Book clubs powered by celebrities: wanna join?

While some might say that books are old-fashioned, there are many others that say books are so cool! (myself included). Among the ones in the latter category are five celebrities that not only love reading, but they also started book-related communities to spread even more their interest in books. If you’re curious who they are and what they do, keep on reading!

§ Our Shared Shelf powered by Emma Watson

As part of her collaboration with UN Women, Emma Watson started a Feminist book club called Our Shared Shelf. A book is selected every month, and discussions take place during the last week of that month. As part of this project, Emma also hides copies of the monthly choices in different cities (for example, The Handmaid’s Tale in Paris, Mom & Me & Mom in London and New York). It seems like a very interactive book club!

emma watson readers high tea — Emma hiding books in New York. Source: Instagram/emmawatson

§ Oprah’s Book Club

Oprah’s Book Club might be one of the oldest book clubs powered by celebrities. Oprah started the club in 1996, and each month she personally chose a book that was discussed during the popular Oprah Winfrey Show. Interestingly, it created the so-called “Oprah Effect” – most books became bestsellers after being selected by Oprah for her book club (ThoughtCo., 2017). Some examples of books recommended by Oprah are East of Eden by John Steinbeck, Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

oprahbookclub readers high tea — Source: ClassicBookReader

§ Belletrist powered by Emma Roberts

Emma Roberts, together with her friend Karah Preiss, started the book club called Belletrist as “an online platform that celebrates great books and the people who read them“. They say both of them suffer from tsundoku (Japanese: pile of books), which describes the compulsive habit of buying books and allowing them to pile up in every possible place 🙂 Besides book suggestions, on Belletrist you find interviews with authors (in written and video format) and other bookish media.

emma-roberts readers high tea — Emma Roberts (right) together with author Ariel Levy (left). Source: Instagram/emmaroberts

§ #RWBookClub powered by Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon is another celebrity who publicly shares her love for books. #RWBookClub, “a community for the love of reading“, is most active on the dedicated Instagram account. There you can find reading suggestions and beautiful bookish pics, but there’s not much interaction among the “members” of the club.

RW Readers High Tea — Source: Instagram/rwbookclub

§ SJP for Hogarth by Sarah Jessica Parker

Sarah Jessica Parker took her passion for books to a whole new level. She launched the SJP for Hogarth*, which is not a book club per se, but a line of books that reflect her preferences as a reader. Sarah will be directly involved in the editorial and publishing processes for the books launched under the SJP for Hogarth name. On their website you can also find a list of suggested books by Sarah.

*Hogarth is a transatlantic partnership between Penguin Random House’s Crown Publishing Group in the US and Chatto & Windus in the UK

Pretty cool stories, right? I find it inspirational to see people (more or less famous) taking a proactive approach when it comes to promoting reading and sharing their passion for books. And celebrities, in particular, already being in the spotlight, have the opportunity to influence to a larger extent the public opinion about reading.

What’s your opinion about book clubs? Have you ever joined a live or online book club?

‘Till next time … happy reading!

Georgiana