Former President Barack Obama shared his list of favorite songs and books of 2022 thus far, featuring a string of heavy-hitting favorites and newcomers alike.
“Every year, I get excited to share my summer playlist because I learn about so many new artists from your replies — it’s an example of how music really can bring us all together,” Obama wrote on Twitter Tuesday.
The list includes Beyoncé’s new single, “Break My Soul” and Harry Styles’ “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” alongside classics from Miles Davis, Al Green and Bruce Springsteen. The 44-track playlist also features songs from Australian-based Sampa the Great, Nigerian singer Burna Boy and Isle of Wight newcomers Wet Leg.
Obama’s summer reading lists often span a range of genres, and his 2022 selections are no different. The list includes Emily St. John Mandel’s new science fiction novel, “Sea of Tranquility,” “The Family Chao” by Lan Samantha Chang and Jennifer Egan’s follow-up to her acclaimed “A Visit From the Goon Squad,” “The Candy House.”
“The very best surprise,” Jessamine Chan, the author of “The School for Good Mothers,” wrote on Instagram. “Thank you to my fellow Chicagoan and birthday twin @barackobama for this early present. I want to write something coherent here, but I haven’t had enough caffeine yet, and I’m just happily losing my mind.”
Ezra Klein’s 2020 book “Why We’re Polarized” and Yascha Mounk’s “The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure” are also fitting choices for the current politicly era.
Other books featured include “Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks.”
“For Hoops Fans,” Obama wrote.