Life Style: What We Are Reading Today: Riverman by Ben McGrath

DUBAI: Summer is finally here, bringing with it a wealth of reading opportunities, whether you’re lounging poolside or waiting for the final boarding call for your flight to Capri.

From mysteries to memoirs there’s a whole host of books worthy of paging open. If you’re unsure of where to start, consider poring over Elisa Sednaoui Dellal’s selection with Semaine. The Egyptian-Italian-French model and philanthropist has teamed up with the digital platform to curate a list of some of her favorite books alongside other tastemakers including models Claudia Schiffer and Camilla Rowe, artist Daniel Arsham and socialite Paris Hilton.

From the book that she now realizes is one of the seeds of her social welfare enterprise Funtasia, Tahar ben Jelloun’s “Racism Explained to My Daughter,” to a publication that Sednaoui Dellal describes as “the right of passage of any young person trying to achieve something with their life, Rainer Maria Rilke’s “Letters to a Young Poet,” the 34-year-old’s thoughtfully chosen list will enrich, educate, inspire and urge you to dig a little bit deeper.

Other books on her diverse reading list include “The Tao of Pooh” by Benjamin Hoff, Chaim Potok’s “The Chosen One,” “Footnotes in Gaza” by Joe Sacco, and a work which sits on her night table, “Around the Year” by Emmet Fox.

“I got completely obsessed with the story and literally couldn’t put it down, always as engaged in each reading session as the next one,” said Sednaoui Dellal of “The Forty Rules of Love” by Elif Shafak, which is also on her reading list.

When she’s not reading, Sednaoui Dellal can be found authoring her own books.

Last year, the model released a children’s book in Italian, “Le Mie 9 Intelligenze.”

Sednaoui Dellal describes the book as “playful activities for children and parents that offer opportunities to strengthen emotional intelligence, self and other awareness and behavior.”

She also took to Instagram earlier this week to reveal that she has co-written a book with Italian author Paolo Borzacchiello.

The title of author is just the latest addition to her expanding CV.

In addition to being a model, philanthropist, designer and actress, Sednaoui Dellal is also a film director.