Summer is made for reading. Continuing our annual tradition, we asked Parliament’s political leaders what they will be reading during their holidays. Their choices vary from thought-provoking publications covering globalisation, Europe’s history, Africa and reasons to be optimistic to books that are simply fun to delve into. Read, think, be inspired.

Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, recommends “1913: the year before the summer” by Florian Illies: “It is a book that is a big success in Germany about how Europe was in 1913. It is amazing to see the level of cooperation across borders and among different personalities in the scientific, cultural, political, artistic and sporting fields. It was more or less like today. Nobody could even imagine what was going to happen the following year. It is a reminder of how rich our European culture is, when cooperation, openness and tolerance prevail, but also a reminder of how fragile this state of grace might be and how we need to put all our efforts to defend and promote it, also via our common institutions that didn’t exist at the time.”

Joseph Daul, the French chair of the EPP group, will have little time to read this summer: “I’m taking advantage of the summer break to go back to the family farm in Alsace. I need to be close to my land and my animals, meeting new people, to keep up to date with the news in the community. From 8 in the morning until sunset, life on the farm is busy and I have absolutely no time to read. However, if I manage to find the time, I would very much like to read ‘Globalisation and its Discontents’ by Joseph Stiglitz.”

Hannes Swoboda, the Austrian chair of the SD group, knows exactly what book he will be reaching for in the coming weeks: “One book I plan to read is ‘L’equation africaine’ by Yasmina Khadra , the penname of Mohammed Moulesseho, an author that gives the reader deeper insights into different cultures, through detailed descriptions of different, predominantly Arab and African societies. I like to combine reading about and travelling to other countries, to gain a deeper insight into the lives elsewhere. Yasmina Khadra’s books allow me to do just that.”

Guy Verhofstadt, the Belgian chair of the ALDE group, urges people to read “Stoner” by John Williams: “It is a long forgotten book published in 1965 that has been republished and is finally getting the success it so fully deserves. The story and protagonist seem unremarkable, but the book is nothing less than beautiful.”

Martin Callanan, the British chair of the ECR group, has opted for a very positive book: “I’ll be reading Matt Ridley’s book ‘The rational optimist’ which looks at how every generation after the other has enjoyed better living standards, yet we still continue to think that the future will be nothing but disastrous. Ridley’s book looks optimistically at events/life by saying that human progress and change is the key to overcoming all of our challenges.”

Gabriele Zimmer, the German chair of the GUE/NGL group, has several books she intends to read this summer, including “Weiskerns Nachlass” by Christoph Hein. “It’s about a lecturer at a cultural institute in Leipzig, Germany, a prototypical member of the academic precarity who lacks any hope for the future. Neither can he maintain his self-imposed standards of university teaching, nor obtain external funding or publication opportunities. I like the author who has been one of the most socially critical authors of the former [communist] German Democratic Republic (GDR) and has always remained true to his own standards. With Weiskerns Nachlass, he addresses current problems such as fraud, academic precarity, austerity at universities and tax fairness and holds a mirror up to society.”

Francesco Enrico Speroni, the Italian co-chair of the EFD group, likes all books written by Piero Chiara. “If I had to choose one, it would be ‘Il Pretore di Cuvio’. Why? It is an easy and entertaining book, a right one for the summer.”

source: EP