Celebrity bookworms are here to stay.
Ever since Oprah Winfrey started her iconic book club in the ’90s, celebrities including Reese Witherspoon, Emma Roberts, Dua Lipa and Jenna Bush Hager have joined the ranks, picking monthly books that skyrocket to the top of the bestseller lists.
“I absolutely love reading, I love the idea of sharing how books make people feel … books are really important to me and if I can share that in some way, then I feel like I’m on the right track,” Lipa told Elle UK in 2023.
Roberts, who started Belletrist with best friend Karah Preiss in 2017, told AP that giving book recommendations brings her “so much joy.”
Witherspoon, meanwhile, built an empire on books with her Hello Sunshine media company, highlighting diverse female authors.
See below for all the February celebrity book club picks.
Goodreads rating: 3.85/5
“So, I recently finished a book that completely hijacked me, and I can’t stop thinking about it: ‘The Son Of Man’ by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, translated by Frank Wynne. This chilling and beautifully written novel explores family, masculinity and the terrifying inheritance of violence. It pulled me in from the first page and refused to let go, building an atmosphere of dread that quietly tightened its grip – and has stayed with me long since finishing it,” Lipa wrote alongside her Service95 book club’s new pick.
“After an unexplained absence of several years, a man walks back into the life of a woman and their young son. Right away, something about him feels off. He’s unpredictable, almost feral, and when he insists they all go together to Les Roches, an abandoned house in the mountains, a sense of dread creeps in and never leaves us, the readers.
“This isn’t an easy read, but it’s powerful. If you’re drawn to intense psychological stories with haunting atmosphere and emotional depth, this is one you won’t forget.”
Goodreads rating: 4.18/5
“It’s February, which means it’s the month of love and it’s time for our @readwithjenna February pick… ‘One and Only’ by Maurene Goo! This book is full of love: romantic love, mother-daughter love, and even a love triangle,” Bush Hager announced.
“Cassia Park believes in soulmates. She comes from a long line of women who can predict people’s fated matches. Cassia knows exactly who her soulmate is… and yet, he can’t be found.
“‘One and Only’ is a book about fate versus free will. It’s a book about love and commitment. And it flies — you’ll open it and read it in one sitting.”
Goodreads rating: 3.72/5
“Ever wanted to kill your ex?” “GMA” book club wrote of their newest pick.
“Instead try this month’s #GMABookClub pick, ‘The Exes’ by Leodora Darlington, that delivers a thrilling, explosive read with a knife‑twist ending you’ll devour.”
Goodreads rating: 3.79/5
“This month we’re reading ‘Discipline’ by Larissa Pham. It’s about art, intimacy, and confronting the past. It’s soooo good,” Johnson’s TeaTime book club wrote.
“Christine is on tour for her novel, a revenge fantasy based on a real-life relationship gone bad with an older professor ten years prior. Now on the road, she’s seeking answers—about how to live a good life and what it means to make art—through intimate conversations with strangers, past lovers, and friends.
“A pristine and provocative high-wire act toggling the fictions we construct for ourselves just to survive and the possibilities that lie beyond them, Discipline launches a spellbinding inquiry into the nature of art-making and rigor, intimacy and attention, punishment and release.”
Goodreads rating: 4.59/5
“The book club selection for February is ‘Theo of Golden,’” said in a video announcing her February pick. “You all have been talking about this book and I feel like it is a really interesting story. The author is Allen Levi. He is an attorney, judge, singer, songwriter, author. He lives on and cares for family acreage near a small town in the middle of Georgia. ‘Theo of Golden’ is his first novel. He put it out in the world, I think, in 2023 and then it was bought by a larger publisher. It has been extremely popular.
“It’s really about legacy. It’s about connection. It’s about giving back to a community and doing some of the things Keith Ellison talked about and making connections.”
Goodreads rating: 4.46/5
“As we move into February, we’re turning to a deeply moving memoir: ‘Mother Mary Comes to Me’ by Arundhati Roy. In her first work of memoir, Roy offers an intimate, powerful reflection on becoming who she is—shaped by place, by circumstance, and most of all by her mother, Mary,” Portman announced alongside her latest book pick.
“Written in the wake of her mother’s death, this book is honest, disconcerting, and unexpectedly funny as Roy traces her life from childhood to the present, from Kerala to Delhi.”
Goodreads rating: 3.65/5
“We’re thrilled to welcome Philippa Malicka’s debut novel ‘In Her Defense’ to Reese’s Book Club,” Witherspoon’s book club announced.
“Prepare to dive into a page-turning psychological thriller about identity, family, and obsession. Visit our link in bio to grab a copy and read along with us.”
Goodreads rating: 4.44/5
“Our February Book of The Month is @belleburden ‘s ‘Strangers,’ the most compulsively readable memoir of the dissolution of a marriage we have ever read,” Belletrist wrote of their February read.
“Belle finds herself left by her husband of many years at the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic. What ensues is a chronicle of not trying to build back a life you once knew, but accepting that the life you knew is not your life anymore. The book is a meditation on the inevitably of life changing and the world that unfolds for those who accept that such a change is the only bridge to a new life.
“This book has already lit up readers across the country and we are so excited to have it as our bookclub pick this month so we can discuss it directly with you as you get as enmeshed in Belle’s world like we did. This is The Harry Potter of mid life memoirs. Read it slowly, and savior every bite.”
Read the full article here
