Presidential recommendations
The Phipps family loves to read. Visitors to the president's home will notice bookshelves filled with books in almost every room. The family's favorite pastime is to visit a bookstore, read, relax, and talk — and drink coffee (for Brooke, it's an iced mocha).


Recommendations from President Kim Phipps
Reading Lolita in Tehran
by Azar Nafisi

This magnificent memoir tells the story of the courage Nafisi displayed when she invited seven female students to join her in reading some of the classics of Western society. The memoir bears witness to the beauty of education, literature, and art, and their power to transform individuals even in the midst of violence and oppression.


Bread of Angels
by Barbara Brown Taylor

Barbara Brown Taylor is an Episcopal priest who holds an endowed professorship at Piedmont College. In 1997, I had the privilege of hearing her preach at Chautaugua, N.Y., and she has remained my favorite narrative preacher. Her sermons are laced with refreshing insights, compelling stories, and provocative ideas. This collection of sermons serves as a spiritual feast, as do all of her books.


Favorite books of D. Kelly Phipps

Often, change and transition come so quickly that you instinctively reach out for old friends. I think that is what I've done in my reading this year. I have gone back to re-read some old classics from one of my favorite authors — Graham Greene. In his gritty stories, Greene creates a combustible mix of the high expectations of religious faith with the dark earthy shadows of the human condition. The resulting stories are always both gripping and morally challenging.

I recommend Our Man in Havana, The End of the Affair, The Heart of the Matter, and my all-time favorite Greene novel, The Power and the Glory.

For an added recommendation, Norman Sherry's third volume of Greene's biography was released late last year and is an interesting overview of the last years of Greene's troubled personal life.


Brooke Phipps (age 12) recommends books for young people
The Song of the Lioness Quartet
by Tamora Pierce
(includes: Alanna: The First Adventure, In the Hand of the Goddess, The Woman Who Rides Like a Man, and Lioness Rampant)

Pierce weaves a magical tale of strong females, witty sidekicks, interesting plots, and just a hint of romance. This is a must-read for any young person who seeks an enjoyable story for this summer.


A Great and Terrible Beauty
by Libba Bray

This is a narrative that leads you through a plot that is thick with mystery, ironic twists, and intrigue. A Great and Terrible Beauty is about things that "go bump in the night." I advise readers not to read this book in the darkness of night (though that didn't stop me!). This book is a necessity to help you survive the hot summer days.

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