Corinne’s Book Bag
August 26th, 2009
Inspired by the article Barack’s Book Bag published on Slate.
The president of the United States is on vacation. Apparently, like most people on vacation, most of the U.S. presidents bring a stack (or mini-stack) of books with them for personal edification and enjoyment. According to the article above, ever since John F. Kennedy confessed to reading the 007 series, the media has speculated on what exactly a president’s reading list says about him. I wasn’t quite sure what was meant by that – says about him as a what? A person? A leader? A curious mind who happens to like reading?
The article got me thinking about what I have been reading (or attempting to read) or have read this past summer. It also reminded me of the stack of textbooks waiting for my attention next week when I return to grad school.
Should we judge a person by what they read? Or, for that matter, should we judge a person by what they haven’t read? I know if I were to plop myself down on a lawn at my place of employment with certain books in hand, I would definitely receive some curious stares, miniscule applause, or maybe even some chastisement. Were I to do the same at my local Starbucks, I may get a few stares and nothing more (maybe a few free samples?). I sometimes feel embarrassed checking out books from my local library (especially the day I checked out She’s Not the Man I Married, which I found quite by accident and discovered to be truly fascinating. Unfortunately, I did not finish…I shall return to it next summer), where some of the teenage clerks give me odd looks as I smile at them in an effort to hurry my checkout process.
Either way, here are the books I am currently reading/will be reading in the months to come. Judge me as you will.
For Grad School:
- Ethernet: The Definitive Guide – Charles E. Spurgeon (O’Reily)
- Beginning Web Programming with HTML, XHTML, and CSS – Jon Duckett
- PC Hardware in a Nutshell – Robert B. Thompson & Barbara F. Thompson (O’Reily)
- Managing and Troubleshooting Networks – Mike Meyers (no, not the comedian nor the murderer – different spelling, too)
For Teaching:
- Principles of Public Speaking – Monroe, Gronbeck, Ehninger, German
- A Rulebook for Arguments – A. Weston
- Intercultural Competence – Lustig & Koester
- Intercultural Communication in Contexts – Martin & Nakayama
- Teaching Culture – H. N. Seelye
- American Cultural Patterns – Stewart & Bennett
And a few other books I can’t remember or don’t have nearby at the moment.
For Personal Interests:
- The Holy Bible – You know, this is the book I should be reading the most of. I am praying that will be the case this coming semester.
- The New Kings of Nonfiction – Ira Glass (amazing, so far)
- In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto – Michael Pollan
- Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife – Mary Roach
- How to Break a Terrorist: the U.S interrogators who used brains, not brutality, to take down the deadliest man in Iraq – Matthew Alexander (looking forward to this one)
I guess my lists are slightly ambitious (*laugh to self*), but I’m hoping to get through all the books. I really am.
What do my lists say about me? I’m not sure, actually. The only thing it shows for sure is that I will be mind-blowingly busy next semester.
Good luck on your reading list, President Obama. Wish me luck on mine. Let me know how the judging goes!
Related Articles on Obama’s Vacation Reading:
- Obama’s vacation reading picks: How do they stack up? (EW.com)
- Obama’s Vacation Reading List (Newsweek)
- Just In: Obama’s Vacation Reading List (ABC News)
- Scandal over Obama’s Martha’s Vineyard Reading List (Baltimore Sun) – Scandal? Really?! Just because he’s potentially reading a book he’s already read?