lisa. lucas.should hope that i, and you, the esteemed intellectuals gathered in this hallowed dining area are here to celebrate, not sins of the flesh, but rather those loftier accomplishments fabricated from reason from our very consciousness. instead of engaging in rivalry, it is my fondest which that we book for, we literati can employ the labors of our mouths in the service of mutually pleasuring one another this evening without resorting to such base and tawdry insinuations. i am sincerely grateful to be here this evening. books have been an important influence in my life. i remember in fifth grade after reading about mitochondria in a wrinkle in time asking my teacher if that was a real thing. she said that it was, she thought but that it was very specialized information that i would never need to worry about, which i heard as it is not part of the homogenized body of knowledge to which the in this community have agreed to limit our concern, which meant that if i kept reading the right books

lisa lucas of the national book undation. "new york times" beth selling author anna todd.ou would recommend over every other book. >>nn ameri marriage. it is such an incredible book. this is an examination oflo , an examination of race, an examination of how this count incarcerates back men. most importantly, an examination of marriage and what we 0-1 another. it is such an incredible book, aracter driven. it's a love letter to atlanta. let me tell you.hi and i want to be a gift. america, don't listen to me. it waso a oprah's book club pick. >> it's isaac's book club,. t what about you, lisa? so rachel kushner is one of my favorite authors. incaeration, which is not the most festive of ideas, but something that is really, really important right n. the mars room is her third novel. or fourth. it's a wonderfully beautifully written novel about thewomen's correctional facility in california and a woman's journey and being a mothert.nd paren i think it's important to -- at one, read g books. also, read books that do the work of kind of framing and contexttualizing the world we

here with favorites, isaac fitzgerald, lisa lucas, and anna todd.ve that we're starting with your favorites of the year. take it away. >> an american marriage. it is such an incredible book. this is an examination of love. it's an examination of race. it's an examination of how this country incarcerates black men, but most importantly, it's an examination of marriage and what we owe one another. it is such an incredible book. it's character driven and so well written. it's a love letter to atlanta. let me tell you, and i want this to be a gif. america, don't listen to me. it was also oprah's book club pick. listen to oprah. >> it's isaac's book club too. what about you, lisa? >> rachel kushner is one of my favorite authors. staying on the theme of incarceration, it's not festive, but it's really important right now. the mars room. it's her third novel, or fourth, and it's a wonderful, beautifully written propulsive novel about the women's correctional system in california and a woman's journey and being a mother and parent, and i think it's importan

. >> lisa: thank you, lucas.he liberal media has been hammering the president for not visiting troops in war zones for a month. now that he has gone to iraq, they are still not satisfied. watch this. >> what donald trump did by going to al-assad airbase, essentially the minimum. by not meeting with the host government, i think what donald trump did with essentially reconfirm what not only baghdad but also governments around the world suspect, he sees no need for partnership. he sees a transactional relationship. >> there was a bout of gas lighting about what u.s. troops are doing in other theaters, less of a focus on the ongoing stabilization mission, counterterrorism mission the forces in iraq are performing. >> lisa: joining me now is buck sexton, a former cia agent. vice president of foreign policy at the heritage foundation. hi, guys. buck, i'm going to start with you. can president trump ever win? >> not in the mind of his critics. this is astonishing. the media organizations, they had big blue check folks o

lisa: thank you, lucas. griff: thanks, lucas. lisa: merry christmas. respect. but again, this is a different administration, and what happens next clearly this administration is not taking isis serious. it's going to be interesting to see what happens. brian: america doesn't want people stationed overseas, people always get patient war wise to be successful, however, there was almost no pressure to get 2,000 troops out of syria because they weren't in the battle. i mean, it's always dangerous, but they were training, they were supplying, they were arming, they were helping plotting and plan against our enemy, and that was this terrorist organization called isis and al-nusra in the area. i worry about the kurds fighting like real warriors, now they're going to be facing turkey. turkey's leader told the president he'll take care of isis. he's not going to, he's never taken care of isis. he's going to take care of the kurds, who are allies. syria couldn't care less about isis. isis now has free rein because they are nobody's focus. we were their focus. li