Looking for a book or two to lose yourself in this holiday season? Barack Obama is here to help.
The former president posted a list of his favorite books of 2021 on Twitter, noting that “art always sustains and nourishes the soul.”
Over the next few days, I'll share my annual list of favorite books, music, and movies. Art always sustains and nourishes the soul. But for me, music and storytelling felt especially urgent during this pandemic year. I'll start by sharing some of my favorite books of 2021: pic.twitter.com/Ewo2sIc7WM
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 15, 2021
Of the 13 books to receive the Obama imprimatur, seven were fiction, including two Kirkus Prize finalists: Colson Whitehead’s Harlem Shuffle and Honorée Fanonne Jeffers’ The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois.
Obama also recommended Matrix, the latest novel from Lauren Groff, whom he’s long admired. The former president previously called Groff’s Fates and Furies his favorite novel of 2015.
Other novels making Obama’s list were Dawnie Walton’s The Final Revival of Opal and Nev, Amor Towles’ The Lincoln Highway, Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land, and Jonathan Franzen’s Crossroads.
On the nonfiction side, Obama gave his endorsement to three memoirs: Michelle Zauner’s Crying in H Mart, Nadia Owusu’s Aftershocks, and Qian Julie Wang’s Beautiful Country.
He also gave a shoutout to Clint Smith’s How the Word Is Passed, Andrea Elliott’s Invisible Child, and Ann Patchett’s These Precious Days.
Obama added a callback to books he previously recommended this year, including Patrick Radden Keefe’s Empire of Pain, Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary, and Nathan Harris’ The Sweetness of Water.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
