Barack Obama shares eclectic list of his favorite books, music and movies of the year

Former President Barack Obama has shared a list of his favorite movies, music and books of 2018 and — of course — his favorite book was written by someone very close to him.

“As 2018 draws to a close, I’m continuing a favorite tradition of mine and sharing my year-end lists,” Obama wrote Friday morning in a Facebook post that earned more than 4,000 comments in its first hour.

“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. 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.”

The Huffington Post noted that his picks “reflect a diverse array of interests and spotlight many works by artists of color.”

He included one of 2018’s most popular movies, “Black Panther,” along with “BlacKkKlansman” and the Mr. Rogers documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”

His music choices included “Apes••t” by the Carters, “Make Me Feel” by Janelle Monáe 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,” Obama wrote.

His choices were listed alphabetically, so by coincidence his “favorite” book of the year came first: “Becoming,” written by his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama. The book is the best-selling hardcover of the year, according to Penguin Random House.

Click here to see the lists.

This story was originally published December 28, 2018 at 8:48 AM with the headline "Barack Obama shares eclectic list of his favorite books, music and movies of the year."