‘This summer I’ve been absorbed by new novels’: Barack Obama shares reading list
He "revisited an old classic, and reaffirmed my faith in our ability to move forward together when we seek the truth.”
When he’s not working toward changing the world or visiting his family’s homeland of Kenya, former President Barack Obama is apparently getting in a good read.
The country’s first Black president took to Facebook Sunday to share what he’s been reading this summer.
“This summer I’ve been absorbed by new novels, revisited an old classic, and reaffirmed my faith in our ability to move forward together when we seek the truth,” Obama posted.
Among the tomes that are grabbing his attention:
Tara Westover’s Educated, which he describes as “a remarkable memoir of a young woman raised in a survivalist family in Idaho who strives for education while still showing great understanding and love for the world she leaves behind.”
Michael Ondaatje’s Warlight, set after World War II, “is a meditation on the lingering effects of war on family.”
Obama said he reread A House for Mr. Biswas by the recently transitioned Caribbean author V.S. Naipaul. The book was Naipaul’s “first great novel about growing up in Trinidad and the challenge of post-colonial identity,” Obama wrote.
“Factfulness” by Hans Rosling, an international public health expert, is “a hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases.”
And last but not least, Obama hails Tayari Jones’ An American Marriage as “a moving portrayal of the effects of a wrongful conviction on a young African-American couple.”
We at TheGrio are assuming that a mention by President Obama is the equivalent, or more, of being included in Oprah’s Book Club. Jones’ took to Twitter to say that the mention made her day.
“Dear Mr. President,” Jones, @Tayari tweeted, “I always look forward to your summer reading suggestions, but what an honor to find An American Marriage on this year’s list.”
Dear Mr. President, I always look forward to your summer reading suggestions, but what an honor to find An American Marriage on this year’s list. @BarackObama pic.twitter.com/PZAEhJjM5E
— Tayari Jones (@tayari) August 19, 2018
Jones’ fans were excited, to say the least. The author was clued in about the president’s mention by Twitter user Maya Hollinshead, @threadingdiva.
“THE PRESIDENT IS READING YOUR BOOK!!!!” she tweeted to Jones, later tweeting to the former president, “I’m glad you are reading @Tayari’s An American Marriage … PS: Tell @MichelleObama and the girls hello.”
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