[Rugster]

This has to be one of the biggest lies told lately.
http://www.booktv.org/misc/081706_bush.asp

They say that this is just some of the 40 books he has read in the first 8 months.

President Bush's Summer Reading List
Provided by the White House Press Office

Quick Red Fox
by John D. MacDonald

The Dreadful Lemon Sky
by John D. MacDonald

After Fidel: The Inside Story of Castro's Regime and Cuba's Next Leader
by Brian Latell

Challenger Park
by Stephen Harrigan

Flashman at the Charge
by George MacDonald Fraser

Finding Fish: A Memoir
by Antwone Quenton Fisher

Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different
by Gordon S. Wood

The Bridge at Andau
by James Michener

Flash for Freedom
by George MacDonald Fraser

Mayflower : A Story of Courage, Community, and War
by Nathaniel Philbrick

Through a Glass, Darkly : A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery
by Donna Leon

Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer
by James L. Swanson

Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles that Shaped American History
by Craig L. Symonds

The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth
by Leigh Montville

Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero
by David Maraniss

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird & Martin J. Sherwin

The Messenger
by Daniel Silva

The Places in Between
by Rory Stewart

Beach Road
by James Patterson & Peter de Jonge

Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power
by Richard Carwardine

Polio: An American Story
by David Oshinsky

The Stranger
by Albert Camus

Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural
by Ronald C. White, Jr.

Promised Land, Crusader State
by Walter McDougall

Cinnamon Skin: Travis McGee Mysteries
by John D. MacDonald

Macbeth
by William Shakespeare

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

[IDave]

Ha! They said nothing about him having read them, they are just on his list!

[whodat]

I thought you and Gumby were at that NOW meeting?

[freightdog]

I did not know he knew how to read...

could be books on tape...

[Rugster]

Posted 4:22 pm | Printer Friendly | Spotlight

A week ago, we discussed whether the president actually read Camus’ “The Stranger,” and discussed the origins of existentialism. It turns out, however, there’s a little more to Bush’s new-found appreciation of the printed word.

Maybe it was the influence of his wife, Laura, a former librarian, or his mother, Barbara, a longtime promoter of literacy. Or perhaps he was just eager to dispel his image as an intellectual lightweight. But President Bush now wants it known that he is a man of letters.

In fact, Bush has entered a book-reading competition with Karl Rove, his political adviser. White House aides say the president has read 60 books so far this year (while the brainy Rove, to Bush’s competitive delight, has racked up only 50).

U.S. News & World Report’s Kenneth T. Walsh published a portion of the president’s 60-book list, while C-SPAN posted an even more complete list.

I try to avoid categorical statements about people I’ve never met and don’t know personally, but I feel comfortable saying there is absolutely no way on earth the president read all of these books. None.

First, while the reading list has its share of baseball titles, there are some fairly serious books here, including John Barry’s “The Great Influenza,” Geraldine Brooks’ “Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women,” Gordon Wood’s “Revolutionary Characters,” and (I kid you not) “Macbeth” and “Hamlet” by Shakespeare. I don’t want to say these books are above the president’s reading level, but for a guy who doesn’t read newspapers and has never shown a hint of intellectual curiosity, it’s a bit of a stretch.

Second, there’s the time element. Some of Dan Froomkin’s readers started crunching the numbers.

Of the twelve books listed, I come up with a total page count of 5,356 pages, including 1,585 pages not available until at least 4/2006 of this year. That is an average page count of 450 pages per book. Multiply by his 60 books so far this year for a total page count of 27,000. 27,000 pages means the President would have to average a little over 115 pages per day. Reading a quick pace of a little over a minute per page, that is two hours a day of reading, and let’s be honest, longer if you want to retain information in these types of books. And this from a man who prides himself in not reading the paper. I don’t buy it.

And those are just the 12 books Walsh listed. The White House press office gave C-SPAN a list of 25 books — which were just part of the president’s summer reading list. For a guy who likes to get to bed early, who devotes a couple of hours a day to exercise, and who ostensibly oversees the executive branch of government during a war, let’s just say this is more than a little “ambitious.”

Even if we assume that this is all transparent White House spin, and that the president didn’t read “The Stranger” or much else from his reading list, the question then becomes, why bother with this narrative anyway?

USNWR’s Walsh wrote that “portraying Bush as a voracious reader is part of an ongoing White House campaign to restore what a senior adviser calls ‘gravitas’ to the Bush persona. He certainly needs something.”

I agree he needs “something,” but does anyone seriously believe that producing bogus reading lists will suddenly give people the impression that Bush is “a man of letters”? A voracious reader? An intellectual heavyweight?

C’mon. We’re talking about a guy who’s supposed to be folksy and simple. It’s an image the White House has worked hard to cultivate over the years. The president seems to enjoy it — otherwise he wouldn’t openly mock people with PhDs.

The fact that the White House gang is experimenting with a new persona — Bush, the reader — is embarrassing. He’s not supposed to be about book learnin’; he’s about governing by instinct and relying on the advice of educated people who tell him what he wants to hear. Switching gears now is not only literally unbelievable, it’s pointless. The die is already cast.

[Rugster]

Originally Posted by freightdog

I did not know he knew how to read...

could be books on tape...

[Sporin]

I've read most of the Travis McGee Mysteries by John D. MacDonald. Cinnamon Skin is very good.

[semlin]

i'm stunned he would admit reading those flashman books. those are incredibly un PC 60s trashy softcore wenching and plundering loveablke rogue books with distinct imperialist overtones. wholesale rogering with the occasional rogering roundly. or so i hear

[fsusteve]

there's no way that fawkin' guy read two Shakesperean novels over the summer....

[semlin]

Originally Posted by fsusteve

there's no way that fawkin' guy read two Shakesperean novels over the summer....

dude, they are just plays and they only take a couple of hours to perform in full. iirc my shakespear class, they can be read in an evening.

the stranger is also short. between the trashy beach novels and the short stuff and the non-fiction he probably grazed, I'd say the list is credible. what confuses me is why his fiction reading list looks like something an 18 year old in first year university would be tackling.

[ridgerunner]

Originally Posted by semlin

dude, they are just plays and they only take a couple of hours to perform in full. iirc my shakespear class, they can be read in an evening.

You can read one in a single night, but reading does not equal comprehension.

I'm not saying W is or is not, but a single evening is not enough for Macbeth or Hamlet.

[Gumby]

I can bust through one of those John D. macDonald books in a few hours. It's light stuff. he's had that same reading list for years now. Either he's reading them over and over, or his concept of "this year" is a little different than most.

I'm not sure if I'd rather have him reading or presidenting. he doesn't seem very good at the latter. Perhaps it's best that Rove found a way to keep him occupied for the next 106 weeks.

[thekirk]

Y'know, this is something that always puzzles me about people's reaction to President Bush: At the same time they're calling him the most devious bastard since Machiavelli, and attributing all of these amazingly convoluted conspiracies to him, they also think he's some sort of slacker college dropout who needs to sound out anything over two syllables, and who can't tie his shoes without help.

Ya can't have it both ways, I'm thinking.

As to the reading? Well, I don't know about him, but I've probably read about eighty books in the last year, or so, and that's including the time I was in Iraq. Which means it was a slow year, for me.

Just because the average American doesn't read more than a book, or so, a year isn't reason to doubt this list. Somebody is keeping Amazon and Borders in business, despite that fact. I don't know how many books are sold or borrowed every year in the US, but I'm thinking that the people who are doing it are habitual readers that go through a hell of a lot of books apiece. My entertainment budget is almost entirely devoted to books and magazines, and I'd have to say that most non-readers I've talked to about the issue are shocked by the amount of crap I read, and the amount I spend on it. People who read, read. A lot. I've got the bills and frequent buyers cards to prove it.

Short story? I think it's entirely possible that President Bush actually *has* read the books on this list. The man isn't anywhere near as stupid or uneducated as he's made out to be by his opponents or the press. Which is pretty much saying the same thing...

[97fortieth4me]

He must've skimmed through Cliff's Notes for all those.

[Cookiemonster]

Why do you hate books so much Rug?

Oh ya that's right the Primeier doesn't like the people to read anything that isn't on the "approved" list.

Maybe you should send the White House one of your famous book markers.

[Gumby]

Originally Posted by thekirk

Y'know, this is something that always puzzles me about people's reaction to President Bush: At the same time they're calling him the most devious bastard since Machiavelli, and attributing all of these amazingly convoluted conspiracies to him, they also think he's some sort of slacker college dropout who needs to sound out anything over two syllables, and who can't tie his shoes without help.

Ya can't have it both ways, I'm thinking.

As to the reading? Well, I don't know about him, but I've probably read about eighty books in the last year, or so, and that's including the time I was in Iraq. Which means it was a slow year, for me.

Just because the average American doesn't read more than a book, or so, a year isn't reason to doubt this list. Somebody is keeping Amazon and Borders in business, despite that fact. I don't know how many books are sold or borrowed every year in the US, but I'm thinking that the people who are doing it are habitual readers that go through a hell of a lot of books apiece. My entertainment budget is almost entirely devoted to books and magazines, and I'd have to say that most non-readers I've talked to about the issue are shocked by the amount of crap I read, and the amount I spend on it. People who read, read. A lot. I've got the bills and frequent buyers cards to prove it.

Short story? I think it's entirely possible that President Bush actually *has* read the books on this list. The man isn't anywhere near as stupid or uneducated as he's made out to be by his opponents or the press. Which is pretty much saying the same thing...

I don't think Bush is Machiavellian. I think he's a dumb ass. Certainly far from what the job demands. I think the people around him are among the most devious ever assembled. It's no wonder many of them were in the Nixon White House. In fact, I think Rovian will replace Machiavellian in the future to indicate devious, unprincipled behavior.

I'm just a lowly teacher who reads at a very high rate and there is no way I could read all those books in a year. If I had the most important job in the whole fawking world, I would be reading things that directly related to my job. I'm sure the stack of things he should be reading and, according to reports, doesn't, is astounding. For 8 years of my life all I would be doing is the job. There's time for reading trashy novels while you're pulling in a full presidential pension and millions on the lecture circuit later.

[GetsUThere]

Originally Posted by semlin

dude, they are just plays and they only take a couple of hours to perform in full.

Yeah, but unlike a play, you can't sleep through the book

[Gumby]

Originally Posted by Cookiemonster

Why do you hate books so much Rug?

Oh ya that's right the Primeier doesn't like the people to read anything that isn't on the "approved" list.

Maybe you should send the White House one of your famous book markers.

That is some random insults right there. Your hate doesn't even make sense any more, Cookie.

[koop]

maybe he should, I don't know, PUT DOWN THE FUCKING BOOK AND GET TO WORK

[freightdog]

Originally Posted by Rugster

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh

He has children read books to him for free = smart ... and the books are his reading level!

Now turn the damn book right side up!