# NYT: How books helped Obama survive eight years in the White House **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 17, 2017, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-how-books-helped-obama-survive-eight-years-in-the-white-house/777414 "2017-01-17T20:25:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-how-books-helped-obama-survive-eight-years-in-the-white-house/777414/1 "2017-01-17T20:25:43Z")
Interesting article. He’s always been a reader: [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/books/obamas-secret-to-surviving-the-white-house-years-books.html?\_r=0](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/books/obamas-secret-to-surviving-the-white-house-years-books.html?_r=0) ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-how-books-helped-obama-survive-eight-years-in-the-white-house/777414/2 "2017-01-17T20:42:19Z")
As much as I like books…I’m going to go out a limb here and say food, water and air probably played a small part as well. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-how-books-helped-obama-survive-eight-years-in-the-white-house/777414/3 "2017-01-17T20:43:34Z")
Moved from Elections to MPSIMS. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-how-books-helped-obama-survive-eight-years-in-the-white-house/777414/4 "2017-01-17T23:26:31Z")
I don’t believe anyone has doubted his erudition; I’m very pleased to learn he kept reading. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-how-books-helped-obama-survive-eight-years-in-the-white-house/777414/5 "2017-01-18T16:20:51Z")
That was cringe worthy. Nothing like a supposed critic sucking up to the powerful. The first line betrays such a lack of knowledge of history. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-how-books-helped-obama-survive-eight-years-in-the-white-house/777414/6 "2017-01-18T17:32:40Z")
George W. Bush read a lot, too (yes, really) but I doubt the NYT ran a blowjob piece about it. Truth is, MOST Presidents read a lot. That is hardly a surprising thing. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-how-books-helped-obama-survive-eight-years-in-the-white-house/777414/7 "2017-01-18T18:40:10Z")
We all know he read a book on 9/11. 😃 I wonder if Michelle and Barack own Kindles? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-how-books-helped-obama-survive-eight-years-in-the-white-house/777414/8 "2017-01-19T15:32:12Z")
Dunno - I’ve never read anywhere that they do, so I suspect not. Here’s _Entertainment Weekly_ on all of Obama’s book recommendations: [Barack Obama's book recommendations | EW.com](http://ew.com/books/2017/01/18/barack-obama-book-recommendations/) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-how-books-helped-obama-survive-eight-years-in-the-white-house/777414/9 "2017-01-19T15:39:15Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > That was cringe worthy. Nothing like a supposed critic sucking up to the powerful. The first line betrays such a lack of knowledge of history. I rather enjoyed it. And saying something interesting about an outgoing President is hardly “sucking up to the powerful.” But I did wonder about that first line: > [@](#): > > Not since Lincoln has there been a president as fundamentally shaped — in his life, convictions and outlook on the world — by reading and writing as Barack Obama. Really? Not Theodore Roosevelt, a prominent lover of reading and writer of significant books? Not Harry Truman, who was a voracious reader (particularly of history) in his youth? And those are just two off the top of my head. What’s the Straight Dope: is this statement justifiable? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-how-books-helped-obama-survive-eight-years-in-the-white-house/777414/10 "2017-01-19T16:01:10Z")
No, it seems hyperbolic to me. In addition to T.R. and Truman (about whom I agree with you), Garfield, Wilson, Kennedy and Clinton all read voraciously. Clinton once said one of the best things about being President was inviting your favorite authors to lunch and knowing they would come!