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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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6

Americans Read Over President's Shoulder

Obama's vacation book list drives leaps in Amazon sales rankings

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(Newser) – President Obama’s poll numbers are faltering, but his summer reading choices are getting rave reviews, Politico reports. A survey of the Amazon.com standings of the five books the White House announced he would take with him on his Martha’s Vineyard vacation show a drastic improvement in sales. If you’re doubtful about joining Obama’s Book Club, look at these numbers and follow the pack:

  • George Pelecanos, The Way Home: Ranked 33,349 on Amazon Monday, when the announcement came out. The next day: No. 328.
  • Richard Price, The Lush Life: Up from 74,289 to 10,295.
  • Thomas Friedman, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: 231 to 41.
  • David McCullough, John Adams: 14,301 to 7,067.
  • Kent Haruf, Plainsong: 8,155 to 189.
Take that, Oprah.

Passers-by walk past a store-front display featuring memorabilia and books on President Barack Obama in the downtown section of Oak Bluffs, Mass., on the island of Martha's Vineyard.
Passers-by walk past a store-front display featuring memorabilia and books on President Barack Obama in the downtown section of Oak Bluffs, Mass., on the island of Martha's Vineyard.   (AP Photo)
President Barack Obama looks at the book titled
President Barack Obama looks at the book titled "The Open Veins of Latin America" by Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano, after Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez handed it to him.   (AP Photo)
Author David McCullough talks with reporters before the HBO premiere of
Author David McCullough talks with reporters before the HBO premiere of "John Adams."   (AP Photo)
President-elect Barack Obama, carrying the book
President-elect Barack Obama, carrying the book "Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer" by Fred Kaplan, leaves the home of friend Penny Pritzker after having dinner in Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Then-senator Barack Obama listens during a breakfast with John Updike, Amy Sedaris, and Marie Arana at BookExpo America 2006 in Washington.
Then-senator Barack Obama listens during a breakfast with John Updike, Amy Sedaris, and Marie Arana at BookExpo America 2006 in Washington.   (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)
President Barack Obama on the Vineyard.
President Barack Obama on the Vineyard.   (AP Photo)
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6 comments
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sully4411
Aug 27, 09 2:13 PM CDT
glad to see his is reading some non-fiction - I bought Friedman's "Hot, Flat and Crowded" but have yet to make it through the first few pages (too stuck on Vera Stanley Alder's "The Fifth Dimension). I hope he actually reads it! Reply
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Snowleopard
Aug 27, 09 3:58 PM CDT
what? no right winger comments about him reading the communist manifesto, or suggesting he read atlas shrugged? surprising. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
northeast
Aug 27, 09 4:34 PM CDT
He should read Atlas Shrugged.....except if he did that, he wouldn't have time to read any of the others. That book is enormous.
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+1
IN RESPONSE:
bananana
Aug 27, 09 8:16 PM CDT
I read Atlas Shrugged, and it changed my life. Ayn Rand is a genius, Objectivism is clearly the objectively correct philosophy (pun intended lol!!11), and libertarians are obviously right about everything. I mean, everything I've accomplished has been a result of MY hard work, so I'm entitled to be keep MY money, right? Sure, my daddy's trust fund means I'll be well off whatever I do, and yeah, technically I didn't do anything to deserve that, but that's what survival of the fittest is. And maybe if poor people weren't so lazy, then they wouldn't be so poor?! Still, with perfect competition in a laissez-faire system, it's only natural that the genetically fit will rise to the top. If you liked Atlas Shrugged, you should also read The Bell Curve by Richard Herrn -*sarcasm 'gasm*
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+2
QueenAlli
Aug 27, 09 6:48 PM CDT
@northeast: i'm pretty sure he's read atlas shrugged. he's a nerd and he went to prestigious schools, i'm sure one of them required it or he read it on his own. our prez is very well read. Reply
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