Obama leads book prize shortlist

US president Barack Obama leads the nominations for this year's British Book Awards by making the shortlist for both author and biography of the year.

Obama's political tract, The Audacity of Hope, and his life story, Dreams from My Father, became UK bestsellers during his 2008 run for office. Kate Summerscale, who won last year's Samuel Johnson prize, is also nominated twice for The Suspicions of Mr Whicher.The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on 3 April.

Strong competition

Dreams from My Father was written before Obama thought of entering politics and was originally published in 1995. It tells of his early life as a black boy growing up with his white grandparents and is frank about his drug use and flirtations with the Black Power movement.The book faces strong competition for biography of the year from bestselling memoirs by JG Ballard, Dawn French, Paul O'Grady, Julie Walters and Marcus Trescothick.

Obama's rivals for author of the year include American Stephanie Meyer. The four volumes of her teenage vampire saga, Twilight, are currently the four best selling children's books in the UK according to industry magazine The Bookseller.

Song Of The Day: Daughtry - Feels Like The First Time

Today's song is not all that new, and i've always liked it but this past week, its been on my mind more than ever - and it make me get the Daughtry album, the song was recorded late last year when Chris Daughtry joined CNN’s League of First Time Voters by contributing a cover of the Foreigner’s classic, “Feels Like the First Time". The song was used as the soundtrack to special reports throughout CNN’s election coverage focusing on first time votes during the past US election (Barack Obama and John McCain). “Getting to rerecord a classic song like this was a real honour for us, and we hope it helps inspire people to vote" said Daughtry after their first performance of the song. Even Foreigner’s Mick Jones approved of the new version, saying “Daughtry’s version of the song is very cool and has more than captured the essence of the original.” The song has an election-themed video (youtube ;). The song is featured on the Daughtry Deluxe reissue already out now.