In President Obama we see the positive influence of “power” literature so recognized by Thomas De Quincey in his essay from “ The Poetry of Pope”.
From an intellectual to an illiterate in the blink of an eye.
And millions of Americans with PTSD.
9
Pretty awkward whenever Trump and Obama both tweet about reading and Trump's the one with the new, interesting reading material.
Sorry, O, I've read most of your list already and the rest doesn't interest me.
Now, I know Rod Serling's around here somewhere.
1
@TheScribe: I laughed out loud at your sarcasm. Trump reading? That’s what Tejanos call a knee-slapper.
11
Oh, President Obama, we so miss your grace, your heart, your mind! Thank you for being with us in this, the longest two and a half years in American history!
I read this somewhere many years ago: If you would know history, read history. If you would know economics, read economics. But if you would know the human heart, read novels.
16
I'm going to write a book. Crying Myself to Sleep: Life After the Obama Years.
Lest you assume I'm a blind follower of anything Obama, Haruki Murakami lost me at Kafka on the Shore.
10
I agree with the feeling of wanting to cry when I saw this book list of our former reader President. From books you learn empathy, a sense of history and a dose of humility. All things our current president lacks. I remember as a child seeing the phrase, ""Knowledge is Power" in our school auditorium weekly. I always saw this as the kind of power that Obama displayed, tempering strength with mercy. I hope and pray our next president is a reader and a thinker like Obama. We need someone who loves to read; it will make all the difference.
13
Always delighted to red about his every day life. Still hard to believe that people who voted for him turned around and voted for Trump. He has set a very high bar for presidents as human beings.
8
During any other time before 2016, this article would have been an interesting and diverting summer skim, but, in our current political situation, it's both a depressing reminder of and urgent call to reclaim all we have not so recently and, hopefully, temporarily lost.
13
Mr. President, I appreciate that America needs to learn again, and that reading helps to better inform, but we need so much more, and respectfully so much more from you. We need your voice and your help to save America before reading and writing what we want is also taken from us.
3
The world misses this wonderful, intelligent, thoughtful man, we can only hope that someone like him will follow in the next election
11
The reading list for our current president was increased from 140 character-count to 280 this year.
6
It's too bad commenters are using Obama's books list to bash Trump. Everything today, even things not related to Tump, is used to malign Trump. Incidentally, there are no popular science books on Obama's list, even though science plays a critical role in our lives.
1
@New Yorker: Unlike your president, President Obama doesn’t need to read science. Instead he listens to and believes the scientists—who, by the way, are warning us of the dire consequences of ignoring climate science.
5
[sigh] Yes, I too remember having a president who could and would read. Articles like this almost make me cry these days.
9
Obama is smart and subtle.
Simply sharing his reading list is a statement. A powerful one.
He knows what he is doing.
And you'll see more of it.
9
The Fake President’s Summer Reading List: A complete bound copy, in gold-embossed rich leather, of all of Trump’s Rally Addresses to his assembled MAGA multitudes, from 2015 to the present. (It’s a sure bet to be on all of the best-seller lists!)
2
A president who actually reads books. How refreshing!
5
Reminded of the good old days when we had a president who could read. And who cared about other human beings. Simple times.
6
I've always wondered if Barack Obama has ever read The Terrible Twos, by Ishmael Reed. In particular, before he took office as President.
That's the book that continues to find itself at the top of my list of recommendations for fiction reading, or re-reading. For most anyone.
Clearly not fair and biased. Why not cover Trump's reading list? Just kidding.
2
As a writer and woman, I’m heartened to see a number of female authors on the list. So often, I see prominent people list their favorite books or reading lists, and sometimes it’s all male authors or only a tiny percentage female authors. It sometimes makes me fear people won’t read my work simply because of my female first name. Thank you, President Obama, for reading all kinds of writers and voices!
19
Good stuff, sure, but a pretty predictable list, not indicative of the wealth of challenging and virtuosic contemporary work out there. Looks like a list curated for him and not the result of adventurous browsing.
4
Let's be proud that our former president is such a great role model when it comes to reading (and so many other things). It's a bit snobby to express disappointment over his book choices.
7
@Where else
Give it a rest. It's a thoughtful, personal reading list by President Obama, not a literary test. No need to snark!
8
yes i miss him also, i miss his power of gentleness. and sensibility. I was pleasantly surprised to see book i am now reading "american spy' on his list.
17
@Justine
Perhaps you could point out some of the things our "effective leader" has accomplished--good things, that is. He's accomplished lots of bad things.
6
I’m listening to Michelle Obama read ‘Becoming’ right now. A very honest, credible, likable and intelligent woman in her own right. It makes me hope that in the future, this country can appreciate and benefit from her extensive talent and compassion. We have been very wrong to see her as only a president ‘s wife. She is an incredible human being, a very believable person worthy of our respect.
18
History will undoubtedly write that President Obama was one of the nation’s greatest Presidents, and therein lies why we are suffering under authoritarian rule of trump and the Republicans today. In some ways the same is true of Putin too. All because of the color of his skin, and his ability to be liberated by the suffering of his fore-bearers. Thank you also NYT for the excellent series on the 400 hundred years of slavery in America. It explains everything to this white reader so clearly why we are where we are today. Sad realities, can we overcome as King sang? I am beginning to have my doubts.
14
I suppose having a president who's a reader can't be a bad thing, but Obama's praise of certain books--often middlebrow literary ones publicized and praised in media outlets like the Times or the New Yorker--has often struck me as either inauthentic, maybe even the most inauthentic thing about him, or indicative of his poor taste.
I remember, for example, his baffling praise for books or writers like Joseph O'Neill's "Netherland," Lauren Groff's "Fates and Furies," and the unbearably overwritten novels of Marilynne Robinson.
1
Back when we had a president who actually did read. Read for pleasure, read for knowledge, read to gain understanding empathy. Also read his briefs, had a grasp of geopolitics, had a respect for the office he held.
31
The reading list is a "suggestion" Mr Obama says. I've read some but my long reading list contains these
- Niall Williams' The History of Rain (for the literature lovers)
- Max Porter's Grief Is The Thing With Feathers
- Tracy Kidder's Strength In What Remains
- Ahn Do-Hyun's The Garden of Evening Mist
- Mike McCormack's Solar Bones
- James McKean's Quattrocento (for Art lovers) that I read when it came out and am now re-reading
- and many others
3
@FinianT do you post lists often? I’d love to follow your suggestions.
1
Ahhh, the Obama summer reading list. Makes me cry. Makes me cry over the loss of the brilliant Ms. Morrison. Makes me cry over the loss of a President and First Lady who graced the nation with intelligence, compassion, elegance, and humor. Oh how very far we have fallen.
31
I always look forward to Obama’s reading list. I’ll read several and pretend I can get into his mind. I’m not sure it works but it’s fun trying.
7
I miss seeing a POTUS who is a gentleman. I think Trump has been a very effective leader, however. I just miss seeing Obama and his family. Happy well-adjusted and well-educated. He seemed to have a good marriage and was/is a devoted father. Miss him!
20
@Justine An effective leader doesn't hire so many incompetent and corrupt people that have to be dismissed from his administration. An effective leader does not publicly shame individual citizens. An effective leader does not callously destroy relationships with global partners that have taken decades to cultivate. An effective leader takes actions to avoid even the appearance of any conflicts of interest. And the list goes on and on and on. "A very effective leader" does not describe the current President by almost any standard.
30
@Justine, I would love to read your list of Trump’s achievements that make him an effective leader.
13
Trumps been effective at tearing the nation apart, driving up the deficit for no reason, lowering the trust other nations have in us and debasing the presidency beyond anything anybody thought possible. An effective dotard indeed!
4
Art, music, literature teach to love them and all else falls into place. All things are related.
38
How about Go went gone by Jenny Erpenbeck --a moving story about African migrants in Berlin.
And a good mystery -- Lost Man by Jane Harper.
13
I am glad to see Obama's summer book reads in the Times; I will be checking them out. But what caught me the most is the wonderful warm smile at the top of this article when Obama is smiling at Toni Morrison. Don't get that from current president. Warmth is missing. So happy to see Obama's great smile today!!
134
This has made my morning...to be welcomed by President Obama. How I wish we could turn back the clock and relive our Pax Americana from 2008 to 2016. Wow...now here is a leader. He enlightens our minds and soothes the soul. Just wrote down a few of those books which I have not read, and will run to our local bookstore. Thanks, Sir. Please drop in from time to time. You are missed.
115
When Obama was on the campaign trail in 2008, I gave him a book by John Geyman, MD about the case for improved Medicare for all. Wish he would have read it. Now Geyman has a book Obama should put on his reading list: "How Obamacare Is Unsustainable: Why We Need a Single-Payer Solution For All Americans."
8
@Judith Dasovich Passing single payer was as likely as filling judicial seats with qualified centrist or non-idealogical jurists during Obama's administration. Merrick Garland? Obama knew ACA was an introduction to change. Without ACA no one would be fighting to preserve adult dependent or pre-existing disease coverage.
14
I’ve read both. The issue is not the slam dunk the books imply.
How about Go went gone by Jenny Erpenbeck --a moving story about African migrants in Berlin.
And a good mystery -- Lost Man by Jane Harper.
2
Wish BEFORE WE WERE YOURS was on his list. Fits right in.
3
Donald Trump's reading list: "Green Eggs and Ham" with help from Ted Cruz for the big words, so many words.
57
What a great list!! Hey, if he ever starts a book club, I would love to be a member! In addition to the books on his reading list, I would recommend Educated by Tara Westover, and A Zoo of Lusts, A Harem of Fondled Hatreds . . . by Deveryle James.
11
Wow, a President who reads! 😢 Miss you, Sir!!
121
How refreshing, amid all the gloomy news, to see an article where a beloved and intelligent former president encourages us all to relax, read and improve ourselves ! Thank you, President Obama.
196
Haven't read through "Men Without Women," but picked it up one day and read its first story. Astounding!
If that is any indication of the other books on your list Mr. President, I'll have to read all of them (I feel like saying "somehow read all of them" - but if the President of the United States - one who actually did the work required of a President - can find an hour a day to read, we all should be able to!).
May you live another 100 years so that more of us have the chance to meet you and have a discussion with you. You don't need me to say it, but you are a remarkable man. Thank you for all you have done and do.
166
This article wasn't very long, but it hit all the necessary items.
Now why don't you publish a list of Trump's summer reading? You'll have room for a few other lists, and the article will still be quite short:
-Successful Trump Businesses
-Trump Business Ethics
-Great Trump Speeches
-Trump Public Appearances That Drew More Than A Hundred People
We've gone from a president who was humane, literate, and honorable to someone who, in the words of his predecessor, is "uniquely unsuited for the presidency"
Add "Successful Trump Presidential Decisions" to the list.
69
@Jim Rosenthal I was thinking the same thing. Likely he will not release his reading list and will claim executive privilege as his reason.
25
@Jim Rosenthal This made me laugh, because the only way we know he actually can read is that he reads the telly-prompter once or twice a year!
22
@beth. But with great difficulty and not very well--hard to differentiate between 'Toledo' and 'Dayton'.
40
Obama is so super smart, that he decided not to endorse any Democrat for the WH.
Well done sir.
11
@AutumnLeaf Just waiting for the eventual nominee who he will support. Why offer ammunition to Trump by endorsing somebody who then doesn't win the nomination? Trump would use it as 'Even Obama doesn't like him or her."
45
@AutumnLeaf
He publicly stated many months ago that he would not endorse a candidate early on in the primary process. He's a class act, and wants to leave it to the American public to make their decision and not be swayed by his input just yet.
82
Since President Obama and Mrs. Obama left the White House there hasn’t been a display of culture of any kind in the people’s house. The current occupants have no intellect, taste or class and they wear that character defect like a tacky badge of honor.
244
There's culture alright: fast food culture.
Not “like” a badge of honor - it’s their cause de celibre
Dare I say it, but that’s clearly appealing to their audience in the flyover states.
1
I miss Barack Obama every day. I was so proud to know such a man was our President. I am now so ashamed of us for voting in the current resident at 1600 Pennsylvania. I have found no way to explain this unhinged madman to my family in Europe
153
@Paixwoman From the first day to the last, the Obamas brought culture, arts, literature, and all things that make a society civil to our White House.
It is beyond tragic what a sad and empty place that House has become now.
100
@Paixwoman
I miss him, too. My father, a WW2 veteran (Purple Heart and Silver Star) cried tears of joy when Obama was first elected. He never thought our nation would rise to electing a person of color in his lifetime. Dad did not live to see Trump steal the presidency.
Trump is the only reason that I am comforted by my father's death. He would have been crushed to see what his beloved country has become under this madman.
4
Fantastic reading list, Mr. President. I will be looking for some of those books - thanks for sharing them. And I agree; reading fiction makes one better able to imagine what goes on in the lives of others, expands one's ability to empathize, and opens up the world beyond the four walls of one's home, and the boundaries of their everyday reality.
The inability, or unwillingness, to read diminishes the soul and dwarves the imagination, creativity, and ability to see the world through the eyes of others. The liberal arts as a whole are necessary to the survival of our souls. Einstein said: "The value of an education in a liberal arts college is not the learning of many facts, but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks.”
91
thank you for Einstein' quote. It is disheartening to see so many of our colleges becoming focused on areas that make money in the post-college world instead of thinking and reasoning.
7
In addition to his reading lists, I have Obama’s Spotify playlists in my regular listening rotation. Seek them out, they’re fantastic. But I want to be fair, and bipartisan. Let’s not ignore Trump’s erudite contributions to our culture. His eating list includes, “The Whopper, the Whopper with Cheese, the Bic Mac and the Quarter Pounder.” Trump is no slouch when it comes to contributing to the canon.
69
Bigly!
20
@John Ranta Not to be snarky but I doubt he (Trump) even reads that (McD's menu).
30
@kim There are pictures of all the burgers.
30
Not to quibble - these are all universally acclaimed - but he could be a bit more adventurous and smarter - the list is like one I would expect from a recent AP Lit grad who knows everything and knows nothing at the same time.
7
It makes me want to cry, the pic of those two sages, in these times, bless you both.
81
Thrilled to see Wolf Hall on that list. I recommend it to my book group (Guys With Books) and have been criticized for it ever since.
36
@John Pane...It's shame that you were criticized. I mostly read science fiction with a penchant for "hard" science fiction (a "guy" thing?). But Wolf Hall and it's sequel are amongst the best books I've read in the last 20 years, along with "Life After Life" by Atkinson
28
I will be sending this list to the White House.
31
I found Wolf Hall to be unreadable. If BA finds it unreadable, I hope he’ll drop it!
6
@MEB I also couldn't get through it. I never did figure out who the pronouns referred to, given the , for me, undecipherable syntax.
Were we surprised when we found out our current President doesn't (can't?) even read his Daily Brief? The dominant theme here in commentland is nostalgia. I have it for him too. Just imagine, a thinking person once lived at 1600. Sigh.
86
Trump's summer reading list:
.
.
.
136
And here is Donald Trump’s summer reading list:
...
51
The Art of the Deal?
5
@Lost in Space Isn't that a work of fiction?
Meanwhile, it is impossible to imagine Trump reading anything beyond the scrolling headlines on Fox TV. So sad.
95
President Obama. An eloquent person who reads, loves children and loves dogs. Traits glaringly absent from a most important place in our American landscape for the past 3 years.
135
I've read all of Toni M, and want to read most of these .... but snarky Hilary Mantel, no. Tried her next after Wolf Hall in hopes it would be less offensive, but it failed. So not Obma-ish.
6
Presidents used to read. Incredible!
105
A President who reads. How refreshing.
59
Ahhh - a president who reads, is articulate, and extremely knowledgeable. How I long for the good old days.......
224
NYT, you just keep torturing us by forcing us to compare our brilliantly literate former President with his successor, who is . . . not that. It’s more painful each time it happens, and yet I fear you have no plans to stop.
166
I wonder what the current holder of the office is reading this summer.
27
New York post - maybe.
6
@Human, he's reading bupkis.
19
@Human Green Eggs & Ham but he needs help with some of the words. Too bigly for him.
Miss him greatly, everyday, especially when I look at the NYT or WaPo.
75
A President who reads. Sigh...
78
Murakami - Killing Commendatore will pique your interest as well.
7
How refreshing! An intellectually curious reader with broad interests.
150
Oh, seeing this list makes me miss him even more so!! Thanks for sharing, I'll read anything President Obama recommends, his taste is spot on.
146
Just finished "The Nickel Boys". Mr. Whitehead is an astonishingly great writer. "The Underground Railroad" was similarly astonishing. He should be considered one of the most important writers of our time, perhaps, in some way, someone who can make Ms. Morrison's legacy live on through his prose.
78
@Famdoc
I so agree . . . Mr. Whitehead is indeed worthy of the acclamation: Great American Writer
8
I haven't read any of them, but am continuing to slog my way through H.L. Mencken, George Orwell. Joseph Epstein, Christopher Hitchens, Vasily Grossman, Evelyn Waugh, Theodore Dreiser and Agatha Christie with only about 25 million words left to go.
41
@A. Stanton On the last hundred pages of Christopher Hitchens memoir "Hitch", a delicious and eye opening read, and noticed from your list of authors that Hitchens mentions most of them in one way or another in his book. And since you like the English and social satire, I suggest Anthony Powell's "Dance to the Music of Time", the best ever. Read on!
7
I know that Obama was busy in 2009 but there is no cabinet meeting so important that you can't skip it to read the great Wolf Hall!
28
A smart and charismatic president. They don't make this anymore
190
@GP
"They" can again, with our work and support!
36
@GP
Yes we can!
21
Feeling pretty good that I already read most of them:) I wonder what comics are on the current POTUS list? And everyone should read Lab Girl and push for more women in the lab!!!!
41
Totally agree, Lab Girl was excellent. Didn’t care for Wolf Hall at all quit midway through and I read a lot of books.
Lab Girl is great.
22
Lab Girl is well written. It is an honest window on higher education. I am afraid that readers, in their admiration for the author’s passion for her work and her intelligence, ignore the contemptuous way she treats graduate students, including the part where she almost kills students in a van accident. I hope the book will cause our former president to reflect on the lack of balance between responsibilities to students and responsibilities to research in higher ed. I wish reviews of the book raised this issue.
I always like to compare notes with him. I did that after his (and my husband's) suggestion of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Thanks for sharing! Happy reading this summer, everyone.
69
great list. He is a bit late with Wolf Hall. I read it 5 years ago. But definitely a great book. Worth slugging though.
29
@Meredith. Confronted with a worthy list from a more than worthy President and comments from others who actually read, I hate to quibble but...you slugged (slogged?) through Wolf Hall? I thought it was delightful and exciting. Just a gentle disagreement. A historical novel for people who generally do not like historical novels.
28
He was a bit busier fiver years ago, I’m guessing!
33
@Meredith and what's on your list?
3
As I always suspected: Obama is a literate politician. I'm glad to have had such a person as president. He and Michelle are an example of what educated people ought to strive for. We need to read novels, non-fiction, history, etc. The world we see on social media and television is not the only world out there. Reading can arouse our empathy. It leads us into worlds and places we might not ever experience on our own simply because of who we are or where we live. Reading is fundamental and important.
284