Curl Up With a Book - President's Day Edition

I admit it, I have a reading problem. I am...unfaithful. There, it's out. I feel so much better. For some reason, I can never read just one book. With each new title, my intentions are so good, but then something happens and I take just a short break. The next thing I know, I have three or four books piled up on my nightstand all vying for my attention. To make things worse, I have passed on this affliction to Young Man. There are times when his stack of books in progress becomes dangerously high and I worry that it will topple over onto him in the night.

One of the books that has been on my nightstand for several months is Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. The languishing is due to no fault of the book itself. This really is an interesting look at Lincoln's political rise to power and the backroom deals that were in play at the time. Followers of today's political wrangling should not be so sure that today's shenanigans are unusual. There are many books about Lincoln, but this one seems to cover the political man and his allies and enemies. Lincoln definitely heeded the advice to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. In this view we see not only Lincoln's genius, but get to know other important political figures about whom very little is written. This is an important work and a well-written one. I think it is time to take a break from fiction to return to this historical work.

Finally, in honor of Sandy's 5th Blogoversary, here is a view of the great outdoors: