First time buyer of Hardwood, looking for suggestions.

I bought about 300 square ft of 3/4 x 4 inch wide red oak, but they have near universal 'crooking', as opposed to the more bowed/cupped warping most information I can find refers to, and manufacturer indicates this is normal.

The boards lie perfectly flat, and don't hump, cup or bow, but I've yet to find a board that does not 'crook' slightly to the left or right (or both) along it's length. So if I put a 48 inch board (Boards are variable length up to ~5 feet.) up against a straight edge, there could be as much as a 1/4 inch gap at the center, though it's usually more like 1/8.

I have not started to install yet. Is this a correctable/typical issue, or should I avoid install?

Regards.

When you nail them down start at one end and as you work your way toward the other end drive a chisel or wide blade screw driver into the subfloor against the edge of the board and pry the board tight against the previously nailed row and then nail it. The board will also straighten somewhat from the force of the nail being driven at an angle through its tongue. But, the chisel/screwdriver prying will guarantee that the board is tight. Once all the boards are down and tight to each other they will hold each other straight. If there are any boards with really large crooks don't use them as is. You can cut them into shorter lengths to eliminate the crook or consider them part of the waste.