In her 2016 review of the work, Ms. Kakutani called it “a book that, at its best, does for botany what Oliver Sacks’s essays did for neurology.”. Help build this Foundation from the ground up, and be among the first to know about major news and updates. This content is imported from Instagram. It's August, so I wanted to let you know about a few books I've been reading this summer, in case you're looking for some suggestions. His wife Michelle Obama’s memoir “Becoming” topped the list. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io, Cover Reveal: Cicely Tyson's JUST AS I AM, Latina Entrepreneur Shares Bilingual Stories, Mariah's Memoir Is Her Most Personal Work Yet, Oprah and Jenna Bush Hager Talk Book Clubs, Read a Review of a New Sylvia Plath Biography, Review: Jess Walter's "The Cold Millions". Barack Obama just released his 2019 summer reading list on Instagram. You should make a commitment of your own. And while I'm at it, here are a few more titles you might want to explore.". You'll be glad you read them. Our editors handpick the products that we feature. To start, you can't go wrong by reading or re-reading the collected works of Toni Morrison. Another summer, another list of summer reads from Barack Obama. Follow New York Times Books on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, sign up for our newsletter or our literary calendar. Take a look, and get ready to be inspired this week. As I prepare for this trip, I wanted to share a list of books that I’d recommend for summer reading, including some from a number of Africa’s best writers and thinkers—each of whom illuminate our world in powerful and unique ways. We’ll deliver helpful advice along the way to help you get the most out of your literary endeavor. Mr. Obama wrote that Ms. Wilkinson’s “American Spy,” her debut novel about a black female secret agent, is “a whole lot more than just a spy thriller, wrapping together the ties of family, of love, and of country.”. Stephanie Land’s recent memoir, “Maid,” which chronicles her time as a single mother and cleaner, offers an “unflinching look at America’s class divide” and “a reminder of the dignity of all work,” according to Mr. Obama. Finally, one more thing worth checking out ahead of the Africa trip: This morning, President Obama shared a few books that he’d recommended reading—many of which are written by some of Africa’s most talented writers, and all of which draw upon themes from the upcoming trip. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. Beloved, Song of Solomon, The Bluest Eye, Sula, everything else — they're transcendent, all of them. Mr. Whitehead was among a handful of novelists, along with Zadie Smith, Barbara Kingsolver, Junot Díaz and Dave Eggers, whom Mr. Obama invited to a luncheon at the end of his presidency. With Obama's stamp of approval, go ahead and add these to your cart now: For more ways to live your best life plus all things Oprah, sign up for our newsletter! Former President Barack Obama on Saturday continued his tradition of sharing his annual lists of favorites, starting with a rundown of books that made the past year "a little brighter for me." “I’m so dead rn,” Ms. Land wrote on Twitter in response to the list. It also includes best sellers like Nicholas Carr's The Shallows and Colson Whitehead's The Nickel Boys. The list also includes “The Nickel Boys,” Mr. Whitehead’s fictionalized account of the state-run Dozier School for Boys, where dozens of students were tortured. Obama released the list of books he's read this summer and there is something for everyone. The former New York Times chief book critic Michiko Kakutani reported at the end of Mr. Obama’s presidency that he would read for about an hour on most nights. “I can’t believe I get a chance to be on this list with these very incredible writers.”, Another memoir, Hope Jahren’s “Lab Girl,” follows both the writer’s personal journey to becoming a scientist and her work on the secret life of plants. Meet the 200 members of inaugural class of African leaders—and follow along with the entire trip right here.