Obama Reading Novels

I just read a fascinating article about President Obama in the October 2012 issue (OK, so I am a bit behind in working my way through my pile of magazines!) of Vanity Fair. Writer Michael Lewis spent time with Obama in the White House, at one of Obama's regularly scheduled basketball games (where he, apparently, plays hard and smart, despite his age), and on Air Force One. Lots of intriguing behind-the-scenes insights. But one that jumped out at me, as a "fiction person," was that Lewis noticed a pile of novels on the desk of Obama's inner, private office; sitting on top of the pile was Julian Barnes' recent novel, "The Sense of an Ending." (See my post about this novel on 1/6/12.) I can't help feeling that a president who reads good novels is a better president for it.