Several high-profile celebrities launched their own book clubs to engage with their fans and encouraging reading. Stars like Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon have long-standing clubs that curate monthly picks according to a certain theme (Reese chooses women-centered stories). Other notable people, such as Barack Obama, simply choose to list their favorite reads at the end of each year.
Whatever the method, it’s fun to read along with your favorite celebs! Take a look at the list below to help inspire your next book pick, and check cloudLibrary for more celebrity recommendations.
Oprah’s Book Club
Becoming by Michelle Obama
The former First Lady details her life, from growing up on the south side of Chicago through her years in the Ivy League to meeting Barack Obama, starting a family, and living in the White House. We gain insight on how her experiences shaped her into the person she is today, as well as what being a part of the most prominent family in the United States is really like – and how it differs for the first Black “First Family.” Michelle Obama writes with a vulnerability and thoughtfulness that feels real, refreshing and inspiring.
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
A stirring and at times heart-wrenching story! Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are settling into life together when Roy is arrested and sentenced to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Celestial’s world is rocked and she finds comfort in her childhood friend, who was also the best man at their wedding. This novel is all about reckoning with your past and moving forward as best as you can into the uncertain future.
Reese’s Book Club
The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
This eerie novel will have you on the edge of your seat! Elin’s taken time off from her job as a detective and finds herself celebrating her estranged brother’s engagement at an imposing, isolated hotel high in the Swiss Alps. When her brother’s fiancée goes missing on day two, Elin must trust her instincts in order to find her – and to realize that another woman has gone missing.
We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz
Best friends Emily and Kristen are in Chile on their annual trip. When Emily comes back to their hotel room one night to find Kristen covered in blood and with a dead body, she finds the situation eerily similar to their last vacation together, and begins to wonder if she really knows her friend like she thought she did. In this gripping tale, Bartz winds the reader through thrilling twists and turns, and forces her characters to confront their pasts.
Emma Watson’s Book Club (Our Shared Shelf)
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Formerly enslaved Sethe lives in Ohio with her daughter in the post-Civil War era. Though she has begun her new life after emancipation, the horrors of slavery still linger. Through flashbacks of Sethe’s time enslaved at Sweetwater Plantation, Morrison guides the reader on a journey of survival and the supernatural, exploring important themes such as familial relationships and the importance of a strong, supportive community in this literary classic.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
This Pulitzer Prize winner is a must-read literary classic. Celie, a teenager living in rural Georgia, faces horrible traumas, oppression, and abuse throughout her life at the hand of her father and the men around her. Through the relationships she develops with different women in her community, Celie learns to find independence and happiness in her life despite the challenges thrown at her.
Barack Obama’s Favorite Books
Silverview by John Le Carré
Julian has left a stressful city job for a simpler life running a bookshop in a small English seaside town. But only a couple of months into his new career, Julian’s life is turned upside down by Edward, who lives in the big house on the edge of town called Silverview. Somehow, Edward seems to know a lot about Julian’s family and seems far too preoccupied in the inner workings of his modest new enterprise.
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Upstanding citizen Elwood Curtis gets caught up in an unfortunate incident that lands him in reform school in Florida in the 1950s. Though he is innocent, he’s forced to a school where all the boys are treated cruelly. Now an adult and reflecting on his time at The Nickel Academy, Elwood recounts the people he met, the way they were treated, and how he really got away from it all. This Pulitzer Prize-winning book is as poignant as it is devastating.
Emma Roberts’ Book Club (Belletrist)
Writers & Lovers by Lily King
A poetic tale about grief, finding your footing in a world of uncertainty, and the struggles that come with not allowing yourself to give up on your wildest dreams. Writers and Lovers navigates through protagonist Casey Peabody’s challenging year after the sudden death of her mother. She’s working a dead-end job, struggling to finish her novel, and deciding between security and stability or flightiness and passion when it comes to matters of the heart – all while coming to terms with the growing sense that she’s actually destined for failure.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet
This story of sisters spans generations. After identical twin sisters Stella and Desiree ran away at 16, their lives diverged into very different paths. Stella lives her life passing as white, while Desiree lives with her Black daughter in their Southern hometown. Though they couldn’t be more different as they’ve grown up and apart, the sisters’ lives continue to intertwine in this story about identity, race, family, and how our decisions shape our lives.
Abby M., Perkasie branch
