Barack Obama's Favourite Books Of 2025

The former US President has released his much-awaited list of the best books of the year. From Kiran Desai to Ian McEwan, here are all the authors who made it to the 2025 list.

Tanya Savkoor
Dec 23, 2025, 06:27 PM

Paper Girl - Beth Macy

A memoir about growing up in rural Ohio, exploring class, gender, addiction, and the forces shaping small-town America.

Flashlight - Susan Choi

The novel begins with the mysterious disappearance of a father and then spans decades and continents to explore family trauma, memory, and identity.

We The People -Jill Lepore

It is a history of the U.S. Constitution that argues it was meant to be a living, amendable document and critiques originalism.

The Wilderness - Angela Flournoy

A novel about five Black women navigating the trials of friendship, adulthood, and personal growth over two decades amid social and economic change.

There Is No Place for Us - Brian Goldstone

A deeply reported nonfiction about five Atlanta families who, despite working, become unhoused due to rising rents, low wages, and unstable housing.

North Sun - Ethan Rutherford

A historical novel about a 1878 whaling voyage from New Bedford into the Arctic that becomes a harrowing tale of survival, obsession, and environmental reckoning.

1929 - Andrew Ross Sorkin

A narrative history of the 1929 Wall Street crash, detailing the speculative boom, dramatic market collapse, and key figures whose actions helped trigger the Great Depression.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny - Kiran Desai

A sweeping love story and family saga about two Indian writers whose lives intersect across the U.S. and India, exploring loneliness, identity, class, and belonging.

Dead and Alive - Zadie Smith

A collection of essays examining art, culture, politics, technology, and personal reflection with incisive, humane insight.

What We Can Know - Ian McEwan

A speculative literary novel set in 2119, where a scholar hunts for a lost 2014 poem, exploring the limits of history, memory, love, and what humans can truly know about the past and each other.

The Look - Michelle Obama

A visual memoir-style book that traces the former First Lady's fashion and style evolution across her public life, exploring identity, confidence, and self-expression.