First family sets N.Y. Eve talent show

KAILUA, Hawaii, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The first family planned to spend Friday evening with family and friends in Hawaii and hold their annual New Year's Eve Talent Show, the White House said.

President Barack Obama worked out Friday morning and White House spokesman Bill Burton said the president and first lady Michelle Obama will spend New Year's Eve with family and friends.

The White House released the list of books the president is reading during his vacation – "President Reagan -- The Role of a Lifetime," by Lou Cannon; "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet" by David Mitchell; and "Our Kind of Traitor," by John le Carre.

Cannon, a longtime political reporter for The Washington Post, has written five books about Reagan. "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet" is an epic historical novel set in Japan at the turn of the 19th century. "Our Kind of Traitor," the latest novel by le Carre, pits British intelligence against the Russian Mafia.

As the president left the family vacation rental home for his workout Saturday morning, several well-wishers gathered outside a security checkpoint, holding signs including one that read, "So much love & Gratitude."