I Don't Get It -- Joe the Reader

Yes, it's that time of the year where newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc. do their end-of-year book lists. You can expect to see a book list from just about everyone.

But Joe the Plumber?

Yep. And the list by Joe, aka Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, wasn't in Pump and Plungers Monthly, it was in The Economist. Not surprising, Joe's reading list leans toward the loo. His top three are Temples of Convenience—and Chambers of Delight by Lucinda Lambton, Flushed with Pride: The Story of Thomas Crapper by Wallace Reyburn, and that indispensable Howard C. Massey classic The Plumber's Handbook.

Actually, I was quite surprise that his list went past #1 and #2.

But here's the bigger shocker. His other favorite book is The Theory of Money and Credit by Ludwig von Mises. Plumber Joe told The Economist : "It brought monetary theory into the mainstream of economic analysis. It is important reading for these troubled times."

Nothing against my plumber friends, but either Joe is pulling this out of his exposed butt crack or he's been fooling us the whole time. Is it possible that Joe wasn't really a plumber looking to start his own small business, but a front for a desperate Republican machine?

Could be. Or, as one commenter on the story wrote, he could have just confused von Mises' book with Everybody Poops.

Whatever you do, please don't buy Joe's book. Let's make sure his 15 minutes of fame are up.