Summer Reading Recommendations from EU Leaders
The European quarter is currently deserted, with businesses closed and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) absent, providing an ideal opportunity to delve into summer reading, reports 24brussels.
With the political scene quiet, officials and insiders have shared their book recommendations to inspire those looking for engaging literature. Among the suggestions is The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk, a historical exploration of the 19th-century rivalry between the Russian and British empires, recommended by Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative. She also suggests Do Not Disturb by journalist Michela Wrong, which examines Rwanda’s political landscape.
From the United States, Kallas highlights The Situation Room by George Stephanopoulos and Lisa Dickey, along with Anne Applebaum’s Autocracy, Inc., which provides insight into modern authoritarian regimes.
Glenn Micallef, the EU Culture and Sport Commissioner, is currently reading I Giorni di Vetro (The Days of Glass) by Nicoletta Verna, a novel depicting the lives of two contrasting women in Italy during the rise of fascism. He also recommends What the Night Lets You Say, a collection of short stories by Maltese author Pierre Mejlak.
Swedish Minister for EU Affairs Jessica Rosencrantz has recommended Human Acts by Nobel Laureate Han Kang, which recounts the Gwangju uprising against dictatorship in the 1980s.
Sarah Wheaton, host of POLITICO Confidential, recommends a poetry collection titled There Lives a Young Girl in Me Who Will Not Die by Danish author Tove Ditlevsen. Additionally, she suggests I’m a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson, a humorous account of his return to American life after two decades in England.
For a unique read, consider H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, a genre-bending work that interweaves elements of nature writing and biography while exploring personal grief through the training of a hawk.
Dionisios Sturis, a producer at POLITICO, recommends Olga Tokarczuk’s latest work, The Empusium, a horror story set in a health resort in the Silesian mountains, reminiscent of Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain. Sturis also suggests Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout, which artfully combines storytelling with small-town drama.
Sarah Wheaton and Dionisios Sturis contributed to this report.
