I got into the doctor doolittle series which back in my youth nobody was reading. Nobody had ever heard of them mostly after the movie came out. Doctor doolittle most people discovered we he wasnt what it was about. I think it was a british set of books, for some reason i just got a kick out of the fact that there were talking animals in it. Then of course the hardy boys and all the others that followed. Those kind a part of who we were. My mom was an immigrant to this country, eighthgrade education. She was a selftaught person. She taught herself person. She taught herself everything under the sun. Cooking, shorthand, reading, art, all of this. I think that probably inspired me. Host from where did she emigrate . Guest lithuania. She was born born in lithuania brought here at the age of two. The lithuania population came from germany to baltimore. She landed she did not land in ellis island in new york. And the railroad had two destinations, could chicago and had she gone to chicago she would have been part of the largest immigration of lithuanians to america. A huge lithuania population. She took the southern route, her mom did i should say to meet up with my grandfather. And that was kind of a thriving part of east st. Louis. Why, stockyards, railroads, think, railroads, think that immigrants could work at. So she came, dropped out of school at the grade and became a switchboard operator at the local Telephone Company and worked her whole life. She really was my original teacher. Spee1. Host what kind of books do gravitate towards today . Guest mainly nonfiction. I dont force myself but i tried to look at every third or fourth book i read i want to read fiction. I think is good for me. Naturally you think a politician is going to be reading history, biography and the like, which i love, but i think ive got a get into it. A few years ago is talking to someone and they said talking to someone and they said you know they have courses online that you can take and they dont charge anything you can take a College Course. You could take a College Course so what you think i took . Writing. It well that wouldve been my second choice. The first race was poetry. I. I thought to myself, never have had a portrait course. So i took moderate contemporary poetry and there is a professor at the university of pennsylvania who taught this online, boise good. Really good. So i got to monitor her his classes and then we would send out tests and such. It was a great experience. Experience. I could get all of the poetry online. I did not have to have a textbook and i learned all of these, Emily Dickinson and walt whitman went through all of these different posts. I made the mistake of telling one of the people at the Editorial Board of the daily herald in chicago that i did this. The next thing i know i am on all things considered. Being interviewed on taking a portrait course. And i thought will i could talk for a few minutes on that. They surprised me. It was live on the air, ive never seen or met this man by videotape. And suddenly the professor said and i had a few questions about poetry and thinking as i had it right. Ive always tried to expand a little bit into fiction work and authors, poetry and try to push myself a little bit. Host bless you during our Summer Reading quiz on book tv, we asked a lot of senators what theyre reading and a lot of them said anthony doors, all, all the light we cannot see. Guest i read it. Host what was it about that book or senator sharon a . Guest well i dont know about the others, for me i just heard about it it was captivated. I thought it was such a fascinating premise that there is a blind girl who is surviving bombing raids in france. And what happened to her. I recommended it to others. Susan collins and i often trade books and i cant remember if i recommended it to her she to me. I thought it was really wellwritten. Host what is another book that you recommended to senator collins . Guest of carriage i thought was really wellwritten. The life of pi, remember recommending that to her long way. So we can ahead this exchange back and forth. Host what is on your current meaningless quest mark. Guest i read in the heart of the sea which is a story by nathaniel philbrick. It is a story about the essex, whaling ship out of nantucket that was sent by a whale in the pacific. Many members of the crew survived. It inspired Herman Melville to write her moby dick. Its a story behind the story. I liked it so much and then i saw philbrook came out with the second book and its a revolutionary war book. I bought it, i have it sitting there and it will be my next one up in terms of what i am reading. But in terms of those that have been too recently that if i were particularly good, good, i am a huge fan of timothy egan. Hes from the New York Times and a great author. He wrote the immortal irish wing, a great, a great story about an irishman who was banished to the liberal island and south pacific, skip to the United States and became a big, prominent leader of union troops, that the irish battalion during the civil war and then went off to montana where he died and that is kind of i will get into anymore but thats the premise of the book, how did he die, it tells a story story leading up to that. Egan is such a great author. When i read about i thought i had these images of what it was the grapes of wrath and so far about the dustbowl. My goodness, it was an incredible scene. To to think that these cities were just engulfed in dirt and dust that was blowing through there and accumulating. It became a challenge in the cities are you going to stay are you going to leave. People sign pledges, i will never leave, and then leave. But egan is a great writer. The immortal a great writer. The immortal irishman is a book i strongly recommend. To ever read books by your colleague . Sure i read harry reads books and i try to read those along the way. What about addict or bimbo . You know i come i dont know if there will ever be one. I have 60 chapters sitting in a drawer in my desk, but i dont know if it is a book. Its just stories i have accumulated and written up over the coach said my time in congress. Not sure there is a book in there, theres a a lot of writing and there, but someday i might and tie so let her. Was one chapter you can tell us about . Its a continuing project, got this curiosity in my mind and i was with obama on the campaign trail and i said to him, to carry anything with you in your pocket every day . Oh yes, he showed me this little pen that he had which is like a tiny little buddha. I believe thats what it was. I take it with me everywhere and so i set up to start asking all these people i know who are president ial candidates what you care in your pocket the course of the campaign . And i started collecting it. One of the chapters is a story that each senator and what they like to carry in their pockets is are worthy of a book, i dont know. But it caught my attention. Is there a bio in one of those chapter. Goats all over the place. A politician cant write a book without reflecting on what you brought you here. My immigrant mother for example, my father who died when i was in high school from lung cancer. Smoking two packs of camels per day, experiences that i had with paul douglas, the for senator i work for is a college in turn introduced me to paul simon who hired me out of law school to work in his governors office. How i got into this battle to take smoking off airplanes, my father. And what it was like passing a bill in the house. So there is a lot of personal reflection on this. As i as i said, there may be a book in there somewhere. Keep looking. Any poetry . Guest im not that good at it. I guess im humble enough to say there are some things i do a little bit of but dont professor have any great expertise. But the interesting thing about the courses want to read the new yorker now its not just the stories in the cartoons, actually start and read the poor tree at least i try to read the poetry before i took that online course i never even tried. Senator durbin is the democratic your time is pretty scarce, do do you have to build and reading time . Guest i really have a lot of airplane time. I commute every week. Ive done that for over 30 years from illinois back to washington. So there is time there. I really found a book to be a great way to pass that time. Catch up on the magazine clippings and so forth and then get into a book. If i really get into it i will stick with it to the end. Im not into kendall kindle. I tried it but it would just wasnt my style. I like that tangible feel in that paper book. I also find that if im curing the darn thing around my briefcase and finish it because i think to myself how are you going to finish it. So i stick with it and read it. Its also a great way great way of her sitting next to passenger and dont want to talk to and that does happen to politicians, the head of the nra from colorado i have a book that i have to read, it just reaches a point where you have a legitimate, timely timely way to say dont bother me. What is less time youre in the library . It is one of the casualties of that time which is now struggling to survive. But it really, really meant a lot to me. What happened there . It was interesting, took a a transition 88000 people at its peak that i remember and then went through racial crisis where theres africanamericans getting incomes wanting to move into new neighborhoods and my family was a casualty and we moved to another place in east st. Louis and now its a city that is probably 95 plus africanamerican, she really is impressive, got her fingers crossed that she is going to turn the city the right direction, right direction, population about 25000 today. Industry . Guest nothing. Except the casino riverboat, nothing. Its all gone. That really is part of the problem. What about popular books, im thinking about the Harry Potter Series are some of these that kind of sweep the country, do they attract your question. Usually not there is that whole thing with the girls and the dragon and all the rest, i guess i read those. I thought those were pretty good. I dont get caught up in that too much. I do get fixed on certain authors. I think back i think a man named Sebastian Barry who is a irish author and he has written a series of books and i get the biggest kick out of reading this book, the good stories to start with. They talk a lot about ireland and all that it went through the 20th century and just the irish term of the phrase, get get the biggest kick out of reading that. Theres really a special case i cant remember her first name. There are several memoirs about growing up in south africa in the southern part of african zimbabwe in that region. And the one that the two that i thought were really excellent, one was entitled its going to the dogs tonight in the second one was, cocktails under the tree of forgetfulness or something of that nature. She came from the most dysfunctional family can imagine. This white family white family there was beer. Upon by the emerging blacks in the political structure there. The father was just a handyman, very handy very handy guy and she grew up drink a little too much but that came through the stories. She is very gifted writer. I think she think she lives in jackson hole now. Are there books that helped you in the senate . Sometimes i kind of gravitate towards those that i think will make a difference. There is a new one im putting on for Summer Reading, new biography biography of brandeis. I dont know enough about him. This will be a good come as a yell first book and so i bought that one and i want to get into that one. That does help me. Theres another one that im fixing medicare that i just ordered trying to get myself in the frame of mind of dealing with some of these entitlement programs. I thought thought may be a reflection of somebody would be helpful. Host to have you read books that you disagree with . I dont usually get through them. I just get angry and stop. And i really find if i cant finish a book, even if i try a second or third time, maybe it was not meant to be. Maybe all of these books are not meant to take the finish line. And thats okay too. I dont mind trying and passing it along. I think i learn something even if i stop at 100 or 150 pages. Host you mention that you ordered the book, where do you get most yearbooks . Guest amazon. But i have convenience and my favorite story on amazon was waking up at 5 00 a. M. On a sunday morning and thinking i have to get some books and they said you want same day delivery on a sunday in chicago. I thought id like to see how that works and earned if they didnt deliver it by 230 in the afternoon in chicago. So its pretty convenient. Having said that, go out of my way to overpay for books from neighborhood bookstores. I worked my way through college in a bookstore in dupont circle, is called discount books and records in washington when i went to georgetown. As one of the second or third best job that ahead. I memorize the inventory. I knew inventory. I knew where everything was. Was there by publisher. I got a big kick out of it. That got me started on this craziness on books. I have more books than i should. But i thought about amazon and how good they are but i also thought man, i dont want to lose all of these neighborhood bookstores. So on broadway around the corner from my condo in chicago is a bookstore and i make a point to go in and do christmas gifts. I spent too much money. I couldve saved 20 pressure on amazon but i think i have got to keep these guys on business. They just have such a good inventory. So i have a soft spot when it comes to the neighborhood bookstore. Host when you walk in there do they know who you are . Spee2 yes they do. I also found also found having worked in a bookstore, if you had told me durban, we have got 30 minutes would like to go into a bookstore, great. But if you have an hour, great, arent have, great. If its a good bookstore, just give me the time i will amuse myself or however long you want me to stay in there. If its a really good bookstore. Host are there any books you recommend to your colleagues and your staff . Guest yes, the empire of the summer moon was a book that i read. Its a story of a comanche indians. I thought to myself, i knew, i knew nothing about david american. All i knew i took out of westerns off of movies and its all stereotypical. So i read the empire the southern moon and john comes in and i say to them, have you read empire of the southern moon. He said never heard of it. I will give it to you. Its about texas, Oklahoma Kansas where the comanches dominated for decades. I give it to them, he loves it. He gives it as a gift the he gives it as a gift the next christmas to every republican senator. So yes thats when i recommended that turned out to be popular. Host is that the only book you recommended to your counterparts and the republicans i . There is a called the heart of everything that is. Its a story of the sioux nation which takes you to the different part of the United States. I recommend that to heidi hyde camp because a lot of it has to do with the dakota dakotas in minnesota. What about illinois . You want to learn about illinois or illinois politics as their book you would recommend . Guest a lot of them. Theres just recommending to one of the staffers here city of the century. I get the biggest kick out of this book. Its. Its a 19 century history of the city of chicago. It just tells it from its early days of settlement on through colombian expedition. People in the white city eric larsons book takes place about the same era, 1893. In 1892 as the 400th anniversary by one year. Both are this huge white city. But i think. But i think city of the century is such an eyeopener. In terms of actually creating the city. It was a small town and it kind of grew geometrically at the end of the 19 century with railroads, and the central location. Also opening up the west. So i would start there. I think that is a good book to read. I have read most of the books that paul simon row. He was prolific. When he ran for president they said of him, he said he has written more books than Ronald Reagan has read. That is what i think i dont know if George Wilson said that or somebody did along the course of the campaign. He did not have a College Degree but he was a prolific writer and author, journalist. His books are very good reflection. Host what about the u. S. Senate . Is there anything that you recommend . Guest the master of the senate, i think his book about lg paying the of this but in a thick everyday thing that matches up. And this is lbjs office that were in. Guest he owns so many offices in the capital. Theres one a little ways from here and it was part of his legacy, it easily could a bed, he would walk through at night the story goes paul douglas, the u. S. Senate or that i work for as a kid, phd and a climax, cerebral, liberal, progressive, liberal, progressive, exactly the kind of politician that obj hated. So he was chairman of the joint Economic Committee of the simon he loved and nobody else wanted. Lbj said you know he could not cause any trouble there. So it was late one night in the side offices in the door opens without an announcement and in steps lbj. He looks around the office and doesnt say work closes the door and leaves. The next day douglas gets noticed you been evicted. Lbj wanted that office. So i now have it today. The but in his time i think he lay claim to a lot of real estate in the capital. Host is a u. S. Senator, do you have any involvement with libraries in illinois or the u. S. Levers run the country . Guest i do. I have a a lot of friends who were in the library so im look working with them. There is a mormon who has been nominated to be the next librarian of congress. Carla, is africanamerican librarian in baltimore, her family was a really from illinois. Youd expect chicago but it was downstate illinois. It was not a large africanamerican population. His population. His her mom and dad were born in illinois, probably because of the railroads. The africanamericans gravitated toward the railroads to get jobs on the railroads in centralia and dekalb and other places. Turned out to be a pretty prominent musician, he traveled round she was born in florida. He finally made it to chicago and started malcolm x. College and chicago, so carla hayden has a great great story. She has run into some opposition from some quarters but i hope she winds up in the next library. The midges say one thing. When it comes to writing, i to writing, i think it is like most other skills. They say you need to do 10,000 times. Well if you read stephen king he had a book called book called on writing which i recommend because the front end of the book is no