We asked Library Foundation board member Alessandro Morante what he’s been reading, and he gave us three categories: Current Affairs, History, and Theater.

Current Affairs
The Economist: With so much happening around the world, these days I find it hard to keep up, especially when the news is dominated by domestic politics and the pandemic. My saving grace, keeping me engaged with global news, is the weekly publication of The Economist. On rare occasions I find the time to read the magazine cover-to-cover, finishing with a sense of unparalleled understanding for global current affairs. More often, I’m only able to get through the European and British sections in an attempt to stay connected with my homeland. And lastly, if one is really strapped for reading time, just KAL’s cartoon and a skim of the very “punny” titles can be enlightening and entertaining enough for a weekend’s political reading.

History
New Voyages to Carolina – Reinterpreting North Carolina History, edited by Larry Tise and Jeffrey Crow: Because I never had the pleasure of studying North Carolinian history, I felt it was time to better understand the past of what is currently my present. Having grown up in the UK, my understanding of US history was limited to the twentieth century and very much at a national level. I’ve found myself wondering, who is this Tryon the street is named for? Why is Charlotte the Queen City? And why are there two Carolinas (but only one Panthers)? While so far I’ve only answered the first question, I’m hoping this historical adventure will help with the rest and the many other holes in my understanding of my surroundings.

Theater
The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde: I am generally not a fiction reader. However, with reality being so difficult this year, it’s nice to break away. My return to fiction has been led by Oscar Wilde. Despite never having read one of his books, I somehow knew many of his quotes – surely a good reason to choose an author’s work, I thought. I’m now on my third of his books. He has an unrivaled ability to synthesize some of the complexities of the human experience into short, clever, witty dialogue – I would recommend him to all.

About Alessandro Morante
Alessandro is a Managing Director at Wells Fargo Securities, currently in charge of Commercial Mortgage Backed Security (“CMBS”) trading. Prior to his current role at the bank, Alessandro was based in his hometown of London where he led the European expansion of a lending division within Wells Fargo’s Asset-Backed Finance group. Alessandro has a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Political Science from Duke University and is CFA ®️ charterholder.