For literary nerds like me, November is a big month.
Exactly 100 years after the death of the giant of American literature, the University of California Press is publishing the first volume of “The Autobiography of Mark Twain.”
Upon Twain’s request, his autobiography has been on hold for a hundred years so as to restrain some of his more torrid opinions until long after his — and his contemporaries’ — deaths.
But the century has passed, and now America will receive the complete canon of its greatest writer.
If any of you are looking to buy me a Christmas present, take note.
Not appearing anywhere near my Christmas list, however, are two other books slated for November releases.
The more touted of the two, former President George W. Bush’s “Decision Points,” could accidentally usurp Twain’s own memoirs as the funniest piece of literature since Al Gore’s incongruously named “An Inconvenient Truth.”
I’m surprised Bush could release a book so soon after his departure from the White House. I expected it to take a roomful of editors several decades to translate Bush’s own particular language into something coherent enough for publication.
If Dubya’s musings aren’t enough to tickle your nonfiction fancy, fret not, for our fearless governor is releasing his own book the next month.
Gov. Bobby Jindal’s “Leadership and Crisis” hits bookshelves Nov. 15, the same day as Twain’s Autobiography and just a few days after Bush’s.
The book was originally slated for a July release under the title “Real Hope, Real Change: New Conservative Solutions to Rescue America,” but was postponed for publishing after the Deepwater Horizon fiasco.
The timing of Jindal’s book release begs more questions than I have space to address, but it does give us some answers we’ve been looking for.
Jindal’s priorities are clear: He is looking out for himself first, with the condition of the state’s education system, economy and health care system only important in relation to his political career.
I’m not necessarily saying that’s a bad thing. There’s something to be said for looking out for numero uno. After all, if you can’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of anyone else.
But what really irritates me about Jindal’s attitude after his first two years in office is his hypocrisy.
As a fan of anarcho-capitalisim, I’m not so much annoyed with Jindal’s tax and budget cutting policies as I am his blatant political pandering.
Jindal has his eyes set on the presidency. There’s a gaping hole of leadership in the Republican Party, and by sticking to his conservative guns, putting out a nifty little campaign book and standing against the party in power, Jindal is poising himself to be among the Republican challengers to President Barack Obama in 2012.
But he won’t admit it. He won’t admit he’d rather spend his nights in the White House than the Governor’s Mansion. He hides behind his principles and says what he’s doing is the best he can for the state — though it is not.
What would be best for the state is for Jindal to sit down with Chancellor Michael Martin and discuss these issues. What would be best for the state is for Jindal to visit the University and talk with students face to face about the issues facing higher education.
What would be best for the state are answers — even if we don’t like them.
If the higher education system is inefficient, tell us why. Then tell us how you are going to fix it.
Even if you don’t throw millions of dollars or a constitutional amendment to save our sinking Flagship, at least give us a legitimate reason.
If you can’t do that, you aren’t qualified to tell us anything about “Leadership and Crisis” — you’re just another politician.
And politicians, as Mark Twain once said, are like diapers — they both need changing regularly and for the same reason.
Now there’s a man worth reading.
Cody Worsham is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_Cworsham.
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Contact Cody Worsham at [email protected]