Freedom Frenzy: A Look at Presidential Reading Lists from National Review Online

If you look at President Obama’s reading list over the years, it has a clear ideological tilt. He has read a host of books by such liberal authors as Thomas Friedman, but precious few books by conservative ones. Bush, on the other hand, often mixed liberal authors, including Kurlansky and even Camus, in with his Natan Sharansky (The Case for Democracy) and Eliot Cohen (Supreme Command). In this, Obama the reader is very much like Obama the politician. According to a story Rep. Eric Cantor (R., Va.) tells in the new book, Young Guns, Obama dismissed conservative ideas by telling Cantor that the election was over and “I won.” Perhaps Obama should reconsider this approach, if not in politics then at least when it comes to his library. Reading conservative authors is a low-cost way to demonstrate outreach to the other side of the aisle in our far-too polarized society. And who knows? It might even serve reading’s original purpose -- he might learn something.

In the vein of combing through really great reviews and articles that are rich in cross references out to other great reads, this quick article hooks with all of the hoopla over Freedom. It's not about that, obviously. There are probably 6 good titles in that article, definitely worth reading.

Charlie Rose's Monday, July 5, 2010 conversation with with Lev Grossman

CHARLIE ROSE: Joining me now to talk about summer books is Lev Grossman, author and book critic for "Time" magazine. I’m pleased to have him at this table to introduce us to what you might be reading this summer. So welcome.

LEV GROSSMAN: Thank you.

CHARLIE ROSE: Where do we start? What do you think will be the big commercial success this summer that we’ll see everybody reading on the beach?

LEV GROSSMAN: Well, I believe and also kind of hope that it will be Justin Cronin’s "The Passage." Justin Cronin is probably not a writer who you are intimately familiar with. He is what call is called these days a midlist literary writer who a couple years ago had an inspiration for a horrific vampire apocalypse novel, and he wrote it.

Read the full transcript here. Watch the full Charlie Rose interview here.