“Does the president really read all those books? The answer might surprise you.
I usually have anonymous sources falling all over themselves to spill industry secrets, so you can imagine that when I was assigned to investigate the methodology behind Barack Obama’s annual lists of book recommendations, I set out to expose a secret apparatus of industry shenanigans. What I found was much more shocking.
President Barack Obama released his first official list of book recommendations in summer 2009, a few months after taking office. He continued to share summer reading recommendations throughout his presidency, with the exception of 2012 and 2013, when one can imagine he was swept up in his day job. In 2017, after leaving office and undoubtedly regaining some free time for leisure reading, the former president also began releasing a best-books-of-the-year list, alongside similar roundups for movies, television, and music.
For some, Obama’s recommendations have become highly anticipated. Julianne Buonocore, founder of the book and lifestyle blog The Literary Lifestyle, said that she and her 800,000+ monthly readers eagerly await Obama’s book list each year. “First, it’s exciting to see which books you’ve read that a former president has read too, and second, he always offers an array of diverse reads, so you know you’re also bound to find something new and impactful to read next,” Buonocore said.”
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According to Schultz, the richness of Obama’s reading recommendations are a reflection of the man himself and his community. You don’t need The New York Times Book Review or Susie from book club to get recommendations when you’re constantly surrounded by some of the most interesting people in the world. As Schultz pointed out, “Being a former president, one of the perks is access to people and communities and stories from every corner of the planet, in every industry, in every sector, in every vector… Whether it’s people in business or sports or his daughter or other friends, these are all people that he hears about books from.”
The titles that Obama selects are incredibly diverse both in subjects and in authors, varying widely from the boring political tomes written by old white men that you might imagine dwelling on the nightstands of former presidents. Of the 13 titles included in Obama’s Favorite Books of 2022, there are nine works of fiction and four works of nonfiction, including books by eight women and eight BIPOC authors. There’s a novel about a dystopian school for mothers; a graphic novel about labor and survival in Canada; a journey through the history, rituals, and landscapes of the American South; and a beautifully crafted short-story collection. As someone who spent the better part of a decade working in Big Five book publishing (the five largest publishing houses: Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Hachette), I can tell you that the former president has impeccable taste.”
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The feeling of connection between two people who love the same book is not one often felt between ordinary citizens and high-ranking government officials, but I can honestly say that when Obama announced Lauren Groff’s achingly beautiful novel Fates and Furies—my favorite book of 2015—as his favorite book of 2015, I felt I learned more about him as a person than I had from any profile, speech, or campaign ad.
Imagining that a political consultant might have picked that book for him broke my heart, but it turns out I didn’t need to worry. After weeks of reaching out to publishers, authors, and book insiders, I could not find a single source with knowledge that the former president’s book recommendations are engineered by anyone other than himself. I may have set out to write an exposé, but what I found was so much more shocking: a positive publishing story filled with authenticity.
For one moment, I give you permission to forget about book bans, unlivable industry salaries, and diversity problems. For one minute, I give you permission to be grateful that one of the most influential people on the planet makes it a priority not just to promote books but to be personally moved by them.
I, for one, can’t wait to find out what he’s reading this summer.”
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