Three Book Recommendations for President Trump
I vomit a little in my mouth even typing the words President Trump, but today was the day, the day in which he took office and we said goodbye to easily the best President of my lifetime, Barack Obama. And yet as the page turns on President Obama, I've been reflecting a lot on today, Trump's horrific downtrodden speech, and what the next four years look like. And although I know Trump isn't a reader, these are three books that I think could arguably help deter him from making a mockery of his title over the next four years.
Book 1: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
This is one of the first books that ever spoke to me on a personal level. It's written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and is a letter to his son about growing up in America black. It's a complete gut punch to the soul, but I don't care if your black, white, or anything in-between, there is nothing but love, hope, and a huge splash of brutal honesty. Coates is one of the greatest writers of our time, made even more evident in his masterful article in The Atlantic, My President Was Black.
Maybe when Trump starts thinking stop and frisk is a "good solution" he will think back to the advice that Coates had to give his son because of terrible policies like that.
Book 2: I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
I recently read I Am Malala a story about a young Pakistani girl who wanted nothing but an education and was shot by the Taliban. Much of Trump's rhetoric on the campaign trail and even in his inaugural address was about Islamic terrorism. Sadly, the issues in the middle east are far more complicated then a simple Fox News sound bite will ever be able to capture. I too am ill informed on the Middle East and learned so much from one young girls life in a remote area of Pakistan.
This is one of those novels that I think anyone who reads it will be taken back by the fact that we continue both in the Bush and Obama administrations to bomb an area which continues to create more and more hatred toward us.
Book 3: We Should All Be Feminist by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Would anyone argue with me that Trump needs to read this book? I mean I think even the most hardcore right wing Trump hat wearing supporters would probably agree that it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for Trump to read this less then a hundred page book on why we should all be feminist. This is a brilliant, powerful, and concise argument for why the world would be better if we were all feminist. A brilliantly written and argued book that I could see myself reading over and over again.
And if Trump doesn't want to read the book, the least he can do is watch Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Ted Talk.
