President Obama: On Reading
The New York Times posted a condensed transcript of a conversation that occurred between our outgoing President and the Times’ Chief Book Critic, Michiko Kakutani. The topic? Books. You can read it here.
I’ve often wondered about how President Obama deals with stress.
Meditation? Maybe. Long baths? I’m guessing not… Getting lost in a book? Yes.
In his conversation with the Times’ Chief Book Critic, Obama remarked, “…and then there’s been the occasion where I just want to get out of my own head. [Laughter] Sometimes you read fiction just because you want to be someplace else.”
Obama and Kakutani covered some of the books he recommended to his daughters, his own favorites, what he’s reading now and his own experiences writing and journaling. They kicked off the conversation with a must-read:
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the Buendía family and their founding of the fictional Macando village in what is thought to be Garcia’s native Colombia. This is a story of family, love, madness and magic. The book itself is pure magic, and it is absolutely brilliant. Some have found the detail to be unnerving and if that sentiment is striking you, just power through. You will thank me. This book is a gift.
A surprise on Obama’s list? Gone Girl. And, no judgement here: I read the majority of this thriller on my couch one rainy afternoon and punctuated the numerous plot twists with audible shrieks. The structure is great, and that’s all I’m going to say.
Obama also shared that he just finished Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, which is what I’m currently reading.
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Whitehead tells the story of adolescent slave Cora and her escape from a southern plantation. Unlike other stories of slavery, there is a very human element to this story: “Cora didn’t know what optimistic meant. She asked the other girls that night if they were familiar with the word. None of them had heard it before. She decided that it meant trying.”
Obama, too, offered some of the voices he has turned to during some of the tragic events that has marked his administration.
Is there some poem or any writing or author that you would turn to, say, after the mass killings in Newtown, Conn., or during the financial crisis?
I think that during those periods, Lincoln’s writings, King’s writings, Gandhi’s writings, Mandela’s writings — I found those particularly helpful, because what you wanted was a sense of solidarity. During very difficult moments, this job can be very isolating. So sometimes you have to hop across history to find folks who have been similarly feeling isolated. Churchill’s a good writer. And I loved reading Teddy Roosevelt’s writing. He’s this big, outsize character.
And when asked about rapidly changing technology: “Look, I don’t worry about the survival of the novel. We’re a storytelling species.”
Here here.
