Barack Obama Shares His Favorite Books of 2019

The former president continued his annual tradition of sharing his favorite reads

Obama 2019 Summer Reading List
Obama's always been a noted bibliophile
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Former president and noted literary tastemaker Barack Obama has shared his annual list of favorites, posting a run-down of the books that made 2019 “a little brighter” for him.

Obama shared the list on Instagram, writing, “This has become a fun little tradition for me, and I hope it is for you, too. 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.”

This year, Obama selected 17 books as well as two he designated as being “for the sports fans.” You can read the full list below.

  • 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
  • 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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