--- title: Barack Obama Releases His Annual Year-End Favorites List description: "It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books, movies, and music that I found most thought-provoking," Obama said. canonical: https://time.com/5489775/barack-obama-favorites-list-2018/ author: Gina Martinez article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-12-28T16:45:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T22:22:07.647Z article:section: U.S. og:title: Barack Obama Reveals His Favorite Books, Movies and Songs of 2018 og:description: Obama said sharing his year-end list has become a favorite tradition of his og:url: https://time.com/5489775/barack-obama-favorites-list-2018/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaaf101e54d02fad3/69893fc6bc6cfc6acc3e7842/gettyimages-1037465570.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Barack Obama Attends Campaign Rally For Pennsylvania Democrats In Philadelphia og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Barack Obama Reveals His Favorite Books, Movies and Songs of 2018 twitter:description: Obama said sharing his year-end list has become a favorite tradition of his twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaaf101e54d02fad3/69893fc6bc6cfc6acc3e7842/gettyimages-1037465570.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Barack Obama Reveals His Favorite Books, Movies and Songs of 2018\. His Choices Might Surprise You ## Video: New Poll Names Michelle Obama Most Admired Woman, President Trump Second-Most Admired Man [Watch (HLS stream): New Poll Names Michelle Obama Most Admired Woman, President Trump Second-Most Admired Man](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/e5rFMCip.m3u8) (1:23)  _Published 2018-12-27. Former First Lady Michelle Obama was voted the most-admired woman of 2018_ by [Gina Martinez](/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Dec 28, 2018 4:45 PM CUT  SEPT 21: Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally SEPT 21: Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rallyMark Makela—Getty Images by [Gina Martinez](/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Dec 28, 2018 4:45 PM CUT Former President Barack Obama released his [annual year-end favorites list](http://time.com/5082975/barack-obama-2017-book-music-list/ "undefined") on Friday, sharing his best-loved songs, books and films from 2018. This year’s list once again highlights a wide range of critically acclaimed films, best-selling novels and genre-crossing singles that highlight his eclectic taste that ranges from the popular to the obscure. He shared the list on Instagram Friday morning, calling the annual list a “favorite tradition.” “It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books, movies, and music that I found most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved,” Obama wrote. “It also gives me a chance to highlight talented authors, artists, and storytellers – some who are household names and others who you may not have heard of before. Swipe through to see my best of 2018 list – I hope you enjoy reading, watching, and listening.” Unsurprisingly, “_Becoming_“, his wife and former first lady Michelle Obama’s autobiographical memoir, made an appearance at the top of the list, with a side note (obviously my favorite!). He also included “_The World As It Is_” by his former Deputy National Security Advisor, Ben Rhodes, as well as classics including “_Things Fall Apart”_ by Chinua Achebe and “_Long Walk to Freedom_” by Nelson Mandela. In the music department, Obama’s favorite songs included hip-hop singles “_I Like it_” by Cardi B, J Balvin and Bad Bunny, as well as”_Apes\*\*t”_ by The Carters. He also included the late Nancy Wilson’s _The Great American Songbook_ album “in honor of one of the great jazz singers of all time who died this year.” Obama’s favorite films included Spike Lee’s “_BlacKkKlansman”_, Ryan Coogler’s superhero blockbuster “_Black Panther_” and documentaries “_Won’t You Be My Neighbor_“, and Bing Lius’s “_Mind The Gap._” See his full list here: Here’s a reminder of the books that I read this year that appeared on earlier lists: * _Becoming_ by Michelle Obama (obviously my favorite!) * _An American Marriag_e by Tayari Jones * _Americanah_ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie * _The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die_ by Keith Payne * _Educated_ by Tara Westover * _Factfulness_ by Hans Rosling * Futureface: A Family Mystery, an Epic Quest, and the Secret to Belonging by Alex Wagner * _A Grain of Wheat_ by Ngugi wa Thiong’o * _A House for Mr Biswas_ by V.S. Naipaul * _How Democracies Die_ by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt * _In the Shadow of Statues: A White Southerner Confronts History_ by Mitch Landrieu * _Long Walk to Freedom_ by Nelson Mandela * _The New Geography of Jobs_ by Enrico Moretti * _The Return_ by Hisham Matar * _Things Fall Apart_ by Chinua Achebe * _Warlight_ by Michael Ondaatje * _Why Liberalism Failed_ by Patrick Deneen * _The World As It Is_ by Ben Rhodes Here are my other favorite books of 2018: * _American Prison_ by Shane Bauer * _Arthur Ashe: A Life_ by Raymond Arsenault * _Asymmetry_ by Lisa Halliday * _Feel Free_ by Zadie Smith * _Florida_ by Lauren Groff * _Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom_ by David W. Blight * _Immigrant, Montana_ by Amitava Kumar * _The Largesse of the Sea Maiden_ by Denis Johnson * _Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence_ by Max Tegmark * _There There_ by Tommy Orange * _Washington Black_ by Esi Edugyan My favorite movies of 2018: * _Annihilation_ * _Black Panther_ * _BlacKkKlansman_ * _Blindspotting_ * _Burning_ * _The Death of Stalin_ * _Eighth Grade_ * _If Beale Street Could Talk_ * _Leave No Trace_ * _Minding the Gap_ * _The Rider_ * _Roma_ * _Shoplifters_ * _Support the Girls_ * _Won’t You Be My Neighbor_ And finally, my favorite songs of 2018: * “Apes••t” by The Carters * “Bad Bad News” by Leon Bridges * “Could’ve Been” by H.E.R. (feat. Bryson Tiller) * “Disco Yes” by Tom Misch (feat. Poppy Ajudha) * “Ekombe” by Jupiter & Okwess * “Every Time I Hear That Song” by Brandi Carlile * “Girl Goin’ Nowhere” by Ashley McBryde * “Historia De Un Amor” by Tonina (feat. Javier Limón and Tali Rubinstein) * “I Like It” by Cardi B (feat. Bad Bunny and J Balvin) * “Kevin’s Heart” by J. Cole * “King For A Day” by Anderson East * “Love Lies” by Khalid & Normani * “Make Me Feel” by Janelle Monáe * “Mary Don’t You Weep” (Piano & A Microphone 1983 Version) by Prince * “My Own Thing” by Chance the Rapper (feat. Joey Purp) * “Need a Little Time” by Courtney Barnett * “Nina Cried Power” by Hozier (feat. Mavis Staples) * “Nterini” by Fatoumata Diawara * “One Trick Ponies” by Kurt Vile * “Turnin’ Me Up” by BJ the Chicago Kid * “Wait by the River” by Lord Huron * “Wow Freestyle” by Jay Rock (feat. Kendrick Lamar) * And in honor of one of the great jazz singers of all time, who died this year, a classic album: _The Great American Songbook_ by Nancy Wilson ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5489775/barack-obama-favorites-list-2018/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5489775/barack-obama-favorites-list-2018/"},"headline":"Barack Obama Reveals His Favorite Books, Movies and Songs of 2018. 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