The year isn't over untilBarack Obamadrops his favorite works of art across film, music and literature.
The former president turned pop culture enthusiast dropped his annual favorites list, andMichelle Obama's "The Look" made the cut. "And obviously I'm biased," he wrote before naming his wife's new book chronicling her own style evolution since her tenure as First Lady.
Other top books include Beth Macy's "Paper Girl," Susan Choi's "Flashlight" and Brian Goldstone's "There Is No Place For Us."
The former politician also had time to delve into cinema, sharing Oscar-contender films likeRyan Coogler's "Sinners,"Paul Thomas Anderson's "One Battle After Another," andChloé Zhao's "Hamnet."
You are in fact seeing double. Michael B. Jordan plays twin brothers who return to their Mississippi hometown to open up a juke joint in Ryan Coogler's "Sinners." Here's how the horror movie ranks against the rest of the year's best movies." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
30. "Him": Franchise star Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans, left) tests rookie Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers) at his remote training camp to see if he's ready to be the next San Antonio Saviors quarterback in the bizarre and trippy football horror movie." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
29. "The Testament of Ann Lee": Amanda Seyfried (center) stars as Ann Lee, the charismatic founder of the Shakers religious movement and a somewhat controversial figure in 18th-century America, in the engrossing historical musical drama." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
28. "Sorry, Baby": Eva Victor writes, directs and stars in the funny, moving dramedy as a college literature professor still battling the psychological effects years after being sexually assaulted by her teacher." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
27. "Good Boy": The most innovative horror movie of the year stars, yes, a pooch. Indy the dog is a canine best friend whose owner is haunted by a dark spirit in a scary movie that's equally unsettling and thoughtful." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
26. "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning": Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) goes to extremes to battle a villainous AI and save the world, including hanging out of a plane, in the thrilling franchise installment wrapping up a 30-year storyline." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
25. "How to Train Your Dragon": Astrid (Nico Parker) and Hiccup (Mason Thames) ride high with their Night Fury friend Toothless in the live-action remake, a coming-of-age movie filled with great flying sequences and all the feels." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
24. "The Secret Agent": In the 1970s-set political thriller, Wagner Moura is terrific as a Brazilian researcher hunted by mercenary killers, who aims to escape the country's ruthless dictatorship with his son." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
23. "One Battle After Another": When an old enemy resurfaces for vengeful reasons, an ex-revolutionary (Leonardo DiCaprio) scrambles to find his daughter when she goes missing in Paul Thomas Anderson's timely action thriller." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
22. "In Your Dreams": The lively animated fantasy comedy centers on young girl Stevie and her little brother Elliot, who team up with snarky stuffed giraffe Baloney Tony to find the mythical Sandman and make a wish to save their parents' marriage." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
21. "Sentimental Value": Renate Reinsve (left) and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas star in Joachim Trier's moving French dramedy as sisters dealing with the emotional consequences of their estranged father making his comeback movie about their family." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
20. "Train Dreams": The absorbing period drama stars Joel Edgerton as a logger working on building the railroad in the Pacific Northwest whose job keeps him away for long periods from his wife and life." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
19. "Blue Moon": Richard Linklater's dishy 1940s-set dramedy centers on lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) trying to save his pride and career at the premiere afterparty celebrating his former collaborator Richard Rodgers' musical "Oklahoma!"" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
18. "28 Years Later": Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes, left) shows Spike (Alfie Williams) how he honors the victims of the infected in a horror sequel that's a thoughtful exploration of family, tribalism and remembering the dead." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
17. "Magazine Dreams": In Elijah Bynum's intoxicating cautionary tale, Killian Maddox (Jonathan Majors) is a socially awkward bodybuilder dealing with past traumas and wanting to make a human connection who goes down an extraordinarily bad path." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
16. "Ballerina": As a newbie assassin, Ana de Armas is a one-woman wrecking crew – and shares screen time with John Wick himself, Keanu Reeves. It's an impressive franchise spinoff packed with stellar brawls, superb gunfights and a nifty flamethrower faceoff." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
15. "Left-Handed Girl": A 5-year-old Taiwanese girl (Nina Ye) and her older sister (Shih-Yuan Ma) move from the countryside back to Taipei with their mom, a return that brings financial and personal struggles in a touching slice-of-life drama." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
14. "The Perfect Neighbor": Told through police bodycam footage, the gripping, heartbreaking documentary chronicles hostilities between an older white woman and the Black parents and children living around her, leading to a tragedy that shakes their neighborhood." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
13. "Frankenstein": Elizabeth (Mia Goth) shares a moment with the newborn Creature (Jacob Elordi), who confronts his maker in epic fashion in Guillermo del Toro's gorgeous, thoughtful and moving adaptation of Mary Shelley's legendary work." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
12. "Nuremberg": Army psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek, left) and imprisoned Nazi leader Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe) match wits in James Vanderbilt's stirring combo of post-World War II historical thriller and courtroom drama." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
11. "Jay Kelly:" Movie legend Jay (George Clooney) has a heart-to-heart with his oldest daughter (Riley Keough) in Noah Baumbach's charming character study of a celebrity realizing that he's always put work ahead of loved ones." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
10. "Weapons": A schoolteacher (Julia Garner) becomes a local pariah when every kid but one in her class mysteriously disappears overnight in a provocative, genre-defying horror flick that boasts unhinged gore and a delightfully dark sense of humor." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
9. "Is This Thing On?": Will Arnett proves he's got dramatic chops as a middle-aged man on the cusp of a divorce when he finds a needed outlet with stand-up comedy in Bradley Cooper's film about creative catharsis and complicated relationships." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
8. "Superman": The Man of Steel (David Corenswet) isn't happy with his dog Krypto making a mess of the Fortress of Solitude in James Gunn's electric superhero adventure, which relaunched the DC universe and introduced a screen Superman worthy of the name." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
7. "Hamnet": Agnes (Jessie Buckley) comforts her husband, William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal), in director Chloé Zhao's drama, a heartfelt film about the Bard's family life, the creation of his play "Hamlet" and different ways of dealing with grief." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
6. "Marty Supreme": Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet) has big dreams of being a ping-pong champ, if his own selfish attitude doesn't derail him first. Josh Safdie's 1950s-set sports comedy is a masterful panic attack of a table-tennis movie." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
5. "It Was Just an Accident": Vahid Mobasseri plays a mechanic and former Iranian political prisoner who kidnaps his former torturer. Jafar Panahi's thriller is an unforgettable juggling of serious moral questions and clever screwball comedy." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
4. "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery": Ace detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig, left) helps young priest Father Jud (Josh O'Connor) when he's accused of murder in the Southern-fried super-sleuth's most personal and thoughtful case yet." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
3. "Rental Family": An American expat actor (Brendan Fraser) stands in as the groom for the wedding of a Japanese woman (Misato Morita). Fraser exudes compassion and awkward, earnest charm in director Hikari's fish-way-out-of-water dramedy." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
2. "Sinners": Southern gangster Smoke (Michael B. Jordan, left) and his guitar-playing cousin Sammie (Miles Caton) endure a horrific night dealing with vampires in Ryan Coogler's devilishly spectacular and absolutely mesmerizing fright fest." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
1. "The Life of Chuck": Chuck (Tom Hiddleston) suddenly feels the beat and shares an impromptu dance with a stranger (Annalise Basso) in Mike Flanagan's must-see Stephen King adaptation that warms hearts, captures minds and blows up convention." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Want to see a great movie? Here are the best films of 2025
You are in fact seeing double. Michael B. Jordan plays twin brothers who return to their Mississippi hometown to open up a juke joint in Ryan Coogler's "Sinners." Here's how the horror movie ranks against the rest of the year's best movies.
As for music, the annual list spotlighted undeniable hits likeLady Gaga's "Abracadabra" andAlex Warren's "Ordinary." Obama refused to take sides in thelongstanding feudbetweenKendrick LamarandDrake, instead honoring both Lamar andSZA's "Luther"and Drake's "Nokia."
Here's the complete list of Obama's picks this year:
Barack Obama's favorite books of 2024
"The Paper Girl" by Beth Macy
"Flashlight" by Susan Choi
"We the People" by Jill Lepore
"The Wilderness" by Angela Flournoy
"There Is No Place for Us" by Brian Goldstone
"North Sun" by Ethan Rutherford
"1929" by Andrew Ross Sorkin
"The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny" by Kiran Desai
"Dead and Alive" by Zadie Smith
"What We Can Know" by Ian McEwan
"Mark Twain" by Ron Chernow
"The Book of Records" by Madeleine Thien
From demonic possessions to memoirs about how immigration is actually a story of love, there are plenty of books from Latino authors to choose from for your next read. Here are 29 books we love from authors including Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Wilmer Valderrama, Paola Ramos, Ada Limón and Mariana Enriquez. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
In "Somebody Is Walking on Your Grave," Argentine author Mariana Enriquez explores how the stories of the dead "speak of life," especially paired with 21 trips to different cemeteries around the globe. In the book, translated by Megan McDowell, the gothic horror author with a fondness for the macabre travels through North and South America, Europe and Australia, visiting Paris' catacombs, Prague's Old Jewish Cemetery, New Orleans' aboveground mausoleums in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 (home to the famous Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau), Buenos Aires' opulent Recoleta and cemeteries in Genoa, Italy, where she fell in love with these "final" resting places.
Read our wide-ranging interview with the author. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes takes on a complex mother-daughter relationship in her stunning debut novel, "The White Hot." Written in the form of a letter, she delivers a gorgeous, luminous story about a Philly Puerto Rican teenage mom filled with questions and searing rage (which she calls the white hot) while she walks the road of a very messy enlightenment." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
With six poetry collections under her belt, Ada Limón is looking back at nearly 20 years of work − drawing poems from "The Hurting Kind," "The Carrying" and "Bright Dead Things" − and featuring new poems in "Startlement." The former Poet Laureate of the United States continues to wade into the unknown, including the "strangeness of our brief human lives, the ever-changing nature of the universe and emerges each time with new revelations about our place in the world," reads the publisher's description." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
California Chicana essayist and novelist Myriam Gurba cultivates a literary terrain that blends memoir, botany, mythology and sociopolitical critique in this moving book, "Poppy State: A Labyrinth of Plants and a Story of Beginnings," about girlhood memory, ecological meditation and cultural history. Gurba constructs a labyrinth of language where California poppies, childhood witchcraft and feminist rage bloom side by side." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
A demonic presence. A forbidden love story. A haunted silver mine. An exorcism (or three). A conniving priest. And a mercury poisoning subplot inspired by an episode of "Grey's Anatomy."That's the journey you'll go on in "The Possession of Alba Diaz" by Isabel Cañas. The author transports us to the north-central state of Zacatecas, Mexico, in 1765 when a plague sweeps through the city as our protagonist, Alba, flees with her wealthy merchant parents and fiancé, Carlos, to his family's mine for refuge. But Alba, who until now has played it safe in life and love, meets Elías, a haunted Heathcliff-esque outcast in his family, and the two slowly realize they're the only ones they can trust.
As Alba makes herself comfortable at Casa Calaveras, a mansion nestled in the remote mines, she's quickly met with dark, cold forces lurking beneath her skin. She begins suffering from strange hallucinations, sleepwalking and violent convulsions.
Read our interview with the author. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
In "My Perfect Cognate," Natalie Scenters-Zapico, an educator and award-winning poet from El Paso, Texas, interrogates the connections and contrasts of her duality: violence and softness, motherhood and isolation, the border between the United States and Mexico, and more. Scenters-Zapico wrote her latest poetry collection "from the depths of severe post-partum depression," according to the publisher description, and she "searches for a language that can hold both personal and communal pain."" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
In her debut novel, "This is the Only Kingdom," award-winning author Jaquira Díaz expands with lyrical force a story of a multigenerational family set between Puerto Rico and Miami. She delivers a lush, unflinching narrative about colorism, survival, love, music and the brutal beauty of housing project life." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
This cosmic Puerto Rican epic poem, titled "Algarabía: The Song of Cenex, Natural Son of the Isle Alarabíyya," written by trans poet, translator and Lambda Literary Award winner, Roque Raquel Salas Rivera, is a literary tour de force. In the story of Cenex, a trans being who references multiple universes in breathtaking beauty and humor — from Taino cosmology to Carl Sagan's pot smoking joy. It's a genius, too — one side of the book is in Spanish and the other in English — all written by Salas Rivera." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
"Middle Spoon," written in epistolary novel form by Alejandro Varela, follows an unnamed middle-aged narrator who, at first glance, is having his cake and eating it too. He's happily married, has a doting husband with two adopted children, and he has a younger boyfriend named Ben. When Ben suddenly dumps him, however, there's nothing that can bring him solace. We see him unravel at the seams, spilling his heart out to anyone who will listen, including his two therapists, and so begins his journey of writing dozens and dozens of emails to Ben that he never sends. Read our interview with the author here." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
"Dreaming of Home: How We Turn Fear into Pride, Power, and Real Change" by Cristina Jiménez is more than a memoir, "it's about the story of many undocumented and courageous people," Jiménez said. It's a coming-of-age story for both a young woman finding her true self and a social movement of immigrant youth trailblazers who inspired the world and changed the lives of millions." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
In "Solito," Javier Zamora details his 3,000 mile journey from his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico and across the U.S. border. He writes of leaving behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a mother who left four years ago and a father he barely remembers. "Solito," which has received critical acclaim, provides an immediate and intimate account not only of a treacherous and near-impossible journey, but also of the miraculous kindness and love delivered at the most unexpected moments. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Paola Ramos' book explores how race, identity and political trauma have ignited a far-right sentiment among Latinos and how this group is shaping American politics.
To write her book, the Telemundo News and MSNBC contributor sat down with Gabriel Garcia, a first-generation Cuban American and former member of the Proud Boys, among other Jan. 6 rioters. She also spoke with a Latino border vigilante from El Paso, Latina members of Moms for Liberty, a conservative group pushing legislation such as Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, evangelical pastors and others.
In "Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling," anthropologist Jason de Léon paints a more humanizing portrait of smugglers (or coyotes, as they're most commonly called) as they shepherd migrants from South American countries through Mexico in hopes of arriving in the U.S.For the book, de Léon spent seven years following the migrants (those from Honduras specifically) and their coyotes in an attempt to understand why smugglers fall into this line of work, and their responsibility over the migrants they're tasked with guiding toward the possibility of the American dream." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Equal parts memoir, cultural history and visual mixtape, New York City cultural historian Bobbito García delivers a vibrant love letter to streetball in ""Bobbito's Book of B-Ball Bong Bong!" Told through the lens of a life spent on and off the court — from Harlem playgrounds to hip-hop stages — the book blends nostalgia, humor and encyclopedic knowledge to unpack the language, rhythm and soul of the game. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
In "Family Lore," Elizabeth Acevedo paints a multifaceted portrait of Dominican American women coming to terms with mortality, navigating womanhood, past loves and self-love. It follows the Marte women as they prepare for a wake arranged by Flor; her gift is she can predict the day someone will die. When she arranges a living wake for herself, the family is left to wonder: Has she foreseen her own death or someone else's? In the 72 hours prior to the wake, the Marte sisters and their daughters are forced to confront the past and present – and brace themselves for the unknown journey ahead.
Read our interview with the author." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
In "Crying in the Bathroom," Chicago author Erika L. Sánchez writes for the ambitious, foul-mouthed, vagabond women like herself who choose to live life on their own terms. She writes about exploring her sexuality, leaving little to the imagination as she describes her adventures during both her "slut year" and "The Year My Vagina Broke." But she also tackles depression, spirituality, familial ties and feminism.Sánchez's essays also deal with the messiness of being alive. More specifically, existing in American society as a woman of color, growing up in a working-class Mexican immigrant household thinking she "didn't matter, that no one cared what I had to say," she writes.
Read our interview with the author here. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Marcelo Hernandez Castillo's powerful memoir, "Children of the Land," documents living in fear of deportation, separation and the trauma inflicted by the immigration system in the United States. It explores the way the immigration system robs peace of mind, robs time and the ability to heal, and how far removed many people still are to these realities. "It surprised me how little people knew about the realities of families like ours, how easy it was for them to move through the world as if everything was fine," Hernandez writes in his book. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Part gothic romance and part love letter to the thriving 90s Mexico City film industry, Silvia Moreno-Garcia's slow-burn thriller, "Silver Nitrate," blends Mexican horror cinema with the horrors of Nazi occultism. "Silver Nitrate" follows two childhood best friends: passionate workaholic sound editor Monserrat and charming-but-washed-up soap opera actor Tristán.
Read our interview with the author. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
In her debut book, "The Undocumented Americans," author Karla Cornejo Villavicencio centers immigrant stories in a way that isn't inspirational or exploitative but simply real and raw. In New York, the author introduces us to undocumented workers who helped on Ground Zero after Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In Miami, Villavicencio highlights undocumented folks who frequent botánicas because they have no other healthcare options due to their status. In Connecticut, we learn about undocumented men in sanctuaries and the effects of family separation." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
"Candelaria" by Melissa Lozado-Oliva is a novel following three generations of unruly and strong women: Candelaria, the matriarch; Lucia, her daughter; and granddaughters Bianca, an archaeologist, Candy, a recovering addict, and Paola, a brainwashed wellness cultist. The sisters, estranged from one another over grief and family secrets, grapple with their diasporic identity, womanhood and vices all on their own. "They're all leading their own lives, but they all circle back to each other," Lozada-Oliva told USA TODAY. "I wanted to show that in the cover (illustrated by London-based artist Polly Nor), they're in this battle, a dance and also a shared meal."
Lozada-Oliva's apocalyptic debut novel in prose is an ode to complicated family dynamics, and the overwhelming ways love can consume and eat us alive.
Read the interview with the author. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Considered one of the country's authoritative experts on Latino voters, and co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, Mike Madrid's "The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy" seeks to answer how and why Democrats and Republicans have failed to appeal to the Latino vote and the implications of that.Using over three decades of research and campaign experience, Madrid argues Latinos make up the fastest segment of the most important swing states in the Electoral College, and "fitting neither the stereotype of the aggrieved minority nor the traditional assimilating immigrant group, Latinos are challenging both political parties' notions of race, religious beliefs, economic success and the American dream."
" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
In "Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of Latino" by Héctor Tobar, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author writes a definitive and personal exploration of what it means to be Latino in the U.S.The journalist and English and Chicano/Latino Studies professor tackles the impact that colonialism, public policy, immigration, media and pop culture have had on decoding the meaning of "Latino" as a racial and ethnic identity." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Through her debut book, "For Brown Girls With Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts," by Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, gives us insight into her own personal journey navigating academia and corporate spaces as a woman of color, as well as the tools necessary to decolonize our worldview, think deeply about our relationship to the "white gaze" and how to combat imposter syndrome. "For Brown Girls" is raw, honest and transparent, and it will challenge readers to rethink views on community, culture and the intentions behind the work you do. "Remember who you are and the rest will come," she writes in her book." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Are we monsters? Or are we miracles? That's what Silvia Moreno-Garcia forces us to ask ourselves in "The Daughter of Doctor Moreau." Moreno-Garcia reimagines the classic 1896 sci-fi novel "The Island of Doctor Moreau" by H.G. Wells and gives us a rousing and romantic anti-colonial novel set in the Yucatán Peninsula in 19th-century Mexico.
Read our review of the book here.
Author Laura E. Gómez, a UCLA School of Law professor, wrote a book to understand where Latinos fit in America's racial order − the how and why of Latinx identity becoming a distinctive racial identity." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
In "LatinoLand: A Portrait of America's Largest and Least Understood Minority," Peruvian-born author and journalist Marie Arana argues that Latinos are not a monolith and they do not represent a single group. In "LatinoLand," Arana draws from her own experience as a daughter of a mixed-status family − her mother from Kansas and Boston, and her father a Peruvian-born civil engineer − to attempt to understand the fastest-growing minority group in America." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Wilmer Valderrama, who broke out as Fez in the nostalgic teen sitcom "That '70s Show," looks back on his incredible journey from Venezuelan immigrant to American TV powerhouse in his debut memoir "An American Story: Everyone's Invited." Valderrama said in an interview with USA TODAY that his memoir began as a "tribute" to the stories of military personnel, although he later realized "how much of my story is basically being part of this world with them and being so submerged in the actual culture and community."" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
"Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions" by Mexican novelist Valeria Luiselli is based on her experience as an interpreter for Central American child migrants seeking a new life in the U.S. The book is structured around the forty questions she asks these undocumented children, whose ages range from 6 into their teens and are facing deportation." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa wrote "Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate In A Torn America" amid the 2020 presidential election. She said the anti-immigration rhetoric spewed by Trump and his supporters under his administration wasn't new − it was history repeating itself." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
In "An African American and Latinx History of the United States" by Paul Ortiz, the historian spans more than two hundred years in his book, looking at the intersectional history of the shared struggles for African American and Latinx civil rights."I wrote this book because as a scholar I want to ensure that no Latinx or Black children ever again have to be ashamed of who they are and of where they come from," Ortiz writes in the book's introduction." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Books by Latino authors you need to read right now
From demonic possessions to memoirs about how immigration is actually a story of love, there are plenty of books from Latino authors to choose from for your next read.Here are 29 books we love from authors includingSilvia Moreno-Garcia,Wilmer Valderrama,Paola Ramos,Ada LimónandMariana Enriquez.
"King of Ashes" by S.A. Cosby
"Rosarita" by Anita Desai
"Audition" by Katie Kitamura
"The Buffalo Hunter Hunter" by Stephen Graham Jones
"Abundance" by Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson
"A Marriage at Sea" by Sophie Elmhirst
"Who Is Government?" by Michael Lewis
"The Sirens' Call" by Chris Hayes
Barack Obama's favorite movies of 2025
"One Battle After Another"
"Sinners"
"It Was Just an Accident"
"Hamnet"
"Sentimental Value"
"No Other Choice"
"The Secret Agent"
"Train Dreams"
"Jay Kelly"
"Good Fortune"
"Orwell: 2+2=5"
Barack Obama's favorite music of 2025
"Nice to Each Other" by Olivia Dean
"Abracadabra" by Lady Gaga
"Never Felt Better" by Everything is Recorded ft. Sampha & Florence Welch
"Luther" by Kendrick Lamar & SZA
"Just Say Dat" by Gunna
"In the Name of Love" by Victoria Noelle
"Tatata" by Burna Boy ft. Travis Scott
"The Giver" by Chappell Roan"
Ancient Light" by I'm With Her
"Jump" by BLACKPINK
"Aurora" by Mora & De La Rose
"Vitamina" by Jombriel, DFZM & Jøtta
"Faithless" by Bruce Springsteen
"Silver Lining" by Laufey
"Float" by Jay Som ft. Jim Adkins
"Pasayadan" by Ganavya
"No More Old Men" by Chance the Rapper & Jamila Woods
"Ordinary" by Alex Warren
"99" by Olamidé ft. Daecolm, Seyi Vibez, Asake, & Young Jonn
"Bury Me" by Jason Isbell
"Sycamore Tree" by Khamari
"Pending" by Lil Naay & Myke Towers
"I Wish I Could Go Travelling Again" by Stacey Kent
"Nokia" by Drake
"Sexo, Violencia y Llantas" by Rosalía
"Please Don't Cry" by Kacy Hill
"En Privado" by Xavi & Manuel Turizo
"Metal" by The Beths
"Stay" by ROE
"Not in Surrender" by Obongjayar
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Barack Obama's 2025 favorites include Drake, Kendrick Lamar
