Every Book on Barack Obama’s 2019 Summer Reading List

The Collected Works of Toni Morrison

Beloved: $10.23 (Originally $16), Amazon

Song of Solomon: $11.43 (Originally $16), Amazon

Sula: $10.64 (Originally $15), Amazon

The Bluest Eye: $9.45 (Originally $14.95), Amazon

"To start, you can't go wrong by reading or re-reading the collected works of Toni Morrison. Beloved, Song of Solomon, The Bluest Eye, Sula, everything else — they're transcendent, all of them. You’ll be glad you read them."

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The Nickel Boys — Colson Whitehead

Where to buy: $12 (Originally $24.95), Amazon

"Sometimes difficult to swallow, The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead is a necessary read, detailing the way Jim Crow and mass incarceration tore apart lives and wrought consequences that ripple into today."

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Exhalation — Ted Chiang

Where to buy: $17.11 (Originally $25.95), Amazon 

"Exhalation by Ted Chiang is a collection of short stories that will make you think, grapple with big questions, and feel more human. The best kind of science fiction."

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Wolf Hall — Hilary Mantel

Where to buy: $12.34 (Originally $18), Amazon

"Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel­’s epic fictionalized look at Thomas Cromwell’s rise to power, came out in 2009, but I was a little busy back then, so I missed it. Still great today."

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Men Without Women — Hakuri Murakami 

Where to buy: $10.87 (Originally $16), Amazon

"Haruki Murakami’s Men Without Women examines what happens to characters without important women in their lives; it'll move you and confuse you and sometimes leave you with more questions than answers."

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American Spy — Lauren Wilkinson

Where to buy: $15.66 (Originally $27), Amazon

"American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson is a whole lot more than just a spy thriller, wrapping together the ties of family, of love, and of country."

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The Shallows — Nicholas Carr

Where to buy: $12.62 (Originally $15.95), Amazon

"The Shallows by Nicholas Carr came out a few years ago, but its arguments on the internet’s impact on our brains, our lives, and our communities are still worthy of reflection, which is something we all could use a little more of in this age."

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Lab Girl — Hope Jahren

Where to buy: $12.53 (Originally $16), Amazon

"Lab Girl by Hope Jahren is a beautifully written memoir about the life of a woman in science, a brilliant friendship, and the profundity of trees. Terrific."

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Inland — Tea Obreht

Where to buy: $18.90 (originally $27), Amazon

"Inland by Téa Obreht just came out yesterday, so I won’t spoil anything. But those of you who’ve been waiting for Obreht’s next novel won’t be disappointed."

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How to Read the Air — Dinaw Mengestu

Where to buy: $12.06 (Originally $15), Amazon

"You’ll get a better sense of the complexity and redemption within the American immigrant story with Dinaw Mengestu’s novel, How to Read the Air."

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Maid — Stephanie Land

Where to buy: $15.93 (originally $27), Amazon

"Maid by Stephanie Land is a single mother’s personal, unflinching look at America’s class divide, a description of the tightrope many families walk just to get by, and a reminder of the dignity of all work."

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