Barack Obama's list of favorite books, movies and songs of 2018 is everything we need right now

Former President Barack Obama is keeping with his annual tradition of sharing his year-end lists of favourite books, movies and songs.

“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 said in a Facebook post-Friday.

First, he mentioned books he read this year that appeared on earlier lists. At the top of that list was the book “Becoming,” which was written by his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama.

“Obviously my favourite!” Obama wrote in parenthesis next to the title.

Read: Bengaluru's U-25 Club Releases Campaign To Bring Barack Obama For Youth Summit

Then, Obama went on to share his favourite books, movies and songs of 2018 — here they are:

BOOKS

• 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

MOVIES

Obama’s list of top 2018 films would rival the year-end list of any of your favourite film critics. 

• 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

SONGS

The former president’s music preferences are as diverse as ever, spanning indie, pop, rock, soul, R&B and hip-hop and spans new releases, including Janelle Monáe’s “Make Me Feel” and Courtney Barnett’s “Need a Little Time,” music standards including “The Great American Songbook” by Nancy Wilson, and newly-released, posthumous songs such as Prince’s “Mary Don’t You Weep,” the “Piano & a Microphone 1983” version.

• 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

Read the Facebook post here