Irish author Emma Donoghue is happy to hear that President Obama bought her best-selling novel Room but she also says that she's "tormented by the notion that it’s still in a groaning pile of books by his bed.”
Donoghue heard the news of Obama's purchase when a reporter mentioned it in an article. But she felt she couldn't just assume the President had read the book.
"I mean, how much time for reading fiction can he get?" she told The New York Times in a recent interview. "On the other hand, maybe it’s better for Room to stay in this magical, always about-to-be-read-by-Obama state. Imagine if he tweeted to say he tried it, but it was a yawn."
Donoghue is currently promoting her latest novel, Frog Music, which is set among the world of burlesque dancers in San Francisco.
