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Barack Obama's Favorite Books 2022

Barack Obama's Favorite Books 2022 names 27 books across 2 categories. 11 of them also won or were shortlisted for an award.

Favorite Books

  1. Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnahsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yongsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkersonsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beatonsource (opens in a new tab)
  5. Liberation Day by George Saunderssource (opens in a new tab)
  6. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandelsource (opens in a new tab)
  7. South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perrysource (opens in a new tab)
  8. The Candy House by Jennifer Egansource (opens in a new tab)
  9. The Furrows by Namwali Serpellsource (opens in a new tab)
  10. The Light We Carry by Michelle Obamasource (opens in a new tab)
  11. The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiffsource (opens in a new tab)
  12. The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chansource (opens in a new tab)
  13. Trust by Hernan Diazsource (opens in a new tab)

Summer Reading

  1. A Little Devil in America: In Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqibsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkersonsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks by Chris Herringsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilsonsource (opens in a new tab)
  5. Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosbysource (opens in a new tab)
  6. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandelsource (opens in a new tab)
  7. Silverview by John le Carrésource (opens in a new tab)
  8. The Candy House by Jennifer Egansource (opens in a new tab)
  9. The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Changsource (opens in a new tab)
  10. The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure by Yascha Mounksource (opens in a new tab)
  11. The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chansource (opens in a new tab)
  12. To Paradise by Hanya Yanagiharasource (opens in a new tab)
  13. Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garciasource (opens in a new tab)
  14. Why We're Polarized by Ezra Kleinsource (opens in a new tab)

About the Barack Obama's Favorite Books

Obama shared his first list, summer reading, in 2015; his first posted year-end list came in 2017. Year-end lists are category Favorite Books and summer lists Summer Reading. There is no 2016 year-end, 2017 summer, or 2020 summer list. Sources are Obama posts (Facebook, Medium, obama.org) where they load, otherwise news pages quoting the full list. A year-end list that repeats summer picks keeps them, so each list is complete as posted. Books only.

Organization: Barack Obama. Official site (opens in a new tab)

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