The New York Times' chief book critic, Michiki Kakutani, interviewed Obama, and the entire transcript is here.
As a bibliophile, this is an enjoyable read. My favourite bit is probably this, with all its optimism:
Look, I don’t worry about the survival of the novel. We’re a storytelling species.
followed by:
I think that what one of the jobs of political leaders going forward is, is to tell a better story about what binds us together as a people. And America is unique in having to stitch together all these disparate elements — we’re not one race, we’re not one tribe, folks didn’t all arrive here at the same time.
What holds us together is an idea, and it’s a story about who we are and what’s important to us. And I want to make sure that we continue that.