curated list

books recommended by US presidents

The reading lists of US presidents past and present — Barack Obama's annual summer picks, George W. Bush's reading habits, Bill Clinton's recommendations, Jimmy Carter's published lists, and more.

Aggregated across 6 people we track · 60 books ranked by how many on this list have publicly recommended each one.

most recommended books on this list

  1. An American Marriage: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club 2018 Selection)
    2 people

    An American Marriage: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club 2018 Selection)

    Tayari Jones · 2018

    2 recommenders

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  2. Educated: A Memoir
    2 people

    Educated: A Memoir

    Tara Westover · 2018

    2 recommenders

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  3. Exit West: A Novel
    2 people

    Exit West: A Novel

    Mohsin Hamid · 2017

    2 recommenders

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  4. Finding My Voice
    2 people

    Finding My Voice

    Valerie Jarrett · 2019

    2 recommenders

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  5. Goodnight Moon
    2 people

    Goodnight Moon

    Margaret Wise Brown · 2007

    2 recommenders

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  6. Grant
    2 people

    Grant

    Ron Chernow · 2017

    2 recommenders

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  7. Holy Bible
    2 people

    Holy Bible

    - · 2018

    2 recommenders

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  8. Life Of Pi
    2 people

    Life Of Pi

    Yann Martel · 2000

    2 recommenders

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  9. One Hundred Years of Solitude
    2 people

    One Hundred Years of Solitude

    Gabriel García Márquez, translated by Gregory Rabassa · 2003

    2 recommenders

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  10. Song of Solomon: A Novel
    2 people

    Song of Solomon: A Novel

    Toni Morrison · 2004

    2 recommenders

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  11. The Girl on the Train
    2 people

    The Girl on the Train

    Paula Hawkins · 2015

    2 recommenders

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  12. The Word Collector
    2 people

    The Word Collector

    Peter H. Reynolds · 2018

    2 recommenders

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  13. 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History--and How It Shattered a Nation
    1 person

    1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History--and How It Shattered a Nation

    Andrew Ross Sorkin · 2025

    1 recommender

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  14. A Different Way to Win
    1 person

    A Different Way to Win

    Jim Rooney · 2019

    1 recommender

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  15. A Gentleman in Moscow
    1 person

    A Gentleman in Moscow

    Amor Towles · 2019

    1 recommender

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  16. A Grain of Wheat
    1 person

    A Grain of Wheat

    Ngugi wa Thiong'o · 1994

    1 recommender

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  17. A House for Mr. Biswas
    1 person

    A House for Mr. Biswas

    V. S. Naipaul · 2003

    1 recommender

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  18. A Marriage at Sea
    1 person

    A Marriage at Sea

    Sophie Elmhirst · 2026

    1 recommender

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  19. A Promised Land
    1 person

    A Promised Land

    Barack Obama · 2020

    1 recommender

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  20. A Suitable Boy
    1 person

    A Suitable Boy

    Vikram Seth · 2005

    1 recommender

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  21. Abraham Lincoln
    1 person

    Abraham Lincoln

    Abraham Lincoln · 1992

    1 recommender

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  22. Abraham Lincoln
    1 person

    Abraham Lincoln

    John Hay & John Nicolay · 1890

    1 recommender

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  23. Abundance: How We Build a Better Future
    1 person

    Abundance: How We Build a Better Future

    Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson · 2025

    1 recommender

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  24. After the Fall
    1 person

    After the Fall

    Ben Rhodes · 2021

    1 recommender

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  25. After the Music Stopped
    1 person

    After the Music Stopped

    Alan S. Blinder · 2013

    1 recommender

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  26. Afterlives
    1 person

    Afterlives

    Abdulrazak Gurnah · 2020

    1 recommender

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  27. Aftershocks
    1 person

    Aftershocks

    Nadia Owusu · 2021

    1 recommender

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  28. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
    1 person

    Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

    Judith Viorst · 1987

    1 recommender

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  29. All Quiet on the Western Front
    1 person

    All Quiet on the Western Front

    Erich Maria Remarque · 1987

    1 recommender

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  30. All the Light We Cannot See
    1 person

    All the Light We Cannot See

    Anthony Doerr · 2014

    1 recommender

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  31. All the Sinners Bleed
    1 person

    All the Sinners Bleed

    S.A. Cosby · 2023

    1 recommender

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  32. American Crusade
    1 person

    American Crusade

    Pete Hegseth · 2020

    1 recommender

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  33. American Prison
    1 person

    American Prison

    Shane Bauer · 2018

    1 recommender

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  34. American Spy
    1 person

    American Spy

    Lauren Wilkinson · 2019

    1 recommender

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  35. Americanah
    1 person

    Americanah

    Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie · 2013

    1 recommender

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  36. An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us
    1 person

    An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us

    Ed Yong · 2022

    1 recommender

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  37. Anything Is Possible
    1 person

    Anything Is Possible

    Elizabeth Strout · 2017

    1 recommender

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  38. Arthur Ashe
    1 person

    Arthur Ashe

    Raymond Arsenault · 2018

    1 recommender

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  39. Asymmetry
    1 person

    Asymmetry

    Lisa Halliday · 2018

    1 recommender

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  40. At Night All Blood Is Black
    1 person

    At Night All Blood Is Black

    David Diop, translated by Anna Moschovakis · 2020

    1 recommender

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  41. Audition: A Novel
    1 person

    Audition: A Novel

    Katie Kitamura · 2025

    1 recommender

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  42. Babar
    1 person

    Babar

    Jean de Brunhoff · 1933

    1 recommender

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  43. Ball of Collusion
    1 person

    Ball of Collusion

    Andrew C. McCarthy · 2019

    1 recommender

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  44. Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life
    1 person

    Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life

    William Finnegan · 2015

    1 recommender

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  45. Basketball
    1 person

    Basketball

    Shea Serrano · 2017

    1 recommender

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  46. Battling the Big Lie
    1 person

    Battling the Big Lie

    Dan Pfeiffer · 2022

    1 recommender

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  47. Beautiful Country
    1 person

    Beautiful Country

    Qian Julie Wang · 2021

    1 recommender

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  48. Beautiful Days
    1 person

    Beautiful Days

    Zach Williams · 2024

    1 recommender

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  49. Becoming
    1 person

    Becoming

    Michelle Obama · 2018

    1 recommender

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  50. Between the World and Me
    1 person

    Between the World and Me

    Ta-Nehisi Coates · 2015

    1 recommender

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  51. Beyond Charlottesville: Taking a Stand Against White Nationalism
    1 person

    Beyond Charlottesville: Taking a Stand Against White Nationalism

    Terry McAuliffe · 2019

    1 recommender

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  52. Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close
    1 person

    Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close

    Aminatou Sow · 2020

    1 recommender

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  53. Black Cake
    1 person

    Black Cake

    Charmaine Wilkerson · 2022

    1 recommender

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  54. Blitz: Trump Will Smash the Left and Win
    1 person

    Blitz: Trump Will Smash the Left and Win

    David Horowitz · 2020

    1 recommender

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  55. Both/And: A Memoir
    1 person

    Both/And: A Memoir

    Huma Abedin · 2021

    1 recommender

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  56. Brief Answers To The Big Questions
    1 person

    Brief Answers To The Big Questions

    Stephen Hawking · 2018

    1 recommender

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  57. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
    1 person

    Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

    Bill Martin & Eric Carle · 1967

    1 recommender

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  58. ​Camp Confidential
    1 person

    ​Camp Confidential

    Melissa J. Morgan · 2006

    1 recommender

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  59. Carried Away: A Selection of Stories (Everyman's Library)
    1 person

    Carried Away: A Selection of Stories (Everyman's Library)

    Alice Munro · 2006

    1 recommender

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  60. Caste
    1 person

    Caste

    Isabel Wilkerson · 2020

    1 recommender

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