Summer Reading List

While we were still in the White House, I began sharing my summer favorites—and now, it’s become a little tradition that I look forward to sharing with you all. So here's this year's offering. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did. pic.twitter.com/29T7CcKiWZ

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 9, 2021

2020 Book Faves

As 2020 comes to a close, I wanted to share my annual lists of favorites. I’ll start by sharing my favorite books this year, deliberately omitting what I think is a pretty good book – A Promised Land – by a certain 44th president. I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I did. pic.twitter.com/UHk4RA9dow

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 17, 2020

Wait what https://t.co/Wffu8x38YC

— Brit Bennett (@britrbennett) December 17, 2020

2019: Favorite Books

As we wind down 2019, I wanted to share with you my annual list of favorites that made the last year a little brigh… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 28, 2019

Growing Your Reading List

Grow your reading list with these Obama recs: ow.ly/ZteW50wFDoB

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Book Riot (@BookRiot) October 08, 2019

Chat Away

*sobbing maniacally at the idea that presidents used to read books* twitter.com/thehill/status…

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Kashana (@kashanacauley) August 20, 2018

Um, I don't have words....but I'm very grateful. https://t.co/d3AJf08f4b

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Tara Westover (@tarawestover) August 19, 2018

Read On

Dear Mr. President, I always look forward to your summer reading suggestions, but what an honor to find An American… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

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Tayari Jones (@tayari) August 19, 2018

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President Barack Obama

One of my favorite parts of summer is deciding what to read when things slow down just a bit, whether it’s on a vacation with family or just a quiet afternoon. This summer I’ve been absorbed by new novels, revisited an old classic, and reaffirmed my faith in our ability to move forward together when we seek the truth. Here’s what I’ve been reading:

Tara Westover’s Educated is a remarkable memoir of a young woman raised in a survivalist family in Idaho who strives for education while still showing great understanding and love for the world she leaves behind.

Set after WWII, Warlight by Michael Ondaatje is a meditation on the lingering effects of war on family.

With the recent passing of V.S. Naipaul, I reread A House for Mr Biswas, the Nobel Prize winner’s first great novel about growing up in Trinidad and the challenge of post-colonial identity.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones is a moving portrayal of the effects of a wrongful conviction on a young African-American couple.

Factfulness by Hans Rosling, an outstanding international public health expert, is a hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases.

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I always love @BarackObama's reading lists — & this is an especially great one https://t.co/qMaJu9s2pR

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Tina Jordan (@TinaJordanNYT) August 19, 2018