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 July celebrity book club picks.
Goodreads rating: 4.31/5
“Free revealed things to me about a country I know and love well,” Lipa wrote alongside her July pick on Instagram. “The history is so recent, but the lived experience has changed so much in just one generation. What an era to live through, what an education to share.”
Goodreads rating: 3.95/5
“The days are longer, the sun is hotter, and it’s time for our July @readwithjenna pick… ‘The Shampoo Effect’ by Jenny Jackson! ☀️ This delicious summer read is one you’ll devour at the beach or in the park on a sunny day,” Bush Hager wrote of her new book pick.
“This is a novel about the people who have known us our whole lives and the ties that really bind us. It made me think of my own oldest friendships, and I know you will love this one just as much as I do.”
Goodreads rating: 4.14/5
“Innovative and deeply poetic, this landmark work of literary fiction, ‘The Waves,’ is often regarded as Virginia Woolf’s masterpiece. It begins with six children―three boys and three girls―playing in a garden by the sea, and follows their lives as they grow up, experience friendship and love, and grapple with the death of their beloved friend Percival,” TeaTime said of their latest read.
“Instead of describing their outward expressions of grief, Woolf uses a groundbreaking stream of consciousness style to draw her characters from the inside, revealing their inner lives: their aspirations, their triumphs and regrets, their awareness of unity and isolation.”
Goodreads rating: 4.22/5
“Our 124th book club pick is here, and it’s ‘Little Wonder’ by @imsophieckeller! Set in modern day China, the story follows Song and River, a mother and son duo who embark on a journey to Beijing to support River’s musical career as an aspiring pianist. On the fateful day of their journey, Song and River lose each other at the train station in Beijing, kickstarting their long journey to finding their way back to each other,” Winfrey announced.
Goodreads rating: 3.00/5
“This month I’m reading ‘Reflections in a Golden Eye’ by Carson McCullers, first published in 1941. Set on a military base, it’s a compact, unsettling look at desire and repression in a closed community,” Portman wrote alongside her July book.
Goodreads rating: 3.70/5
“We will be reading…’Someone Else’s Husband’ by Kimberly McCreight!” Couric captioned her announcement. “It’s a fun thriller about the aftermath of a trip to Kilimanjaro and how two women’s lives are forever altered. I can’t wait to read it and hear what you all think.”
Goodreads rating: 3.86/5
“Our July pick is ‘Country People’ by Pulitzer Prize finalist Daniel Mason — a rollicking, lyrical novel about a year in the life of a family as they strike out into the unknown (aka Vermont), leaving all the comforts of home behind,” “GMA” wrote of their new pick.
Goodreads rating: 4.37/5
“Celebrating America’s 250th with a story about one remarkable woman,” Witherspoon captioned a video announcing her new read. “Loved sitting down with the @ReesesBookClub team to talk about ‘A Founding Mother’ by @Stephanie.Dray and @LauraKamoie – our July pick.”
Goodreads rating: 3.82/5
“‘Voyagers’ is a novel about friendship and family, celebrity and conspiracy, memory and mystery. It explores what it means to live by one story before, at last, having the courage to tell a different one,” Roberts’ Belletrist book club said alongside their July book.
