Barack Obama continues tradition of favorite books list for 2019

Dec 29, 2019
Barack Obama
SEVILLE, SPAIN - APRIL 03: Former U.S. President Barack Obama waves during the World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit on April 03, 2019 in Seville, Spain. Seville is hosting the 19th Summit of the World Travel & Tourism Council, which brings together the leaders of the global travel and tourism industry, from April 3-4. (Photo by Marcelo del Pozo/Getty Images)

Former President Barack Obama has once again decided to enlighten us with a selection of books that he believes readers should have on their radar.

“This has become a fun little tradition for me, and I hope it is for you, too,” Obama wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday. “Because while each of us has plenty that keeps us busy — work and family life, social and volunteer commitments — outlets like literature and art can enhance our day-to-day experiences.”

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According to CNN, Obama’s book selections mirror a pattern from previous years, which shows a mix of historic non-fiction and some literary novels. In his Instagram post, he talked about the importance of literature and art, calling it “the fabric that helps make up a life—the album that lifts us up after a long day, the dog-eared paperback we grab off the shelf to give to a friend, the movie that makes us think and feel in a new way, works that simply help us escape for a bit.”

Check out what books made the cut in 2019:

  • “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power” by Shoshana Zuboff
  • “The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company” by William Dalrymple
  • “Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee” by Casey Cep
  • “Girl, Woman, Other” by Bernardine Evaristo
  • “The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present” by David Treuer
  • “How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy” by Jenny Odell
  • “Lost Children Archive” by Valeria Luiselli
  • “Lot: Stories” by Bryan Washington
  • “Normal People” by Sally Rooney
  • “The Orphan Master’s Son” by Adam Johnson
  • “The Yellow House” by Sarah M. Broom
  • “Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland” by Patrick Radden Keefe
  • “Solitary” by Albert Woodfox
  • “The Topeka School” by Ben Lerner
  • “Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion” by Jia Tolentino
  • “Trust Exercise” by Susan Choi
  • “We Live in Water: Stories” by Jess Walter
Obama had a shortlist of favorite books for “sports fans”:
  • “A Different Way to Win: Dan Rooney’s Story from the Super Bowl to the Rooney Rule” by Jim Rooney
  • “The Sixth Man” by Andre Iguodala

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