Barack Obama Shares His Favorite Books of 2025

As 2025 draws to a close, Barack Obama continues the annual tradition he began during his presidency of sharing his favorite cultural picks of the year. Fans of literature and thoughtful reading will find plenty of inspiration in his curated book list, which spans fiction and nonfiction and highlights both emerging voices and established authors. Check out the books that made Obama’s 2025 reading roundup! Beth Macy’s “Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America” blends personal memoir with rigorous journalism as she returns to her hometown of Urbana, Ohio, seeking to understand political division and community breakdown in contemporary America. In a preview from Penguin Random House, “‘Paper Girl’ is a gift of courage, empathy, and insight. Beth Macy has turned to face the darkness in her family and community, people she loves wholeheartedly, even the ones she sometimes struggles to like. And in facing the truth—in person, with respect—she has found sparks of human dignity that she has use