My origin story
Becoming America’s Preeminent Presidential Doodler
More than twenty years ago, I chatted with a colleague and my then-boyfriend about something presidential. Or, rather, I stood by with nothing to add to a conversation between my colleague and then-boyfriend about something presidential. Annoyed by the humiliating chasm in my knowledge, I casually made an off-hand commitment to read a book about every U.S. president. My boyfriend said I wouldn’t.
And he was right.
I never would have followed through on that… if he’d kept that to himself. The thing is, I’m a very stubborn person.
I’m a real treat to be married to.
My original list.
And thus began my decades-long spite project.
It started off slow. It was terrible, but nothing was going to stand in my way even if it took my entire life span. (The longer I took, the more presidents I’d have to read about. Procrastination would not be my friend in this game.)
I didn’t realize this was going to be A Real Thing, so my early tracking was disappointing.
It’s a bit fuzzy here.
The original conversation happened between 2001-2003. I started dating my list of books in 2008, but there are two undated entries with release dates before 2003:
John Adams, by David McCullough
Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream: The Most Revealing Portrait of a President and Presidential Power Ever, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
My quest began around 2003 with one of these books. I swear I also read a book about Gerald Ford back then and forgot to write it down. I also couldn’t remember which book I allegedly read. Eventually I had to acquiesce and read something else in 2018 so I could cross him off my list with certainty.
It looks like at most, I read three presidential biographies between 2003 and 2008.
I slogged along…
It was tedious and boring. My then-boyfriend and I got married. We had a coupla kids.
I read little.
I retained even less.
(Exaggerated for visibility)
Endured some embarrassing conversations with dads on the playground.
On separate occasions while at the playground with my kids, I chatted with a couple of random dads about my quest. Both asked very simple questions that stumped me.
But then I:
Attended HOW Design Live conference in 2017 and attended Mike Rodhe’s session on sketchnoting.
Listened to a Happier With Gretchen Rubin podcast episode about personal quests in 2017.
Met fellow in-house graphic designer Dana at a conference after her repeated encouragement, I begrudgingly began to share my doodles on Instagram. (Get this — We were in Boston. That’s not where we live! We happened to sit next to each other and she works fifteen minutes from my house. What are the odds that I’d make a friend in my own backyard?!)
[The order of these items may be off. the point is, they all happened and ignited my decades-long fascination.]
I abandoned this chart sometime in 2021 after setting up the bibliography on my website, but I still love it. The width of each block sorta indicates the length of the presidency (see Harrison / #9 vs FDR / #32). The color coding indicates when I read about each president. From ~2003 - 2017 (when I started doodling, I’d only read 15 books. In the next three years, I read my next fifteen. I was getting into it!
Exhibit B. Find more examples here.
It clicked!
I started keeping a sketchbook of things I learned or found interesting.
Threads connecting presidents together. Things I may not have picked up on if I read in order.
FDR was conceived in Paris. His birth was so traumatic that his mother had no more “physical relations” for the rest of the 18 years of her marriage. Meanwhile, the room where Jimmy Carter was conceived has a plaque. (One set of parents closed up shop; the other has a plaque commemorating The Deed).
I started to get curious about weird things.
Was this guy alive when that guy was? (Exhibit A)
At the time, 3/4 of our last four presidents were born in 1946. That’s nutty, right? Bill Clinton: 1946. George W. Bush: 1946. Donald Trump: 1946. Barack Obama: 1961. I only discovered that when making the chart below.
(For the record, Joe Biden was born in 1942. Also for the record: Trump was born in June, Bush was born in July, and Clinton was born in August. They were all basically born in the summer if 1946!)
I started making lists:
References that sound dirty but actually aren’t (Exhibit B)
Guys we know by names other than the ones they were given at birth (Exhibit C)
References to Schenectady, NY
Exhibit A. Over a glass of wine and out of the blue one night, I pieced together this chart. I thought I was sooo clever. Years later, I stumbled on exactly the same chart online. Perhaps I’m not as clever as I think I am…? Nah, that can’t be right. In any case, this chart sparked my interest in the lifespan following the presidency — in many cases, it didn’t seem particularly long.
Exhibit C. Chester Arthur and FDR’s dad both attended Union College in Schenectady. Arthur was a prankster. FDR’s dad drank a lot.
At first, it was mostly words. Hardly any real doodles. And I thought it was for personal use only so I didn’t worry about, oh, plagiarism. Over time, the spreads became a bit more interesting, with better doodles and more interesting typography. Check out these doodles about Richard Nixon. The doodles on the left are from my very first presidential sketchbook; on the right is Sketchbook #9. (Richard Nixon wanted to “go after” the government witnesses because he wanted Jimmy Hoffa to support his campaign. What an ass.)
On the left: sketchbook #1 with doodles inspired by The Memoirs of Richard Nixon, by none other than Richard Nixon. On the right: sketchbook #9 with doodles inspired by Bob Woodward’s The Last of the President’s Men. Find more doodles here.
Eventually, I set up 11 rules to govern my project because I ❤︎ rules.
I read more. Unexpectedly, I retained more information.
I no longer get stumped on the playground.
(Exaggerated for emphasis)
The more I read, the more I wanted to know.
I became insatiable!
Also my memory improved.
I walk upstairs and forget why by the time I reach the top step. But this! This made me feel superior! Gore Vidal popped up in Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal by David Pietrusza (sketchbook #8), Gore Vidal once called Ronald Reagan “Hollywood’s Most Grinding Bore”. Despite not having a “flypaper mind” like FDR, I remembered that quote verbatim from my very first presidential sketchbook.
Sometimes if I can’t remember a bit of presidential trivia, I’ll picture the sketchbook page and the answer will come to me. On the flip side, between 25-75% of the time I will give my maiden name to receptionists and poll workers without realizing it. The likelihood changes based on how recently I’ve been in touch with a friend that shares my former name… a name that hasn’t been mine in more than fifteen years.
But I digress. As I do.
It spiraled out of control when the world shut down.
During the pandemic, I suddenly had no plans and gobs of time on my hands. For 500 days, I kept a sketchbook chronicling my experience. (Check out the presidential doodles.) I participated in The Sketchbook Project. I made trading cards, stickers, and packing tape. I launched website, newsletter, and blog. I finally finished my quest to read at least one book about every U.S. president.
But I couldn’t stop.
It was maddening at first. I was finally Done. Now I could move on to, oh, writing a book containing the doodles and trivia I’d accumulated.
Nope.
I kept picking up book after book and drawing more. I realized the process of creating and learning was my sweet spot. Just reading was OK. Just doodling was fine. But doodling what I read??
I couldn’t get enough. I still can’t.
I circled back to reread books about presidents I didn’t doodle my way through the first time. I discovered that John Hancock not only had a big signature. He also had a big butt. I read about tangential characters, time periods, and whatnot. (Just scroll through my bibliography for proof.)
Never trust a Founder with a big butt and a smile.
And here we are.
Maybe next time I share a bit of my process and some stats. Let me know what you think.
