The Daily Beast sees a dark side to President Obama's vacation reading list, noting that it may be inflated with books he has already read. Referring to a September 2008 news report in which Obama discussed Thomas L. Friedman's Hot, Flat, and Crowded, Samuel P. Jacobs wonders why the president brought the book to Martha's Vineyard. No word from the president, but Friedman told the Daily Beast in an email: “Given the pressure of a campaign, I doubt that the President got to read anything cover to cover. And for most of his presidency, the Great Recession has really swamped debate and discussion about climate and energy. So, I was very pleased to hear that he is diving into it again. ..."

Jacobs doesn't see anything sinister about the discrepancy; he just wonders how seriously we should take these presidential reading lists. But it shouldn't take long for Obama critics to jump on Hot-Flat-and-Crowded-gate. (Rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?)

Heavy readers, meanwhile, will probably feel for Obama. I know that the TBR pile on my nightstand includes books that have patiently waited months for my full attention. Other books I've read more than once, though they're probably not the ones I would bring on a vacation.