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 even magazines are getting in on the action! Enjoy these January 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, as well as 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
Skylark by Paula McLain
Who’s reading it? Good Morning America Book Club
Description: The New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife weaves a mesmerizing tale of Paris above and below—where a woman’s quest for artistic freedom in 1664 intertwines with a doctor’s dangerous mission during the German occupation in the 1940s, revealing a story of courage and resistance that transcends time.
The Hitch by Sara Levine
Who’s reading it? The Audacious Book Club from Roxane Gay
Description: From the author of the cult classic Treasure Island!!!, this seductively outlandish novel follows a woman as she attempts to exorcise the spirit of a dead corgi from her nephew and renegotiate the borders of her previously rational world.
The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave
Who’s reading it? Reese’s Book Club from Reese Witherspoon
Description: Laura Dave continues Hannah Hall’s pulse-pounding journey in the riveting and deeply moving sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling blockbuster and Apple TV+ show, The Last Thing He Told Me.
Night People: How to Be a DJ in ’90s NYC by Mark Ronson
Who’s reading it? Service95 from Dua Lipa
Description: Organized around venues that defined his experience of the downtown scene, Ronson evokes the rush of that decade and those spaces and invites us into the tribe of creatives and partiers who came alive when the sun went down.
Homeschooled by Stefan Merrill Block
Who is reading it? Read with Jenna from Jenna Bush Hager
Description: A heartbreaking, empowering, often hilarious debut memoir about a mother’s all-consuming love, a son’s perilous quest to discover the world beyond the front door, and the unregulated homeschool system that impacts millions like him.
Strange Pictures by Uketsu
Who is reading it? Nat’s Book Club from Natalie Portman
Description: An eerie, fresh take on mystery-horror in which a series of seemingly innocent pictures draws you into a disturbing web of unsolved mysteries and shattered psyches.
Cleavage: Men, Women & the Space Between Us by Jennifer Finney Boylan
Who is reading it? RuPaul’s Book Club from RuPaul
Description: What is the difference between men and women? Jennifer Finney Boylan, bestselling author of She’s Not There and co-author of Mad Honey with Jodi Picoult, examines the divisions—as well as the common ground—between the genders, and reflects on her own experiences, both difficult and joyful, as a transgender American.
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.