WASHINGTON--The year 2012 will bring publication of two new books about Barack and Michelle Obama, with "The Obamas" by Jodi Kantor published on Jan. 10 and an Obama biography by David Maraniss out around June.

From blurbs on "The Obamas" at Kantor's web site:

"When Barack Obama won the 2008 presidential election, he also won a long-running debate with his wife Michelle. Contrary to her fears, politics now seemed like a worthwhile, even noble pursuit. Together they planned a White House life that would be as normal and sane as possible.

"Then they moved in."

"In THE OBAMAS, Jodi Kantor takes us deep inside the White House as the president and first lady try to grapple with their new roles, fulfill lofty promises, live inside a monument, raise children in the spotlight, and maintain some semblance of their old lives. Filled with riveting detail and insight into their partnership, personalities, struggles, and successes, THE OBAMAS will surprise readers who thought they knew the president and first lady, give readers a new way of understanding this presidency as the 2012 race unfurls, and show why the lives of the Obamas matter for us all."