I really have to work on my dissertation, and the “Romney thing” is become increasingly tepid and overdone in the ‘Nacle –
BUT – (this is way too good to pass up) – Romney just revealed his favorite novel, and suddenly I just might vote for him after all (okay, not really). Find out what it is below the fold:
It’s Battlefield Earth by that (in)famous founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard.
Now, the movie was horrid, I will admit. The book, however, does have its charms. It’s hardly great literature, but it is entertaining. Yes, it’s over 1000 pages long, but the chapters are short, characterization is minimal, and the action is fast paced.
Basically, it’s the literary equivalent of a saturday morning serial. It has no depth, but it does have some breadth (covering everything from mining to banking to Scottish nationalism to base 11 mathematics and more). Scientifically, it’s a total joke (apparently in other galaxies, there are different elements on the periodic chart). Stylistically it’s simplistic. Artistically, it’s lacking. But I found it a fun read nonetheless (though I’d hardly put it in even my top 100 fiction list).
This likely reveals nothing about Romney other than like many people, he likes his fiction fast paced, heavy on action, and light on thought. There’s a place for that. I’d rather see his top ten favorite books before making a decision – perhaps 2 through nine are serious literary tomes. Or not.
Discuss.
UPDATE: It’s another Romney flip-flop! Apparently, his favorite novel used to be Huckleberry Finn!
UPDATE 2: Romney flips back!:
HH: Now we’re wrapping up, Governor. If someone has asked me my favorite novel, I would have said Lord of the Rings, and Eisenhower was a Zane Grey westerns addict. But I’ve got to tell you, science fiction?
MR: (laughing) Well, you know, that’s really not my favorite novel. Probably my favorite is Huckleberry Finn and I’ve read all of Louis L’Amour’s books, I think. I may have missed one of two, but all of his westerns. You know, I have a guilty pleasure in some science fiction. A couple of my other favorite science fiction, Ann McCaffrey’s Dragon Flight, and Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game. There’s some great science fiction out there.
HH: I hope your favorite movie isn’t 2001: A Space Odyssey.
MR: (laughing) I’ll stay away from that.
HH: And have you ever been to a Star Trek convention, Governor?
MR: No, I’ve stayed away from that, too. I must admit, but I do enjoy Star Trek.
He’s a businessman who has read a book. Give him some credit!
I can’t comment on “Battlefield Earth” because I haven’t read it, but it’s worth noting Mitt is pretty well-read.
In this interview he discusses some of the recent books he is reading:
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MmY1MTQyMTk0Yjk2ZDNmZmVmNmNkNjY4ODExMGM5NWE=
Lopez: Read anything good lately?
Gov. Romney: A few of my current favorites are The Cube and the Cathedral by George Weigel, The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright, America Alone by Mark Steyn, The Places in Between by Rory Stewart, and Bill Bryson’s latest book The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.
America Alone is a great book, a must read for today’s appeasers.
I read one Hubbard book, it was the first book in the Decology called Mission Earth. I rather enjoyed it as I recall. I don’t remember anything about it, but I planned on reading the rest but never got around to it.
Give him some credit. Unlike (ahem) some other Presidents, at least he reads.
Ian,
I too read the first book of his Mission Earth decology and found it enjoyable. I began the second book but never got around to finishing it. I hear they get progressively worse and worse.
I also read Battlefield Earth, at least the first 500 pages, and then the story began to bore me, so I never finished it.
I thought the second half of Battlefield Earth was especially enjoyable. I did not expect to find Galactic Banking, planetary defense, intertwined with hegemonic restructuring so extremely interesting. Its the ultimate David and Goliath story.
Poignantly B.E. fits perfectly with Romney’s theme of turning bad situations around. Mankind on the edge of extinction turns the tables (and yet still suffers from petty squables).
Huh, I guess I’m in the minority, I hated Battlefield Earth. I tried reading it again after my dad told me he’d finished it for the third time, but couldn’t do it. There’s so much good sci-fi out there, I figured I may as well stop wasting my time trying to like it. I like Romney’s previous favorite book much more.
There have been developments on this issue. See above for updates!
I guess we can’t expect impeccable literary taste from our politicians or judge them to harshly on the seriousness of the fiction that they probably use mostly for moments of escapism.
After all, Eisenhower was not bad as president and Zane Grey has to be the worst writer ever.