Ann Patchett and Colson Whitehead among Barack Obama’s favorite authors of 2021

(ETX Daily Up) – dir = “ltr”> Each end of the year, many personalities share the list of books that have marked them during the last twelve months. Barack Obama shared his on Twitter. It features men and women of letters such as Ann Patchett and Colson Whitehead.

Throughout his presidency, Barack Obama has established himself as an avid reader and cultural critic. While he has recommended dozens of books to his fellow citizens during his two terms, he has been sharing his annual reading lists on Twitter for a decade. The latest has thirteen titles, which are mostly works of fiction.

Among them are “Harlem Shuffle”, a thriller in which Colson Whitehead reviews a heist at the Theresa Hotel in Harlem, as well as Jonathan Franzen’s “Crossroads”, a family saga set in a small American town in the 1970s. Lauren Groff and Anthony Doerr are also in the list of books that Barack Obama particularly appreciated this year thanks to “Matrix” and “Cloud Cuckoo Land”.

Books to feed the soul

Some books selected by the 44th President of the United States address particularly topical themes such as racism. This is the case of “Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City” by New York Times journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Andrea Elliott, but also of “How the Word is Passed”. In this book, Clint Smith travels to eight locations in the United States and abroad to understand how each of them approaches their relationship to the history of American slavery.

Barack Obama revealed on Twitter that he would post his musical and film recommendations for the year in the coming days. “Art always sustains and nourishes the soul. But for me, music and storytelling were especially essential in this year of the pandemic,” he also said.

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

Check out the 13 books included in Barack Obama’s annual recommendation list below:

• Jonathan Franzen’s “Crossroads”

• “These Precious Days” by Ann Patchett

• “Harlem Shuffle” by Colson Whitehead

• “Matrix” by Lauren Groff

• “How the Word is Passed” by Clint Smith

• “The Final Revival of Opal & Nev” by Dawnie Walton

• “The Lincoln Highway” by Amor Towles

• “Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City” by Andrea Elliott

• Anthony Doerr’s “Cloud Cuckoo Land”

• “Crying in H Mart” by Michelle Zauner

• Nadia Owusu’s “Aftershocks”

• “The Love Songs of WEB Du Bois” by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

• “Beautiful Country” by Qian Julie Wang