Charles Thomas is a Library trustee and lifelong Library user. He’s the Charlotte Program Director for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and a tireless advocate for the city he’s loved his whole life. We asked Charles to share his reading list:

My favorite books of all time about life’s journey, discovering one’s purpose or magic and connecting to happiness: 

• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
• A Spell for Chameleon (and the Xanth series) by Piers Anthony

Current books I recommend to advance racial equity in Charlotte and to build a more beautiful world:

• How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
• Sorting Out the New South City by Tom Hanchett
• Color and Character by Pam Grundy
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
• Sacred Economics by Charles Eisenstein