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.