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Obama’s Summer Reading

By Amy Sullivan | @sullivanamy | August 24, 2009 | +

The President packed a whole stack of books to take with him to Martha’s Vineyard this week, according to deputy press secretary Bill Burton, who dutifully read off the list of titles at a briefing this morning:

  • The Way Home, by George Pelecanos
  • Hot, Flat, and Crowded, by Tom Friedman
  • Lush Life, by Richard Price
  • Plainsong, by Kent Haruf
  • John Adams, by David McCullough

A few of those sound more dutiful than inspired, but all in all, not a bad selection. If he wants to get through them all, though, Obama may have to come down with the kind of cold that sidelined me on my vacation last week. With nothing to do other than sniffle and eat Nutella-and-peanut-butter sandwiches, I had plenty of time to make my way through Netherland (Obama’s 2008 recommendation), The Last Good Kiss (suggested by Michael Scherer), David Lebovitz’s The Sweet Life in Paris, and the fantastic The Dark is Rising children’s series by Susan Cooper, which the Obama girls should add to their own lists.

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  • ralphkramden17

    My guess is the Obamas (maybe even including Malia) have already read it, but the ideal book for a Martha’s Vineyard vacation might be “The Emperor of Ocean Park” by Stephen Carter (a mystery thriller set in part in Oak Bluffs).

  • John Royal

    I can highly recommend “Lush Life” and “John Adams.” I would on general principal, tell him and everyone to ignore anything written by Friedman.

  • deconstructiva

    Amy, sorry to read about your cold and hopefully you’re feeling better already. I recommend Granny’s cold cure from “The Beverly Hillbillies” (ingredients unknown but it works): take one spoonful of CC and in a week to ten days you’re cured. I’ve read (and own a copy of) McCullough’s Adams profile, highly recommended. Amy, if YOU want a wildly different spin on political events back then, try Marvin Kitman’s “The Making of the Prefident 1789” (uses old funny-looking “f” for “s” as back then). It has some blush-inducing moments to boot.

  • captainnoble

    Actually From Beirut to Jerusalem is quite good. Everything else, though, is…well, not so good.

  • http://www.hulagate.org hulagate

    Any chance he’ll read the health scam bill?

    Of course not.

  • homerhk

    I knew there was a reason I liked him! Pelecanos is incredible; I bet he’s got series 2 of The Wire with him as well.

  • buzzorhowl

    Whoa! Pelecanos AND Price! The man has taste.

  • http://bookhopping.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/presidential-beach-reads/ presidential beach reads « bookhopping

    [...] Obama and his family are off to Martha’s Vineyard for vacation this week, and according to Time.com, the president is hoping to get some reading done.  His vacation [...]

  • sacredh

    If he’s going to the beach shouldn’t he take a copy of the NYTimes or the Washington Post to wrap dead fish in? They’re not really good for anything else are they?

  • http://charliekennedy.wordpress.com charliekennedy

    homer and buzz are right on. Not one, but two contributing writers to The Wire on the prez’ reading list. Good taste. Altho homer, I would hope he’s viewing seasons 4 and 5, which imho, were the series at it’s best.

    btw – from 2008 – am I the only person who thought Netherland was overrated?

  • Rorschach

    I’m pretty sure the president is on record as saying his favorite tv show is The Wire. Man has taste.

  • freeinpa

    Too bad Obama doesn’t have HR 3200 on his summer reading list

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