I read a lot, and I usually have 10-12 books strewn about, in various stages of being completed. Essentially, I read one, until I lose interest–and then set it aside and move on to another, and another, and maybe go back to the first for a while, then suddenly pick up a fourth–and on and on it goes, until there are books stacked all over the place and I literally trip over them. I always know it’s a great book–or, at least, a fun book–when I read it straight through, without jumping off to something else or ever putting it down. Would that it happened more often.

If anyone is reading, or has recently finished, something he or she highly recommends, I would love to hear about it, because I’m always looking for good books to read.

Right now, I’m reading A Tragic Legacy: How a Good vs. Evil Mentality Destroyed the Bush Presidency by Glenn Greenwald. The title is fairly self-explanatory, but Mr. Greenwald (currently writing a regular column for Salon) has done his research–and done it quite exhaustively. His essential thesis is that the President is utterly incapable of seeing anything resembling a shade of grey, and that–over and over and over–the Administration is attempting to apply simplistic, one-dimensional logic to incredibly complex geopolitical situations, with predictably disastrous results. In my case, he is preaching to the choir, but it’s still a well-written, and worthwhile, read. (This is an interesting article arguing that the word “Manichean” is invariably used incorrectly by the mainstream media. I was left thinking, hmm, no matter how much I would like to know a great deal about every single thing on the planet–no, make that the universe–I have a long way to go.)

I am sort of ashamed to admit that I am reading Bay Buchanan’s The Extreme Makeover of Hillary (Rodham) Clinton–but, I am. There are no surprises. Ms. Buchanan is not a fan, and uses the word “liberal” with the same sort of mingled contempt and fear which most people reserve for words like “Nazi.” For me, this book is light reading, when I am looking for a diversion, and the near-certainly of having a little snicker here and there.

Which makes me kind of a jerk, probably, but anyone who knows me would assure one and all that that is a fairly accurate self-assessment.

I recently finished Lauren Sandler’s (watch out! She is almost certainly liberal!) Righteous: Dispatches from the Evangelical Youth Movement. This was one of those rare can’t-put-it-down books–but I definitely had nightmares, afterwards. Terrific reporting, covering a subject which is, I confess, utterly foreign to me. The sixth chapter was the most eye-opening; who knew that Patrick Henry College “exists explicitly to develop a militia of radical right-wing commandants who, armed with their fundamentalism and debate skills, will march upon Capitol Hill and claim it for Christ”? (Sandler, p. 159) And, judging from the college’s own mission statements, I don’t think that’s hyperbole.

Lest I seem too secular, though, I have also been working through Pema Chodron’s Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living. It is very soothing, but more dense than one would expect.

I have always been a shameless Watergate buff (and the actual identity of Deep Throat came as a great disappointment), so I am very much looking forward to John Dean’s latest, Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches. I thought Conservatives Without Conscience was a thoughtful, and provocative, book, and it made me completely reasses my opinion of Mr. Dean. And this is a cool link, too, if you are a wonk and/or weenie–which it is possible that I am.

Finally, because my softball team won our division title tonight, and is headed for the playoffs next week, I will be re-reading Karl Kuehl’s Mental Toughness: Baseball’s Winning Edge. Please don’t tell my teammates, because I am afraid they will laugh at me. (after which, several of them may ask to borrow it, when I am finished)

There is no fiction on my current reading list–which is sort of appalling. I hope people come up with good recommendations, and rescue me from my non-fiction rut.

By the way, I really wish I had been in this room yesterday. Because–wow. And double wow.

And this guy may win the Republican nomination. The mind boggles.