Barack Obama shares his list of favorite books, music, and movies from being 'cooped up' in 2021

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Ever since he left the office in 2017, it has become a personal tradition of sorts for former US president Barrack Obama to share his pop culture favourites at the end of the year. In a recent Instagram post, Obama released a list of his favorite books, movies and music for 2021.

Talking about his favorite reads, Obama wrote, "Art always sustains and nourishes the soul... But for me, music and storytelling felt especially urgent during this pandemic year—a way to connect even when we were cooped up."

Some of his favorite books include Lauren Groff's "Matrix", "Crossroads," by Jonathan Franzen, and Ann Patchett's "These Precious Days." Other literary favorites included Amor Towles' "The Lincoln Highway," as well as "Harlem Shuffle," by Colson Whitehead.

Moving on to his list of favourite movies, the former president shared that Questlove's acclaimed documentary "Summer of Soul," Steven Spielberg's latest "West Side Story" and the upcoming movie "The Tragedy of Macbeth," starring Oscar-winning actors Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, made it to the top slots on his list.

To end the week of presidential favorites, Obama shared music from artists such as Lizzo, Lil Nas X, Mitski and Yebba that kept him grooving as he "listened to a little bit of everything this year."

Check out the complete list of books that left a "lasting impression" on Obama in 2021:

1. "Matrix" by Lauren Groff
2. "How the Word Is Passed" by Clint Smith
3. "The Final Revival of Opal & Nev" by Dawnie Walton
4. "The Lincoln Highway" by Amor Towles
5. "Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City" by Andrea Elliott
6. "Harlem Shuffle" by Colson Whitehead
7. "Cloud Cuckoo Land" by Anthony Doerr
8. "These Precious Days" by Ann Patchett
9. "Crying in H Mart" by Michelle Zauner
10. "Aftershocks" by Nadia Owusu
11. "Crossroads" by Jonathan Franzen
12. "The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois" by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
13. "Beautiful Country" by Qian Julie Wang
14. "At Night All Blood is Black" by David Diop
15. "Land of Big Numbers" by Te-Ping Chen
16. "Empire of Pain" by Patrick Radden Keefe
17. "Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir
18. "When We Cease to Understand the World" by Benjamín Labatut
19. "Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future" by Elizabeth Kolbert
20. "Things We Lost to the Water" by Eric Nguyen
21. "Leave the World Behind" by Rumaan Alam
22. "Klara and the Sun" by Kazuo Ishiguro
23. "The Sweetness of Water" by Nathan Harris
24. "Intimacies" by Katie Kitur

"Since these are works I have actually listened to, watched, or read, I’m sure I’ve missed some worthy stuff. So if you have your own recommendations to share, I’ll add them to the stack of books and movies I hope to catch up on over the holidays!" Obama wrote on Instagram.

Read more: Asked to imagine a day of anonymity, Obama talks of grocery shopping, ice-cream

Obama's favorite movies of 2021

1. Drive My Car
2. Summer of SoulWest Side Story
3. The Power of the Dog
4. Pig
5. Passing
6. The Card Counter
7. Judas and the Black Messiah
8. The Worst Person in the World
9. Old Henry
10. The Last Duel
11. The Tragedy of Macbeth
12. C'mon C'mon
13. Quo Vadis, Aida?

Read more: UP lawyer files civil suit against Barack Obama's A Promised Land for 'insulting' Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi

Obama's favorite songs of 2021

1. "The Only Heartbreaker" by Mitksi
2. "I Don't Live Here Anymore" by The War On Drugs featuring Lucius
3. "Tala Tannam" by Mdou Moctar
4. "Magnolia Blues" by Adia Victoria
5. "Witchoo" by Durand Jones, The Indications and Aaron Frazer
6. "Formwela 10" by Esperanza Spalding
7. "Gold Chains" by Genesis Owusu
8. "Broken Horses" by Brandi Carlile
9. "Woman" by Little Simz featuring Cleo Sol
10. "Farruko" by Pepas
11. "Go Down Deh" by Spice featuring Sean Paul and Shaggy
12. "Freedom" by Jon Batiste
13. "It's Way With Me" by Wye Oak
14. "Nobody" by Nas featuring Lauryn Hill
15. "Nightflyer" by Allison Russell
16. "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" by Lil Nas X
17. "Patria Y Vida" by Yotuel, Gente de Zona, Descemer Bueno, Maykel Osorbo, el Funky
18. "Notice" by Tammy Lakkis
19. "Armash" by Teddy Afro
20. "Write A List of Things To Look Forward To" by Courtney Barnett
21. "Volví" by Aventura and Bad Bunny
22. "Headshots (4R Da Locals)" by Isaiah Rashad
23. "Boomerang" by Yebba
24. "In My Blood" by MO3 and Morray
25. "Ya" by YENDRY
26. "Rumors" by Lizzo featuring Cardi B
27. "Walking At A Downtown Pace" by Parquet Courts