Obama releases his summer reading list

Former President Obama released his summer reading list Thursday, a yearly tradition he has kept since leaving the White House.

“Here’s some books that I’m reading this summer. Check them out and let me know what I should be reading next,” he wrote on Twitter.

Obama’s 2023 list includes a combination of nonfiction books and novels that discuss a range of topics. Many of his picks focus on issues surrounding socioeconomic status and racism, while others take on the genres of family drama and crime fiction.

His list of books includes Matthew Desmond’s “Poverty, By America;” Dennis Lehane’s “Small Mercies;” Jonathan Eig’s “King: A Life;” Ann Napolitano’s “Hello Beautiful” S.A. Cosby’s “All the Sinners Bleed;” Eleanor Catton’s “Birnam Wood;” DK Nnuro’s “What Napolean Could Not Do;” David Grann’s “The Wager;” and Tiffany Clarke Harrison’s “Blue Hour.”

In a second tweet, Obama linked to a list of banned books compiled by the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA).

“With so many books being banned across the country, @DPLA has launched The Banned Book Club to give readers access to e-books that have been banned,” he tweeted.

According to Pen America, nearly 1,500 school book bans were put in place around the U.S. in the first half of the 2022-23 school year, affecting 874 books. The top five books that were banned were “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” “Flamer,” “Tricks,” “The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel” and “Crank.”