I spent some time at Barnes & Noble last night, wishing I had more time to read books. Lately a few goodies have caught my eye:

Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents – A few weeks back I was doing research for some magazine content and I was reading all about former U.S Presidents. I was getting into some fascinating stuff, like who died in office and the no-name presidents nobody ever remembers. At the time I thought someone should write an accessible history book full interesting facts about former Presidents. Well, this book is it. It’s written in a tongue-in-cheek style, with plenty of magazine-like sidebars. It’s a quick read and pretty fun. I was actually tempted to buy a brand new copy at Barnes & Noble (ah! blasphemy). Thankfully I didn’t. $16.95 at B&N, $11.87 at Amazon.

The End of Detroit – This business-oriented book covers the recent downfall of the Big Three automotive manufacturers as they face stiff competition from foreign rivals. It’s especially interesting since my dad worked for Ford and I’ve seen a lot of what the book talks about happening. The last car I bought was a foreign car, primarily because of quality.

On Target – I actually checked this one out from the library so I could read more than the first chapter. It’s an analysis of Target and how the discount retailer has captured the cheap chic market. And it’s the first time I’ve seen the “Tarzshay” pronounciation in print.

Making Dough – Why stop at eating Krispy Kremes when you can read about them? This is the story of what makes Krispy Kreme so amazing and why the brand has taken off in the last ten years.

The Real Thing: Truth and Power at the Coca-Cola Company – For some reason I’m always interested in books about the history of Coke. A while ago I picked up For God, Country, and Coca-Cola used, though I haven’t gotten around to reading that one either.

So many books, so little time.