Barack Obama’s Annual List of Favorites Is In!

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The former president once again broadcasts his picks for the best movies, books, and music of 2022.

Like a tradition, the 44^th president of the United States, Barack Obama flexes once again the things that he has been up to during retirement, including the books he has read, movies watched, and music playlist listened to. As the former president puts it: “I always look forward to sharing my lists of favorite books, movies, and music with all of you.”

The 61-year-old former president wrote on Twitter and shared his picks in each category in three separate posts. Noted with a disclaimer, it does not come as a surprise that the book written by his wife, Michelle Obama’s memoir The Light We Carry, comes first on the list.

Barack Obama’s Favorite Books, Movies, and Music of 2022

For this year, Obama included 17 films in his favorite list. This includes the documentary Descendant, which he noted to be a little biased as it was produced by his own company, Higher Ground. There’s also Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical drama The Fabelmans, Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Woman King, and Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick.

Apart from his wife’s book, he shared 12 other titles for his favorite books, including Emily St. John Mandel’s Sea of Tranquility, Charmaine Wilkerson’s Black Cake, and Imani Perry’s South America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation.

In the music category, Obama picks Kendrick Lamar’s The Heart Part 5, Bad Bunny’s Tití Me Preguntó, Zach Bryan’s Something in the Orange, Koffe’s Pull Up, Beyoncé’s Break My Soul, Lizzo’s About Damn Time, and SZA’s Shirt.

Take a look at the complete list of Barack Obama’s favorite books, movies, and books of 2022.

Barack Obama’s Favorite Books of 2022

• The Light We Carry (Michelle Obama)
• Sea of Tranquility (Emily St. John Mandel)
• Trust (Hernan Diaz)
• The Revolutionary Samuel Adams (Stacy Schiff)
• The Furrow: A Novel (Namwali Serpell)
• South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation (Imani Perry)
• The School for Good Mother (Jessamine Chan)
• Black Cake (Charmaine Wilkerson)
• Ducks Two Years in the Oil Sand (Kate Beaton)
• An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us (Ed Yong)
• Liberation Day (George Saunders)
• The Candy House (Jennifer Egan)
• Afterlives (Abdulrazak Gurnah)

Barach Obama’s Favorite Movies of 2022

• The Fabelmans
• Decision to Leave
• The Woman king
• Aftersun
• Emily the Criminal
• Petite Maman
• Descendants
• Happening
• Till
• Everything Everywhere All at Once
• Top Gun: Maverick
• The Good Boss
• Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
• A Hero
• Hit the Road
• Tar
• After Yang

Barack Obama’s Favorite Music of 2022

• The Heart Part 5 (Kendrick Lamar)
• Tití Me Preguntó (Bad Bunny)
• POF (Ari Lennox)
• Something in the Orange (Zach Bryan)
• Last Last (Burna Boy)
• American Teenager (Ethel Cain)
• Communion in my Cup (Tank and The Bangas ft. The Ton3s)
• Pull Up (Koffee)
• Saoko (Rosalía)
• Rush (Ayra Starr)
• Break My Soul (Beyoncé)
• Life Is Good (SiR ft. Scribz Riley)
• That’s Where I Am (Maggie Rogers)
• Dodinin (Leyla McCalla)
• Sunshine (Steve Lacy ft. Fousheé)
• Calm Down (Rema)
• Problem With It (Plains)
• Feelings 4 You (Xavier Omär)
• Belize (Danger Mouse & Black Thought ft. MF DOOM)
• Tamagotchi (Omar Apollo)
• Home Maker (Sudan Archives)
• Where I Go (NxWorries: Anderson.Paak & Knoxwledge ft H.E.R)
• Shirt (SZA)
• About Damn Time (Lizzo)
• Round Midnight (Adam Blackstone & Jazmine Sullivan)

How about you? What’s your favorite book, movie, and song of 2022? Share your recommendations to the former president’s tweet here!