Have you read these books that Barack Obama recommends from his 2024 Summer Reading List?

So I was doom joy-scrolling on Twitter (X) yesterday and this list of Barack Obama's Summer Reading List jumped into my feed. I haven't read any of these books. Have you? I decided to do a little research on each of them and add those of interest onto my TBR. Please let me know, in the comment section, what you think of any of these books you've read.

James by Percival Everett

        Fiction. An action-packed reimagining of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn story. 4.55 stars on Goodreads. On my TBR already.

There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib

        Nonfiction. Memoir. Sports. "There’s Always This Year is a classic Abdurraqib triumph, brimming with joy, pain, solidarity, comfort, outrage, and hope. It’s about basketball in the way They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us is about music and A Little Devil in America is about history—no matter the subject, Abdurraqib’s exquisite writing is always poetry, always profound, and always a clarion call to radically reimagine how we think about our culture, our country, and ourselves." 4.22 stars. I don't usually read sports stories but this one had me with the word: poetry. Adding to my TBR to at least look at.

Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis by Jonathan Blitzer

        Nonfiction. "An epic, heartbreaking, and deeply reported history of the disastrous humanitarian crisis at the southern border told through the lives of the migrants forced to risk everything and the policymakers who determine their fate." 4.48 stars. Sounds good but at 522 pages, I'll take a pass.

Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel

        Fiction. "Frenetic, surprising, and strikingly original, Headshot is a portrait of the desire, envy, perfectionism, madness, and sheer physical pleasure that motivates young women to fight—even, and perhaps especially, when no one else is watching." 3.69 stars. Fighting girls? Hmm. Not sure about this one.

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

        Fiction. Mystery. "Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances." 4.35 stars. Sounds good. Adding to TBR.

Beautiful Days by Zach Williams

         Fiction. Ten Short Stories. "With exquisite prose and a lacerating wit, Beautiful Days holds a mirror to the many absurdities of being human and refuses to let us look away." 3.77 stars. Not interested.

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

        Fiction. "A paean to how we spend our lives seeking meaning—in faith, art, ourselves, others—in which a newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voices of artists, poets, and kings, embarks on a search that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum." 4.24 stars. Adding to my TBR.

Memory Piece by Lisa Ko

        Fiction. LGBTQ+. "In the early 1980s, Giselle Chin, Jackie Ong, and Ellen Ng are three teenagers drawn together by their shared sense of alienation and desire for something different. “Allied in the weirdest parts of themselves,” they envision each other as artistic collaborators and embark on a future defined by freedom and creativity." 3.23 stars. I've read and enjoyed this author but I am put off by that low raing.

The Ministry of Time by Kalianne Bailey

        Fiction. Sci-Fi. "A time travel romance, a spy thriller, a workplace comedy, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all: Welcome to The Ministry of Time, the exhilarating debut novel by Kaliane Bradley." 3.63 stars. Already on my TBR.

When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How American Cracked Up in the 1990s by John Ganz

        Nonfiction. Politics. History. "A lively, revelatory look back at the convulsions at the end of the Reagan era―and their dark legacy today." 4.27 stars. Sounds too wonky for me.

Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Man is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It by Richard Reeves

        Nonfiction. "His new book, Of Boys and Men, tackles the complex and urgent crisis of boyhood and manhood. Reeves looks at the structural challenges that face boys and men and offers fresh and innovative solutions that turn the page on the corrosive narrative that plagues this issue. Of Boys and Men argues that helping the other half of society does not mean giving up on the ideal of gender equality." 4.08 stars. Sounds like an important book but I don't feel like reading it. 😒

The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides

        Nonfiction. Biography. History. "On July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third voyage in his ship the HMS Resolution . Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach on the island of Hawaii, Cook was killed in a conflict with native Hawaiians. How did Cook, who was unique among captains for his respect for Indigenous peoples and cultures, come to that fatal moment?" 4.51 stars. I confess this sounds really interesting. but I'm cautious to commit to it. 

Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman

        Fiction. Humor. "A darkly comic workplace caper that explores the aches and uses of solidarity, Help Wanted is a deeply human portrait of people trying, against increasingly long odds, to make a living." 3.61 stars. It sounds funny it could also be corny. Hmm.

-Anne