LeBron James, Gavin Newsom, or Marilyn Monroe: Who read it best?
Most people find veteran basketball legend LeBron James a less likable figure than his main rival as the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan. But LeBron might be a man of more admirable character than the gambling scandal-plagued Jordan, judging by James’ enormously stable, consistent performance across 21 NBA seasons. LeBron was born into the utter bottom of society, but has striven impressively to make good use of all the abundant opportunities provided him due to his athletic skills.
LeBron tries to project a public-spirited image beyond his sporting accomplishments. For example, to encourage kids to read books, LeBron is frequently photographed reading books. Not being a bookish soul himself (I’m guessing), it has come to be widely noticed that he is always photographed reading the first page of each book:
Similarly, California governor and potential Presidential candidate Gavin Newsom recently had himself photographed reading a stack of classic novels that he claims Republicans are trying to ban from school libraries:
Rather like LeBron, Governor Newsom, who is dyslexic and “has never read a novel in his life,” can be seen reading the first page of Toni Morrison’s Beloved.
In contrast, Marilyn Monroe, who knew a thing or two about how to have herself photographed to best advantage, had herself depicted reading the last page of James Joyce’s Ulysses, Molly Bloom’s monolog, the good part.
Marilyn should have included a bookmark, but her expression is appropriate for the material.
My English major college roommate was the only one in his class to get through it.
Marilyn Monroe, from what I've read (would have liked to have known her but I was just a kid), had a genius level IQ. I very much doubt this is true of LeBron James or Gavin Newsom.