When you’re no longer president, you finally have some time on your hands to watch movies or catch up on some reading.
So on Friday morning, former president Barack Obama revealed a long list of all his favorite things from 2018, including everything from music he enjoyed to the books he devoured over the course of the year.
Obama’s year-end lists, which have become something of a tradition, are a time for the former head of state to “pause and reflect,” he wrote.
“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,” Obama said.
Without further ado, here are Obama’s favorite things — 2018 edition:
When it came to Obama’s favorite books of the year, his wife’s memoir was at the top of the list. Becoming by Michelle Obama was “obviously” his favorite, he said.
The remaining books released in 2018 that the former president read were:
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
Obama shared other books he read this year that appeared on earlier lists:
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die by Keith Payne
Educated by Tara Westover
Factfulness by Hans Rosling
Futureface: A Family Mystery, an Epic Quest, and the Secret to Belonging by Alex Wagner
A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul
How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
In the Shadow of Statues: A White Southerner Confronts History by Mitch Landrieu
Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
The New Geography of Jobs by Enrico Moretti
The Return by Hisham Matar
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
Why Liberalism Failed by Patrick Deneen
The World As It Is by Ben Rhodes
As far as movies, Obama listed a mix of box-office successes and indie flicks among his favorites.
They were:
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
Finally, Obama ended things on a high note by revealing his favorite songs of 2018, which included hits like "Apeshit" by Beyoncé and Jay-Z and Cardi B's "I Like It."
Other songs the president jammed out to were:
"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
"Kevin’s Heart" by J. Cole
"King For A Day" by Anderson East
"Love Lies" by Khalid and 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 featuring 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 featuring Kendrick Lamar
Obama also honored the great jazz singer Nancy Wilson, who died in early December, with an acknowledgment of her classic album The Great American Songbook.