(CNN) - The White House has said President Obama plans to play golf and spend time with his family during his week away from Washington.
But it appears the president also wants to get some reading in: a lot of it.
White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters Monday Obama's vacation reading list comprises five books, including tomes from New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and historian David McCullough.
In all, the books on Obama's list total around 2,300 pages - meaning the president would have to read close to 300 pages each day of his week-long vacation to polish off the list.
Should Obama prefer to listen to the books on his iPod, four are available in audio format with a total running time of nearly 40 hours.
Full list according to the White House:
"The Way Home" by George Pelecanos
"Hot, Flat, and Crowded" by Thomas Friedman
"Lush Life" by Richard Price
"Plainsong" by Kent Haruf
"John Adams" by David McCullough
From CNN Politics
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It is so many people out here that all they ever want to do is complain. They are never satisfied.The President needs a vacation from all the whining of the repugs. STOP WHINING and actually read the health care reform bill then maybe you can add to the conversation instead of crying foul all the time. Enjoy your vacation Pres Obama and good choses on the books!!!
Have a wonderful vacation. God bless you and your family.
You are truly loved, no matter what any unbeliever says!!!
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT WITH ALL THY MIGHT.
Atlas Shrugs I can count the lies on as many pages as the health reform bill....if Atlas Shurgs is so darn GOOD where was it when bush was stealing our liberties, invading countries, and ruining the economy as well as outsourcing all the good benefit paying jobs....tell me that republicans.....
If he reads like that maybe he's the only one that have read all three health care plans.
Enjoy Mr president!! you deserve it
Maybe he could try reading some of the writtings of Jefferson, Madison and Monroe or Franklin.
No president ever really goes on vacation...
My personal recommendations:
How about
How to Ruin a perfectly good Republic in less than 200 days
Common sense
The media got me elected and all I got was this lousy Presidency
He can listen to:
Where Did our Love Go? he could sing it to his party
Shutting Detroit Down
Are you kidding me? Does this man ever work? Every single day I see him on television as either traveling, vacationing, making commercials or just plain loafing. We need a PRESIDENT! One who will work for this country and stop acting like a prima donna on air! I'd prefer one who would stop spending money and changing laws and make what we have work before implementing anything new. Our nation is in big trouble if we have to keep this idiot for another 3 yrs!
Does this guy even know we are at war? Maybe he should be reading his budget, TARP, his bailout, the Constitution, an Economics book, or maybe a book on ethics. He is so out of touch with the REAL world it's unbelievable. BTW Folks – Cash for Clunkers was YOUR money making HIM look good. You paid the down payment on all these new cars for people who couldn't afford them. Wake up people. You are being DUPED at my expense!!!
Congratulations, the rest of American people are searching for employment, making ends meet, and trying to figure out... the "Health Care Reform!" We're wee-weeing, and losing sleep.
Just like Adams he will have one term, just 1/8th the man Adams was. He most be tired from spending all of our money. He must have already read the book his buddy Chavez game him.
Obama actually has gotten a number of important laws passed:
Stimulus (which has helped with jobs and GDP)
Credit Card bill providing consumer protections
Tobacco bill which was overdue
Sept 11 National Day of Service (it should be a day of rememberance and memorial)
Pulled our troops our of Iraqi cities, winding down that War (mostly a success)
World opinion of the USA is much, much higher
The Vineyard is a great place to vacation. The Presidents reading list is a good one and knocking off 300 pages a day is not a big deal. He probably has that much dropped on his desk everyday. I do believe that President Obama will wake for an intelligence briefing every morning. We still have American forces engaged in combat operations and the Commander in Chief will not detach from that responsibility, no President has. In one week his vacation will end, the Congress will reconvene and the myriad legislative issues will once again be front and center. President Obama will indeed be challenged about healthcare and a host of national and global issues whose complexity we cannot fully comprehend. I, for one, wish him well. God Bless America.
Plainsong is a wonderful book. Very understated, very Midwestern.
Obama does not need a vacation. He has done nothing but spend American dollars. Just like Mr. Buffet said, Obama, quit spending or you will turn our economy into a banana. Congress also needs to get back to work, they haven't done anything for the American People, just themselves and their lobbyists
For those of you on this posting who are critizing the President for taking a vacation, please let me remind you that President Bush was on vacation for 40% of his presidency. That is more time than any President in history. Also, the memo warning the administration that Bin Laden was determined to attack the US, came while Bush was in Crawford. Hurricane Katrina also happend while he was on vacation. The difference, in my opinion, is that each President deserves the time off but hopefully won't hesitate to act on an urgent issue. Unlike some previous Presidents. So Travis from Colorado, go back to you meth lab and make sure none of your teeth fall into the dog food you will be enjoying later.
President Obama is paying $30,000 for a week's stay? This president seems really out of touch with US citizens. Has he any recall of Louis XIV?? I am a retired teacher with a Master's degree. My summer entire summer vacation came to about $2,000.
Bills originate in the House. There is one currently and has not been voted on and has been referred to committee. There are none in the Senate. In essence there is nothing to read yet let alone vote on. The game is only beginning.
A president who reads and can read. Refreshing....
I hope the Obama's enjoy their vacation. He's entitled to these things as president – and just like all the others before him – he should take full advantage.
Wow, nice to have a President who can read, unlike the last one.
President Obama has probably already read "Atlas Shrugged," as some have suggested- I doubt they have. He wants us to move into the 21st c while Ayn Rand would have us stuck in the 19th C guilded age.
Obama deserves a vacation and spend time with his family (as opposed to moving Texas tumbleweeds around)- he's been working hard to clean up Bush's mess.
I hope you and your family have a wonderful vacation. You so deserve it. Thank you for the amazing leadership and compassionate focus you've shown so far. I, for one, am a very proud American to have you as our First Family.
Unlike Bush I believe President Obama when he say he will read a book, we all know Bush never got passed the "My Pet Goat" level.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm – I didn't see the "1,000 (+/-) page book of socializied medical insurance reform" on his list. He must be a very fast reader if he already read it and knows it so he can APPROVE how the government plans to take care of us and pay for it! hmmmmmmmmm NICE HE CAN GO ON VACATION while the rest of the United States VOTERS work to PAY TAXES on SPENDING we didn't VOTE for ! Hmmmmmmmmmmmm
Why don't you all also take a vacation?
Republicans use that time to get a little education and read the actual bills instead of rigurgating Sean hannity or gleck beck or rush limbaugh lies and hate on the blogs.
Democrats use that time to also read books and realize Government can not be the answer to all problems and that to much spending and debt lead to inflation.
People keep mentioning Atlas Shrugged. Ayn Rand clearly had no children. She also, apparently, was unaware of laws benefiting big business. The book is an unrealistic rant.
The president on the other hand has made some good choices.
It's nice to see a President with an active mind that pursues knowledge, unlike the previous eight years.