Obama’s 2022 Summer Reading list

Blood in the Garden

The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks

By: Chris Herring
Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
Length: 11 hours 3 minutes

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A SELECTION ON BARACK OBAMA’S SUMMER READING LIST

The definitive history of the 1990s New York Knicks, illustrating how Pat Riley, Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason resurrected the iconic franchise through oppressive physicality and unmatched grit.

For nearly an entire generation, the... Read more

The School for Good Mothers

A Novel

By: Jessamine Chan
Narrated by: Catherine Ho
Length: 11 hours 56 minutes

“This book was absolutely wild. Chan really makes you examine motherhood and how subjective it can be. With her fictional school and its excessive tactics, you wonder how you can judge mothers - is it possible to learn how to be a 'good' mother and what does 'good' even mean. Every moment of this book will stress you out a little (in a good way)... Read more

Razorblade Tears

A Novel

By: S. A. Cosby
Narrated by: Adam Lazarre-White
Length: 12 hours 22 minutes

“At once gritty and graphic, tender and heart wrenching, Razorblade Tears is the story of two fathers hardened by life circumstances and their respective prejudices who seek vengeance against those who killed their gay sons. The audio was perfection. We NEED this novel to be on the big screen, with Denzel Washington playing Ike. Read more

The Great Experiment

Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure

By: Yascha Mounk
Narrated by: JD Jackson
Length: 8 hours 27 minutes

One of Barack Obama's Recommended Reads for Summer 

“[A] brave and necessary book . . . Anyone interested in the future of liberal democracy, in the US or anywhere else, should read this book.” —Anne Applebaum

“A convincing, humane, and hopeful guide to the present and future by one of our foremost democratic thinkers.” —George Packer

“A rare... Read more

Mouth to Mouth

A Novel

By: Antoine Wilson
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
Length: 4 hours 52 minutes

“Throughly original and captivating listen. Highly recommend. Read more

Velvet Was the Night

By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Narrated by: Gisela Chípe
Length: 9 hours 51 minutes

“Silvia Moreno-Garcia does it again! I have enjoyed every single book I've read of hers. Velvet Was the Night illustrates give and take between happenstance and plotting, lack of knowledge and accidental coincidence. All folks in the book are trying to find the same person, but all for different reasons. This leads people on wild goose chases and... Read more

The Family Chao

By: Lan Samantha Chang
Narrated by: Brian Nishii
Length: 10 hours 57 minutes

“An expertly crafted novel of literary family intrigue. Full of character depth and a mysterious death, The Family Chao is a page-turner on immigration, family turmoil, racism, small-town drama, and revenge. It will keep you guessing. Read more

The Candy House

A Novel

By: Jennifer Egan
Narrated by: Michael Boatman, Nicole Lewis, Thomas Sadoski, Colin Donnell, Griffin Newman, Rebecca Lowman, Jackie Sanders, Lucy Liu, Christian Barillas, Tara Lynne Barr, Alex Allwine, Emily Tremaine, Kyle Beltran, Dan Bittner, Chris Henry Coffey, Ali Andre Ali, Corey Brill, Danny Campbell, George Newbern, Timothy Andrés Pabon, Gibson Frazier, Allison Light & Travis Tonn
Length: 11 hours 11 minutes

“Egan weaves together these seemingly disparate characters and storylines into a stunning ending. The Candy House is about family, connection, legacy, technology, and so much more. It is her best work yet. Read more

A Little Devil in America

Notes in Praise of Black Performance

By: Hanif Abdurraqib
Narrated by: JD Jackson
Length: 9 hours 38 minutes

“Hanif Abdurraqib's exploration of Black performance in America is a cultural keystone that is chillingly relevant. Whether discussing the fact that a knowing look or advice on a route from a cashier is a form of a living Green Book that still exists because there are places Black people are not safe, to the origin of the card game spades or the... Read more

Black Cake

A Novel

By: Charmaine Wilkerson
Narrated by: Lynnette R. Freeman & Simone Mcintyre
Length: 12 hours

“Books don't often make me cry, but this one got me right in the feels. Read more

Silverview

A Novel

By: John le Carré
Narrated by: Toby Jones
Length: 6 hours 28 minutes

An instant New York Times bestseller!

In his last completed novel, John le Carré turns his focus to the world that occupied his writing for the past sixty years—the secret world itself.

“[Le Carré] was often considered one of the finest novelists, period, since World War II. It’s not that he 'transcended the genre,' as the tired saying goes; it’s... Read more

Why We're Polarized

By: Ezra Klein
Narrated by: Ezra Klein
Length: 8 hours 31 minutes

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2022

One of Bill Gates’s “5 books to read this summer,” this New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller shows us that America’s political system isn’t broken. The truth is scarier: it’s working exactly as designed. In this “superbly researched” (The Washington Post) and timely book, journalist Ezra... Read more