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 April celebrity book club picks.
Goodreads rating: 4.04/5
“I first read ‘Jerusalem’ at 15, studying for my English GCSEs, and Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron has stayed with me ever since,” Lipa wrote of her April pick. “When I finally saw legendary actor Mark Rylance perform the role onstage in 2022, it was everything I had imagined. Now, I want you to have that experience.”
She added, “What I love most about ‘Jerusalem,’ and why I’ve chosen it as our first play, is how alive it is on the page as well as the stage. One moment you’re deep in English folklore: giants, fairies, ancient drums. The next, someone is arguing about Girls Aloud. It is funny, it is tragic and it is the best possible reminder that reading plays is not only for school.
“I cannot wait to hear what you think.”
Goodreads rating: 4.39/5
“The April 2026 Read with Jenna selection is ‘Upward Bound’ by Woody Brown! Brown, who is autistic and non-speaking, wrote his debut novel about Upward Bound, a fictional adult day care in Southern California for individuals with disabilities,” Bush Hager announced.
“Woody is an incredible author and a truly inspiring human being. This is a story full of hope and friendship, and I am confident it will bring such goodness to a world that needs it,” she added.
Goodreads rating: 4.06/5
“This month we’re reading ‘Under Water’ by Tara Menon. It’s about friendship, love, grief, and healing. There will be tears fyi,” Johnson’s book club wrote of their pick.
Goodreads rating: 4.51/5
“Our April @reesesbookclub pick is here. ‘Into The Blue’ by Emma Brodie is a story that really stayed with me – about love, timing, and what happens when the past finds its way back into your life. I was so drawn to the way it explores fate versus choice,” Witherspoon captioned her announcement.
Goodreads rating: 4.17/5
“‘Yesteryear’ by Caro Claire Burke follows a social media #tradwife influencer who wakes up where algorithms can’t find her: 1805. No Wi‑Fi. Just pioneering,” “GMA” wrote alongside their latest read.
Goodreads rating: 4.42/5
“I am very excited to tell you our Pick for April is ‘James’ by Percival Everett,” Couric told her book club. “I have had this on my bookstand for awhile because I heard it is amazing, so I’m really excited to read it. The paperback comes out later this month, so I thought it was meant to be.”
Goodreads rating: 4.13/5
“Spring has finally arrived, and with it, our April book pick, ‘The Roots of Heaven’ (Les racines du ciel) by Romain Gary. A big thank you to Mariane for this beauitful book!” Portman wrote of her new bookclub read.
“Winner of the Prix Goncourt in 1956 and often called one of the first ecological novels, Gary tells the story of Morel, an idealist in French Equatorial Africa fighting to protect elephants from extinction. It’s a novel about what we choose to protect, and what that choice says about our humanity. As the days grow longer and summer approaches, it felt like the perfect moment to celebrate the animals in our lives and the earth we share with them. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts,” she added.
Goodreads rating: 4.06/5
“Our April Book of the Month pick is ‘The Fountain’ by Casey Scieszka. It feels like stepping into a story that quietly changes the way you think about time, love, and what it means to keep going,” Belletrist announced.
“This is the kind of book you carry with you even after you’ve finished it, the kind you want to talk about, underline, and return to. We’re so excited to read this one together.”
Goodreads rating: 4.41/5
“My next @oprahsbookclub selection is ‘Kin’ by @tayari Jones. This profoundly eloquent yet familiar novel follows two motherless daughters, Vernice and Annie, who are childhood best friends in Honeysuckle, Louisiana. They grow up together—but as life would have it, they take opposite paths in adulthood, one into polished privilege, the other into a volatile search for belonging, testing what friendship can survive, what mothers leave behind, and how far a woman will go to claim a life of her own,” Winfrey wrote of her first 2026 book pick.
“Reading this book felt like being welcomed to a family reunion with people who have become your kin through blood or life experience. It will live within you long after finish reading it.”
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