Obama's book buying list is diverse

David Jackson | USA TODAY

Children's literature, contemporary novels, classics and sports dominated President Obama's book buying spree this weekend.

The president and his two daughters visited the Politics and Prose bookshop in Washington on Saturday as part of a government-backed "Small Business Saturday" promotion and came away with a diverse array of tomes.

"It's a long list," Obama said. "I've got books for every age group, from 5 to 52."

Among the titles:

•The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri.

•The Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Other Stories by Carson McCullers.

•Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews.

•The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

•The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance by David Epstein.

•Collision Low Crossers: A Year Inside the Turbulent World of NFL Football by Nicholas Dawidoff.

•My Antonia by Willa Cather.

•Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow.

•Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed.

•All That Is by James Salter.

•The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka.

•A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra.

•Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel.

•Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus.

•Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo.

•Jinx by Sage Blackwood.

•Lulu and the Brontosaurus by Judith Viorst.

•Ottoline and the Yellow Cat by Chris Riddell.

•Moonday by Adam Rex.

•Journey by Aaron Becker.

•Harold and the Purple Crayon (50th anniversary edition) by Crockett Johnson.