With 2024 coming to a close, former president Barack Obama is continuing his annual tradition of sharing his top 10 favorite books, movies, and music of the year. This year, he has started with a list of his favorite books, and we have everything you need to know for each, including where to buy them!
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Obama took to his X account on December 20 to share the anticipated list, writing, “I always look forward to sharing my annual list of favorite books, movies, and music. Today I’ll start by sharing some of the books that have stuck with me long after I finished reading them,” adding, “Check them out this holiday season, preferably at an independent bookstore or library!”
Obama’s top 10 favorite books of 2024
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt – Buy on Amazon
- This book details how the spread of social media and phones has led to a “rewiring” of childhood, causing a rise in mental illnesses like anxiety, and offers practical solutions on how to navigate it.
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney – Buy on Amazon
- Intermezzo is the fourth book by Irish author Sally Rooney. The story dives into the tale of two brothers and their lovers and encapsulates what it is like to deal with grief as the two brothers mourn their father.
Patriot by Alexei Navalny – Buy on Amazon
- Patriot is a memoir by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny that details his life and career. He began writing it shortly after he was poisoned in 2020, leading to a near-death experience.
Orbital by Samantha Harvey – Buy on Amazon
- Orbital, first released in 2023, follows the story of six fictional astronauts as they circle Earth in the International Space Station, observing the passage of time and weather across borders and time zones, compelled to return home. Harvey’s novel won the Booker Prize 2024.
The Anthropologists by Ayşegül Savaş – Buy on Amazon
- The Anthropologists is the story of a couple from different countries relocating to a foreign city. The book follows Asya and Manu as they are forced to craft their own traditions while they navigate their new city, trying to find a place to call home while immersing themselves in their surroundings.
Stolen Pride by Arlie Russell Hochschild – Buy on Amazon
- Stolen Pride focuses on a group of people in the heart of Appalachia as she explores the current political landscape and how pride can alter our perception of ourselves and the world around us, all while pointing a new way forward.
In Ascension by Martin Macĩnnes – Buy on Amazon
- In Ascension follows Leigh, a marine biologist. It chronicles her difficult childhood, complex family dynamics, and a scientific discovery in an ocean trench that will change the world. In Ascension won the 2024 Arthur C. Clarke Award, which celebrates the best science fiction novels published in the U.K.
Growth by Daniel Susskind – Buy on Amazon
- Growth by Daniel Susskind was shortlisted for the 2024 Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year. It dives into the past, present, and future of economic growth and how we should rethink our obsession with it as it furthers inequality and causes social and environmental harm.
Someone Like Us by Dinaw Mengestu – Buy on Amazon
- Someone Like Us follows the story of Mamush and Hannah, who meet in Paris. Their love life unfolds and ends in sorrow, and Mamush returns to the close-knit immigrant Ethiopian community of Washington, D.C. that defined his childhood. Mamush is faced with life and death as he navigates this new world without the love of his life, following the death of his beloved father figure.
The Work of Art by Adam Moss – Buy on Amazon
- Adam Moss interviewed nearly 50 people to discover the grueling, rewarding, painstaking, and joyful creative process of making art, giving readers an insight into how writers, artists, musicians, comedians, and filmmakers hone their craft.
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