President Obama’s favorite books and music of the summer

Check out President Obama’s summer list of top picks: books and music.

President Obama smiles in front of a blurred blue background. He is wearing a suit jacket and blue shirt.

It's time for one of our favorite traditions: President Obama's 2024 list of top summer picks! From books to music, explore the art that resonated with President Obama this season.

A graphic reads, “2024 Barack Obama summer reading list” and features eight titles. In the background are the colors orange, red, blue, and purple.
A graphic reads, “2024 Barack Obama summer playlist” and features 23 titles. In the background are the colors orange, red, blue, and purple.
A graphic reads, “2024 Barack Obama summer playlist” and features 21 titles. In the background are the colors orange, red, blue, and purple.

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Explore President Obama’s previous picks

A white graphic with a multicolored blue-green border reads “Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2023: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride; The Maniac by Benjamin Labatut; Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond; How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair; The Wager by David Grann; The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff; Humanly Possible by Sarah Bakewell; King: A Life by Jonathan Eigh; The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese; The Best Minds by Jonathan Rosen; All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby; The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory by Tim Alberta; Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangelista; and This Other Eden by Paul Harding.”
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President Obama shoots a basketball into a hoop. He is dressed professionally and is on the White House Basketball court. A White House logo is on the base of the basketball hoop.
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Holding a basketball, President Obama faces a group of young men during a My Brother's Keeper meeting.
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