If Arthur Brakob of St. Louis Park was ever to be elected to public office (and he says, "don't worry; this is highly unlikely"), he has a whole raft of books that he would like to be sworn in on, depending on which office he is elected to. He writes:
"City level office (school board up to mayor): For this I would choose something that would remind me of the patience I might need to deal with folks who ask the office for crazy requests. Probably 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' or 'Catch-22.'
"State office (state senator or governor): I would have to have something that imparts the gravity of the office. A tome that looks impressive and gives a sense of my feelings about government. There's really only one choice here. And I'd need a Vikings linebacker to hold the book for me. Nobody else would have the upper-body strength to hold it long enough. It would be David Foster Wallace's dystopian masterpiece 'Infinite Jest.'
"Federal office (Congress or president): An office such as this deserves the Great American Novel. I know there is much debate as to what that is. Some would say 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' or 'The Great Gatsby.' Fine books, for sure. But I think I'd have to go with 'Moby-Dick.' I believe that something allegorical would be most appropriate."
I wrote a few weeks ago about books that people have been sworn in on — other than the Bible, the traditional choice. I asked for your suggestions, and I cannot tell you how delightful they have been, far superseding anything that anyone has ever actually done.
Carol Cochran of Minneapolis would choose several: "Kahlil Gibran's 'The Prophet,' 'The Prayer of St. Francis,' Carl Rogers' 'On Becoming a Person,' and topped with a tall stack of all the novels and stories by Kurt Vonnegut," she wrote. "Let the protests begin. I may not be in office long."
Milly Schiemo of Edina would be guided by love, her stomach and her Norwegian heritage, putting her hand on a book that her granddaughter wrote, "Lefse, a Labor of Love."
Reader Doug Voerding took the question seriously. "Although I understand the importance of conducting one's work guided by the Bible, I would swear on the collected works of Abraham Lincoln. He had a great understanding of the wisdom found in the Bible and a great understanding of the human condition and how all human life can be made better through caring for each other."
