A Reading List for President Biden

On December 20 2020 the NY Times shared a list generated by asking  22 authors “What book would you recommend Joe Biden read to inform his presidency?”

Perhaps the selection of historians, economists, political commentators, diplomats and world leaders predetermined the outcome, but I was disappointed that not a single novel, memoir or collection of poetry was included. These too reveal truth, but instead of the author’s analysis, they call upon the reader to create meaning.  A review of The Undocumented Americans, a memoir by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, for example, says:

She weaves stories from her own life with reporting and narratives of undocumented people she meets in five different cities…Their names have been changed and it’s possible their stories have changed a bit, too. Karla leaves it up to the reader to decide what is fact, what is fiction and whether that even matters.

I have read countless books about education theory and practice, but probably learned more about how education changes people’s lives from Tara Westover’s memoir, Educated.

If our new president wants to learn more about human nature and enjoy a respite from briefing papers and the omnipresent “nuclear football,” I recommend he read any of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency novels by Alexander McCall Smith or the Chief Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny. He will come back with new insights and energy.

To learn about the world-wide crisis of migration, he should read Exit West, by Mohsin Hamid. And before watching the new Tom Hanks movie, he can find inspiration from News of the World, by Paulette Jiles, a book about survival, caring, and moral choices Of course President Biden has his own resident source of literary inspiration, since Dr. Jill Biden is an English teacher. I look forward to seeing his list of favorites at the end of 2021.