1m
Since someone mentioned it, here you go:
• Mark Twain — Ron Chernow
A comprehensive biography of one of the most important writers and social commentators in American history.
• The Book of Records — Madeleine Thien
A beautiful fable about migration, memory, and the struggle to recognize our common humanity.
• King of Ashes — S.A. Cosby
One of my favorite crime fiction writers delivers in this story of family, ambition and corruption in a racially charged and violent South.
• Abundance — Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson
A must-read for progressives who want a blueprint for reforming government so it can deliver for working people.
• Rosarita — Anita Desai
A short, beautiful novella about a woman’s discovery of her mother’s secret past.
• Audition — Katie Kitamura
A quiet novel about the ways we hide our true selves from others — and ourselves.
• The Buffalo Hunter Hunter — Stephen Graham Jones
A mash-up of history and horror that explores the brutal legacy of conquest against Native American peoples.
• A Marriage at Sea — Sophie Elmhirst
Amazing, true story of a couple surviving crisis in the open seas.
• Who is Government? — Michael Lewis
A timely reminder of the quiet dedication and skill of the people who work every day to make this country work.
• The Sirens’ Call — Chris Hayes
A useful primer on how social media and the attention economy have warped our democracy and reshaped our lives.
Thoughts??
2 Likes
President Barack Obama named “Fates and Furies” by Lauren Groff as his favorite book of 2015–his No. 1 read of the year. In 2016, she was a featured author at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. I was in the third row in a room that held a bajillion people, give or take. (OK…1,000 or so). He sent her a beautiful letter telling her what he thought of her novel, which she framed and hung on a wall in her home. She said the funniest, most poignant thing, and I paraphrase: “If my house ever catches on fire, I will get my husband and children out first, of course, but the next thing is that framed letter from President Obama.”
3 Likes
Obama’s Summer Reading List is as eclectic as always. I like how he’s got one tome, but then balances the length of that book with some compelling shorter reads, like Rosarita and Audtion. Neither of those books were on my TBR list, but the one sentence summaries prompted me to add each of those books to my list.
1 Like
I absolutely loved Fates and Furies and belive that is one of the best books I have read.
Agree! It’s one of my favorites. Now I will read anything she writes. Do you know that she and her husband opened a bookstore in Gainesville, Florida called The Lynx? It sells all types of books, as would any bookstore, but it specializes in the books that are being banned and removed from the shelves of Florida schools. I love that!
I love how varied his reading is which to me shows a very inclusive, inquisitive, and intelligent individual.
Thank you for sharing this. I will try to read some of these. He has a nice selection of books,I am sure I will enjoy them.