of the place itself. Uncredited photos were taken by Kelly or myself.

Please enjoy my list of way too many things, 25 books, 25 albums, 10 breweries, 10 places to eat, and 10 other places for 2015, and then go enjoy those things for yourself.

25 books for 2015

(NOTE: publication date is for original version)

(1)

Zeno’s Conscience by Italo Calvino (1923)

(2)

Exercises in Style by Raymond Queneau (1947)

This book ought to be a Rhetoric & Composition course.

An unnamed narrator boards a very full bus and notices a man with a neck like a giraffe and a hat that has a plaited cord on it instead of a ribbon. This man accuses the man next to him of purposefully stepping on his toes every time people get on and off the bus, and then flees to a seat which has just become available. Two hours later, the narrator sees this man again, this time with a different man who is giving him advice about the placement of a button on his coat.

That’s the entire story. But Queneau tells it ninety-nine different, delirium-inducing ways.

(3)

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver (1981)

(4)

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World by Haruki Murakami (1985)

Gateway book. The first of six Murakami books I read this year (currently reading: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle), and the best.

(5)

Bark by Lorrie Moore (2014)

(6)

The Folded Leaf by William Maxwell (1945)

I want to turn this novel into a movie.

(7)

My Documents by Alejandro Zambra (2015)

(8)

Tooth Imprints on a Corn Dog by Mark Leyner (1995)

My inclusion of novels from Mark Leyner, Richard Brautigan, and Robert Coover are largely due to the excerpts of their work included in the fantastic anthology, Postmodern American Fiction, which I still haven’t finished.

(9)

Orientation and Other Stories by Daniel Orozco (2011)

(10-11)

Dance Dance Dance (The Rat #4) (1988) & A Wild Sheep Chase (The Rat #3) (1982) by Haruki Murkami

(Honorable Mention: Norwegian Wood [1987])

Told you.

(12)

At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O’Brien (1939)

A story with a narrator who lies in bed all day writing a novel with a protagonist who lies in bed all day writing a novel where the characters take turns writing a story about inflicting harm upon their author.

(13)

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (2015*)

This novel complicates Atticus and Scout in important ways, and complements To Kill a Mockingbird nicely. I can’t help but wonder if the south might be a little different now if this novel had been published sixty years ago.

(14)

As She Climbed Across the Table by Jonathan Lethem (1997)

(15)

The Tetherballs of Bougainville by Mark Leyner (1997)

(16)

Speak by Louisa Hall (2015)

(17)

Continental Drift by Russell Banks (1985)

(18)

Bagombo Snuff Box: Unpublished Short Fiction by Kurt Vonnegut (1999)

(19)

The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop. by Robert Coover (1968)

Fantasy baseball, circa 1968. Incredibly tragic.

(20)

An Unfortunate Woman: A Journey by Richard Brautigan (1994)

Idiosyncratic journaling as coping mechanism. Also incredibly tragic.

(21)

The Sportswriter by Richard Ford (1986)

(22)

Ways of Going Home by Alejandro Zambra (2011)

(23)

Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware (2000)

(24)

City by City: Dispatches from the American Metropolis by Keith Gessen & Stephen Squibb (ed.) (2015)

Essays about American cities, since the recession.

(25)

Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine

#BlackLivesMatter

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25 albums for 2015

(1)

I Love You, Honeybear by Father John Misty (2015)

When I was young, I dreamt of a passionate obligation to a roommate.

My year in music began with Father John Misty’s Bored in the USA, and it didn’t get better from there (though Tame Impala came close). I Love You, Honeybear was also, due to the quality and magnitude of the Central Library’s music collection, one of few albums I actually purchased this year.

(2)

Currents by Tame Impala (2015)

(3)

Black Messiah by D’Angelo and The Vanguard (2014)

(4)

Alvvays by Alvvays (2014)

(5)

Multi-Love by Unknown Mortal Orchestra (2015)

(6)

Sound & Color by Alabama Shakes (2015)

(7)

Content Nausea by Parkay Quarts (2014)

(8)

Isles by Wild Belle (2013)

(9)

Michael by Les Sins (2015)

(10)

Was Dead by King Tuff (2008)

(Honorable Mention: King Tuff [2012])

(11)

Innerspeaker by Tame Impala (2010)

(12)

See Mystery Lights by YACHT (2009)

(13)

Foil Deer by Speedy Ortiz (2015)

(14)

Little Neon Limelight by Houndmouth (2015)

(15)

Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance by Belle & Sebastian (2015)

(16)

Ritual in Repeat by Tennis (2014)

(17)

Run the Jewels by Run the Jewels (2013)

This album was going to make the list anyway, but Killer Mike’s six-part conversation with Bernie, which you should definitely watch if you haven’t, took Run the Jewels to another level for me.

(18)

Illmatic by Nas (1994)

(19)

Bigfoot by Cayucas (2013)

(20)

The Kinks are The Village Green Preservation Society (1968)

(21)

Avi Buffalo by Avi Buffalo (2010)

(22)

Feelin’ Good by Nightmares on Wax (2013)

(23)

Picture You Staring by TOPS (2014)

(24)

Amygdala by DJ Koze (2013)

(25)

Eat Pray Thug by Heems (2015)

#25 could have been any number of albums. John Grant’s Pale Green Ghosts deserves an honorable mention. I also enjoyed this year’s new releases from Modest Mouse, Wilco, and TV on the Radio. But I think I enjoyed them because I enjoy the bands, not because the albums outrank any of their previous material. If I’m going to listen to a Modest Mouse album, Strangers to Ourselves would be like my eighth choice. Eat Pray Thug is a unique, and important, and tragic album. I find myself listening to it less often than the others, because I gravitate more towards the other artists, but in two years it’ll probably be the only one of those four albums I listen to anymore.

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10 breweries for 2015

(1)

Ratio Beerworks

(2)

Our Mutual Friend Brewing Company

(3)

Baere Brewing Company

(4)

CO-Brew

CO-Brew is a homebrewing supply store. They also do homebrewing events in-store, including demonstrations and brewing parties. They also brew their own beer, and, because of everything else they’re known for, it might be one of Denver’s best kept secrets that CO-Brew makes some of the best beer in the city. They also make that beer available for $1 for a four-ounce taster.

(5)

Mockery Brewing Co

(6)

Tivoli Brewing Co.

(7)

Fiction Beer Company

(8)

Great Divide Brewing Co

(9)

LowDown Brewery + Kitchen

(10)

Twisted Pine Brewing Co.

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10 places to eat for 2015

(1)

Biju’s Little Curry Shop

The best and only little curry shop in town.

(2)

Cheeky Monk Belgian Beer Cafe

Belgian beers and bangers and mash.

(3)

Work & Class

Meat, family-style.

(4)

Sassafras American Eatery

Cajun-style brunch and Bloody Marys.

(5)

Vesper Lounge*

Vesper comes with an asterisk. Sure, they make the best chicken pita I’ve ever eaten, and their Sunday Cheeseburger Special – $10 for a draft and burger with your choice of cheese – is one of the best deals in town. But Vesper seems to pride itself in being a dive bar. It’s like the entire wait staff has conspired together to refuse to give you water, yet they are always sure to ask if I want a shot for the road.

(6)

Moe’s Original Bar B Cue

Pictured above is what I eat every time we go to Moe’s: a ‘Bama-style pulled pork sandwich, with two quality sides.

(7)

Centro

I’ve only been once, on our recent trip to Boulder, but their tacos are some of the best I’ve ever had, not just in Colorado, but anywhere.

(8)

Subculture

#1 in quantity of meals eaten at/from a place, but I’ve also never had a sub from Subculture I didn’t like, and I’ve tried a lot of different subs.

(9)

Dos Santos

More tacos. The presentation is nice. The taste is even better.

(10)

Avanti Food & Beverage (A Collective Eatery)

Great concept and a great space. A food hall with seven different restaurants to choose from, as well as a full bar with a reliable taplist.

Preview of 10 places to eat for 2016:

(1) Torchy’s Tacos

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10 other places for 2015

(NOTE: all photos in this section were taken by Kelly or yours truly.)

(1)

The Denver Public Library

I imagine paradise as The Denver Public Library.

(2)

Denver Art Museum

Our introduction to the Denver Art Museum was an exceptional one. Kelly has a friend whose mom is a docent there, and commonly gives guided tours to high schoolers. She used her membership to get us in for free, and then proceeded to take us on a four-hour guided tour of the museum. My favorite was the Sandy Skoglund set piece (above left), which has since been removed. Kelly particularly enjoyed it because she somehow got me to pose for this photo:

(3)

The Big Wonderful

The sign says it all. A seasonal outdoor market in RiNo with live music, food trucks, craft vendors, and a “Wonderful Hour” where it’s buy-one-get-a-mystery-beer. It’s a place where, every time I go, I think, ‘You know what’d be perfect here? A bookmobile.’

(4)

Railyard Arts District (Santa Fe, NM)

I could write an entire essay on our Thanksgiving trip to Santa Fe, but I’ll limit myself to a few words on my favorite area of Santa Fe. The Railyard Arts District is home to Second Street Brewery, Violet Crown Cinema (didn’t see a movie there but they have a good taplist), a year-round farmers market, and the Last Friday Art Walk, where on the final Friday evening of each month the art galleries and museums are open to the public.

(5)

River North Art District (RiNo)

The murals are fantastic, but RiNo is also home to my two favorite breweries, two of my top three places to eat, AND The Big Wonderful. Just an all around great neighborhood.

(6)

Denver Flea

The location of the Flea, an occasional weekend pop-up market, varies, but it is always a good time. The first one we went to was in a parking garage on Blake St., and the one pictured above was at the Sculpture Park and Performing Arts Complex.

(The Flea would, ahem, also be a great place for a bookmobile.)

(7)

Clyfford Still Museum

Great art in a great space.

(8)

Denver Art Society / Art District on Santa Fe

Santa Fe is also alive with murals and has a First Friday Art Walk, but if I had to pick one place on Santa Fe to visit, it’d be Denver Art Society.

(9)

Civic Center Park

Seems like there’s always something going on at the Civic Center, from Civic Center Eats to music and fireworks on the Fourth of July to markets on Cinco de Mayo and Earth Day. It’s a great space, and I’m glad to see it utilized so, well, civically.

(10)

The Source

The Source is a great indoor market that also houses a brewery (Crooked Stave) and two places to eat (Acorn and Comida) that didn’t quite make the lists. Go make an afternoon for yourself here sometime.

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Thanks for reading, and remember to vote for Bernie in 2016.