By Collection Management Librarian Dontaná
Since Oprah’s first book club pick in 1996, we have been reading as the celebrities do, falling in love with, or hating, characters with our fellow book club readers. Book clubs offer an opportunity to be in community with others, even if we’re not together in person.
Other celebrities who love to read have started book clubs, and enjoy sharing their recommended reads! Enjoy these August picks from well-established and new celebrity book clubs.
Please note: Many of these books are brand-new releases. We’ve ordered extra copies, but if you’re waiting on hold, be sure to check out the new materials shelves at the Maze and Dole branches and Hot Picks at the Main Library (these copies can’t be placed on hold or renewed). If the title is listed as available in the catalog, head over and pick up your next read before someone snatches it up!
Read with the stars
The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Who's reading it? Good Morning America Book Club
Description: In 1950s Hollywood, when an unknown Mexican ingenue is cast as Salome, a star-making role in a big-budget movie about the legendary heroine, she becomes the object of envy of Nancy Hartley, a bit player who will do anything to win the fame she believes she richly deserves.
The Sons of El Rey by Alex Espinoza
Who's reading it? The Audacious Book Club from Roxane Gay
Description: While Freddy Vega struggles to save his luchador father’s gym, his son Julian seeks professional and romantic fulfillment as a Mexican American gay man refusing to be defined by stereotypes, in this intimate portrait of a family wading against time and legacy, yet always choosing the fight.
Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell
Who's reading it? Reese's Book Club from Reese Witherspoon
Description: Fourteen years after they went their separate ways, 33-year-old Shiloh, a divorced, single mom living back in the same house she grew up in, attends a high school friend’s wedding in hopes of seeing Cary, the boy she never realized she loved until he was lost.
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Who is reading it? Read with Jenna from Jenna Bush Hager
Description: Mistaken for a wedding guest while staying at the grand Cornwall Inn, Phoebe Stone, at rock bottom, is determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself, and unexpectedly becomes the bride’s confidant and through her, meets a cast of surprising characters who help her start anew.
Big Black: Stand at Attica by Frank Smith
Who is reading it? Noname Book Club from Noname
Description: In the summer of 1971, New York's Attica State Prison is a symbol of everything broken in America—abused prisoners, rampant racism, and a blind eye turned towards the injustices perpetrated against the powerless. But when the guards at Attica overreact to a minor incident, the prisoners decide they've had enough and revolt—taking their jailers hostage and making demands for humane conditions.
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Who is reading it? Jimmy Fallon Book Club
Description: In 1975, when a camp counselor discovers the 13-year-old daughter of the summer camp’s owners has disappeared just like her brother 14 years earlier, a panicked search begins as the secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow are revealed.
The Anthropologists by Ayşegül Savaş
Who is reading it? TeaTime Book Club by Dakota Johnson
Description: Unfolding over a series of apartment viewings, late-night conversations, last rounds of drinks, and lazy breakfasts, this mesmerizing examination of homebuilding and modern love follows Asya, a documentarian, and Manu as they open the horizons of their lives, what and whom they’ll hold onto, and what they’ll need to let go.
Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
Who's reading it? Service95 from Dua Lipa's summer reading list
Description: Harvard student Catalina Ituralde, who escaped death in Latin America, confronts her mysterious past and uncertain future as she approaches graduation, all while navigating the complexities of love and freedom.
About Dontaná
Dontaná is a Collection Management Librarian who was born with an unending reading list. She is almost always reading two books simultaneously and is easily distracted by cool covers.