Tom Foreman | BIO
AC360° Correspondent

Reporter's Note: The president has written some books. I’ve read some. So I guess we’re even.

Dear Mr. President,

I’ve been meaning to tell you for some time that my mother has given up on Moby Dick.
“Oh, I’ve tried and tried to get through that stupid book,” she told me on the phone, “but I just can’t. So I’m not trying anymore.”

This letter, btw, has nothing to do with being president; it’s just one of those where I keep you apprised on some of the events in my life. Hey, your life is in the papers every day; how the heck else are you going to know about me if I don’t tell you here?

Anyway, she has been reading a tremendous amount in the past few years, especially since my dad passed away. Like a lot of older folks, she doesn’t always sleep well, so on any given day when I call to say hello she may have been up all night pushing through some novel or historic tale or whatever. Just not Moby Dick anymore.

I understand why she surrendered. Unlike Ahab, she is not obsessed with the white whale, and she is the first to say, “Hey, I’m getting older. I don’t have time to read every book, so why would I waste anymore time on one I don’t like?”
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