If you’ve been scrambling to squeeze in a few last books before fall arrives, one former president just released a summer reading list worth considering for all Global Citizens.
In a surprising Facebook post, Barack Obama posted a handful of favorites that he’s devoured over the last couple of months, reminding the nation what a champion of education and literacy the 44th President was while in office, noted the Washington Post.
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“One of my favorite parts of summer is deciding what to read when things slow down just a bit,” Obama wrote Sunday, “whether it’s on a vacation with family or just a quiet afternoon.”
“This summer I’ve been absorbed by new novels,” he continued, “revisited an old classic, and reaffirmed my faith in our ability to move forward together when we seek the truth.”
The Washington Post described the list as “a model of diverse voices and concerns,” many of which echo the United Nations’ list of Global Goals.
Selections range from Educated, by Tara Westover — which Obama 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” — to Factfulness, by Hans Rosling — who Obama compliments as “an outstanding international public health expert,” and describes Factfulness as “a hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases,” according to the report.
Factfulness also happened to be on Bill Gates' summer reading list, which he published on his blog in May. The entrepreneur and philanthropist even offered a way for students to get the book for free.
Other books rounding out Obama's list include Warlight, by Michael Ondaatje, which tells the post-World War II story of two British children left by their parents in the care of a stranger; A House for Mr. Biswas, a novel by V.S. Naipaul, about growing up in Trinidad and “the challenge of post-colonial identity”; and An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, which follows “the effects of a wrongful conviction on a young African-American couple,” according to Obama’s synopsis.
You can find the full list of Obama's book suggestions here.