:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/HU4F2VVS43RSLZ6YDNYSMB5WR4.jpg)
Normal People by Irish author Sally Rooney was among Barack Obama's favourite reads of 2019 alongside a book about the Troubles .
He took to social media on the weekend to share his favorite reads of 2019 - a scholarly list that shows the former US president remains very much a bookworm.
The now traditional yearly list ranges across history, economics and award-winning literature and even singles out a couple of recommendations for sports fans.
As we wind down 2019, I wanted to share with you my annual list of favorites that made the last year a little brighter. We’ll start with books today — movies and music coming soon. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. pic.twitter.com/l5qTGkAPok
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 28, 2019
Among the 19 books are two Irish picks - he lists Sally Rooney's second novel Normal People, which won Best Novel at the Coasta Book awards. He also lists Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe which is set during the Troubles.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/QAZXW3C5ORH465EGHPO5RMP6IA.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/FX3FVNQ2MLUTIJGJAN74BFELX4.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/7O6PE6DJV25MC6GV4PEMGPVBME.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/DIFEL34JGJJKXWGYRHT5FVO6UA.jpg)
“As we wind down 2019, I wanted to share with you my annual list of favorites that made the last year a little brighter,” Mr Obama said in a posting on Twitter. “We’ll start with books today, movies and music coming soon. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.”
During his eight years in the Oval Office, Mr Obama was renowned as a voracious reader and regularly espoused the delights and benefits of the written word. In a longer posting on Instagram, he said the list had become a "fun little tradition."
“Because while each of us has plenty that keeps us busy -work and family life, social and volunteer csally rooney ommitments - outlets like literature and art can enhance our day-to-day experiences,” he wrote. “They’re the fabric that helps make up a life.”
The full list:
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power by Shoshana Zuboff
The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company by William Dalrymple
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep
Girl, Woman, Otherby Bernardine Evaristo
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer
How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
Lot: Stories by Bryan Washington
Normal People by Sally Rooney
The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson
The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
Solitary by Albert Woodfox
The Topeka School by Ben Lerner
Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusionby Jia Tolentino
Trust Exercise by Susan Choi
We Live in Water: Stories by Jess Walter
Mr Obama also listed two books for the sports fans.
A Different Way to Win: Dan Rooney’s Story from the Super Bowl to the Rooney Rule by Jim Rooney
The Sixth Man by Andre Iguodala
–Bloomberg
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/sandbox.irishtimes/5OB3DSIVAFDZJCTVH2S24A254Y.png)