George W. Bush is a "Goodreads Author"?: Goodreads Announces Another New Feature...

Goodreads just posted another of their "sitewide announcements."
Ask Alicia Keys, George W. Bush, Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman, and Many More Authors a Question!Uh...huh.

My first reaction was an eye-roll because this seems like a desperate bid for publicity. The inclusion of several singers and a politician seems like an attempt to branch out into demographics that might not read as actively as the people who are interested in connecting only with authors.

And while there is nothing wrong with this on the surface, it does seem like an odd thing for a book site -- especially a book social networking site -- to do.

Also, George W. Bush? Really? Who thought that was a good idea?

Do you have any idea how many readers are feverishly liberal?

A lot.

I have a feeling this could get ugly.

As many have pointed out, this is a seriously odd line-up of people. Also, since the point of the exercise is to feature people who aren't authors, I'm flummoxed by why Neil Gaiman is included on this list because, um, well, isn't he an author?

Consistency. You don't have it.

What do you guys think about Goodreads's latest idea?

And who would be on your ideal ask-list?