The Obamas Choose Indie Next List #1s as Their Favorite Books of 2015

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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama recently highlighted two Indie Next List number one picks in a feature on their favorite books, films, songs, and cultural moments of 2015 for People Magazine’s December 21 issue.

President Obama named Lauren Groff’s portrait of a marriage, Fates and Furies (Riverhead), booksellers’ top choice for the October 2015 Indie Next List, as his favorite book of the year. For his favorite movie of year, the president chose The Martian, a film based on the novel by Andy Weir, the winner of the 2015 Indies Choice Adult Debut of the Year Award.

As her favorite book of the year, the First Lady chose poet Elizabeth Alexander’s memoir of grief, The Light of the World (Grand Central), which received the most nominations from booksellers for the May 2015 Indie Next List.

Asked by Bookselling This Week about her reaction to President Obama’s pick, Groff said, “Never, even in my most grandiose dreams, did I think the President would read my book, let alone like it. And I wish he could run for a third term.”

Alexander, a family friend of the Obamas who wrote and delivered the poem “Praise Song for the Day” at the President’s 2009 inauguration, told BTW: “As an American writer, I marvel at the many ways the President and First Lady continue to emphasize the importance of culture in our everyday lives. Through the First Lady’s initiatives and engagements we see her understanding that in art we find tools for living, perhaps especially under trying circumstances. Writing The Light of the World taught me that art helps us live rich and meaningful lives, as well as to survive sorrow, something we can all practice in these challenging times. I am deeply honored and thrilledthat the First Lady found useful beauty in my book.”