“The most important stuff I’ve learned I think I’ve learned from novels.”
In the upcoming issue of The New York Review of Books, President Obama interviews Pulitzer Prize winning author Marilynne Robinson about — you guessed it — books!
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In the interview, Obama tells Robinson how novels and fiction have had a tremendous impact on his life.
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"When I think about how I understand my role as citizen, setting aside being president...the most important stuff I’ve learned I think I’ve learned from novels," he said.
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Are you somebody who worries about people not reading novels anymore? And do you think that has an impact on the culture? When I think about how I understand my role as citizen, setting aside being president, and the most important set of understandings that I bring to that position of citizen, the most important stuff I've learned I think I've learned from novels. It has to do with empathy. It has to do with being comfortable with the notion that the world is complicated and full of grays, but there's still truth there to be found, and that you have to strive for that and work for that. And the notion that it's possible to connect with some[one] else even though they're very different from you.
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President Obama Says Books Have Had A Major Impact On His Life