Slog
News & ArtsFriday, August 3, 2012
2012 / Books What's Mitt Romney Reading?
Posted by Paul Constant on Fri, Aug 3, 2012 at 8:02 AM
BuzzFeed has compiled a list of all the books Mitt Romney has mentioned reading.
That is one fucked-up bookshelf, a schizophrenic mix of good books, terrible pop fiction, somewhat decent sci-fi, and the standard economic and historical books that every politician claims to have read. If I walked into someone's house and judged them based on their bookshelf—try and tell me you don't judge people based on what's on their bookshelf—I would think they're desperate to impress the guys at work with their hard-ass reading list but secretly addicted to trashy novels. I would expect to reach behind the books displayed on this bookshelf and find a guilty copy of 50 Shades of Grey tucked in the back.
1
The typical Rmoney voter, at least in my fan-damily, doesn't own nor read any books. Next to their blurry rear-projection big-screen TeeVee is a bookshelf filled with DVD's.
On that shelf and proudly on display is every crappy action-adventure flick from the past ten years, a set of Desperate Housewives, some mediocre horror films (including Underworld 2, 3, and 4), a few episodes of Monster Truck Jam! (Now with more crashes!), most of Adam Sandler's movies and many other forgettable comedies, and, if there's a tween or teen in the house, the Twilight saga.
In short, no actual literature but ass-loads of crap that no-one in their right mind needs to own.
On that shelf and proudly on display is every crappy action-adventure flick from the past ten years, a set of Desperate Housewives, some mediocre horror films (including Underworld 2, 3, and 4), a few episodes of Monster Truck Jam! (Now with more crashes!), most of Adam Sandler's movies and many other forgettable comedies, and, if there's a tween or teen in the house, the Twilight saga.
In short, no actual literature but ass-loads of crap that no-one in their right mind needs to own.
2
Well, I really can not judge, I have been reading essentially only Batman comics for the last two months. Does the new Batman flick actually take on the "Knighfall" storyline with Bane, or is it its own story? Please no spoilers if you answer.
Also, Y: The Last Man by Vaughn/Guerra. If you are into comics, check it out.
Also, Y: The Last Man by Vaughn/Guerra. If you are into comics, check it out.
4
Correction:
That should be "Knightfall" by the way, and probably more like five months to be exact.
That should be "Knightfall" by the way, and probably more like five months to be exact.
5
Mittens' reading list looks like something you would come up with if you bought a random box of used books at a family yard sale on a sunny Saturday morning in Spokane.
6
That is not "somewhat decent sci-fi." That is the stuff that got us into sci-fi as adolescents, and that a certain amount of nostalgia is allowed for if you read it as a kid, but that no grown man should be caught reading.
10
I dunno...my reading time is pretty evenly split among (mostly literary) fiction, non-fiction (mostly history), and comic books, with the occasional science fiction or horror novel peppered in, so I'm loathe to judge too much on the basis of a schizophrenic mix.
But seriously, no one should admit to reading Battlefield Earth. Especially if they have.
But seriously, no one should admit to reading Battlefield Earth. Especially if they have.
11
@2, The Dark Knight Rises does take many parts of the Knightfall story (in addition to The Dark Knight Returns and No Mans Land) but mixes them all up in a blender to deliver a delicious Batman Smoothie.
12
I remember getting halfway through Dragonflight when I was 14. I put it down after the main male character rapes the female character while their dragons are mating, then wakes up all confused as to why she's not so happy with him. Of course, it's just a minor hiccup since she falls in love with him anyway. He didn't *mean* to hurt her, so it wasn't his fault, you see... Fits right in with the mentality of certain social conservatives, in other words.
13
Meh. My bookshelf looks pretty bizarre too.
Last book I read: Watership Down
Current read: The Great War and Modern Memory
Next on list: Either Rachel Maddow's Drift or Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel or Orwell's 1984
Last book I read: Watership Down
Current read: The Great War and Modern Memory
Next on list: Either Rachel Maddow's Drift or Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel or Orwell's 1984
15
This seems to refer to:
Battlefield Earth, an abomination by a (Scientologist) religious nut
Twilight, an abomination by a (Mormon) religious nut
Ender's Game, quite a good book written by a (Mormon) religious nut. But it's for twelve-year-olds.
Dragonflight, quite a good book, and for once not written by a religious nut. But it's also for twelve-year-olds.
Oh, and apparently The Law Of Nines is a sci-fi book, written by a (Ayn Randian) philosophical nutball. If it's like the rest of Goodkind, at least it's written for adults, or at least for older teenagers.
PS The person at Buzzfeed who decided this list had to be two dozen enormous cover art pictures to be scrolled through instead of a few lines of text can eat a bag of dicks.
somewhat decent sci-fi
This seems to refer to:
Battlefield Earth, an abomination by a (Scientologist) religious nut
Twilight, an abomination by a (Mormon) religious nut
Ender's Game, quite a good book written by a (Mormon) religious nut. But it's for twelve-year-olds.
Dragonflight, quite a good book, and for once not written by a religious nut. But it's also for twelve-year-olds.
Oh, and apparently The Law Of Nines is a sci-fi book, written by a (Ayn Randian) philosophical nutball. If it's like the rest of Goodkind, at least it's written for adults, or at least for older teenagers.
PS The person at Buzzfeed who decided this list had to be two dozen enormous cover art pictures to be scrolled through instead of a few lines of text can eat a bag of dicks.
16
@11: Thanks! Perfect answer...I hope that the third book of No Man's Land is delivered to my library soon then.
@15: Huge agreement about that bag of dicks.
@15: Huge agreement about that bag of dicks.
17
Real readers mix trash with highbrow. Constant knows this.
He's just hitting Romney with anything he's got because that's his job.
He's just hitting Romney with anything he's got because that's his job.
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Portland Voters Are Stoopid by Goldy
-
An I-5 Bridge Over the Skagit River Has Collapsed by Paul Constant
-
Why They Break Windows by Unpaid Intern
-
Did You Steal Our Unpaid Intern's Camera? by Goldy
-
Usually When I'm Sent a Photoshopped Image of a Gun Pointed At Me... by Dan Savage
-
The Only Thing More Tragic than a Bridge Collapse Would Be a 10 Cent a Gallon Increase in the Gas Tax by Goldy
-
Tornado Truthers by Dan Savage
-
Star Trek Releases Deleted Scene of Benedict Cumberbatch Showering to Counter Claims of Sexism by Cienna Madrid
-
Should I Buy One of These? by Goldy
-
Boy Scouts Lift Ban on Gay Members by Paul Constant
Stranger Personals
The Stranger
RSSSeattle Art & Performance Quarterly
A complete guide to Seattle's current art, film, dance, and theater season.
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (17) RSS