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Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s Favorite Books
The vice president and president have listed these as their all-time faves.
Published on December 12, 2023
The Kite Runner
Khaled HosseiniKamala Harris responded to a Book Riot request about her favorite books, and as BR notes, her picks show “a tendency toward inclusive, intergenerational stories.” Khaled Hosseini’s moving story of betrayal and redemption in war-torn Afghanistan is among them. This award-winning novel is the definition of a contemporary classic.
Native Son
Richard WrightThis classic was one of the first stories to fully capture how systemic racism leads to horrific consequences. James Baldwin said every Black American has a “private Bigger Thomas,” the iconic character of Richard Wright’s landmark book, “living in his skull.” Decades later, Wright’s novel about race and poverty in America is as powerful and timely as ever. Harris listed this as one of her favorite books of all time.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: The Classic Fantasy Adventure Series (Official Edition)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: The Classic Fantasy Adventure Series (Official Edition)
C. S. LewisThe only work of children’s literature to make Harris’ overall favorites list is a tried-and-true classic that still delights audiences young and old. Four English school children find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the magic land of Narnia and assist Aslan, the golden lion, to triumph over the White Witch, who has cursed the land with eternal winter. An escapist read for this inauguration season, during the dead of winter in the middle of a pandemic.
Ulysses
James JoyceAccording to The Irish Times, Joe Biden listed James Joyce as one of his favorite writers back in 2016, after viewing Joyce’s manuscripts at Trinity College Dublin; Book Riot cites that he has a particular affinity for “Ulysses.” One of Joyce’s most notoriously difficult novels, “Ulysses” tells the story of Leopold Bloom and his experiences during one fairly unremarkable day in Dublin in a masterful display of stream-of-consciousness.
Sources
- How did Ulysses become a talking point in the US election?
- 2019, The Irish Times