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This Mother’s Day weekend the sequel Book Club: The Next Chapter will be released in movie theatres nationwide. Boasting an outstanding cast including Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen, and Candice Bergen this Rom-Com proves to be quite the feel-good movie. The first Book Club movie, released in 2018, centered around a group of 4 older longtime friends in a book club together. They decide to read Fifty Shades of Gray and discover that perhaps they aren’t too old for romance and need to start taking risks in their love lives. The sequel does not appear to center around any book but is instead the continuation of their story as they travel to Italy for a bachelorette party for one of them that is soon to be married.
In honor of this star-studded movie, I thought it would be fun to discuss the top Celebrity Book Clubs out there. Over the years many have come and gone but these few have stood the test of time.
Oprah Winfrey Book Club
The original celebrity book club. Started in 1996 it is still going strong today. What is great about this book club is the variety of monthly reading picks. The genres range from fiction to sociological non-fiction and everything in between. The books are chosen to make you think. One of my favorite books American Dirt was the pick back in 2020. She poses weekly questions on Instagram and there is a weekly discussion board throughout the month so you can read along with others and engage with the material. There are also podcasts that have discussions with the author over on her podcast channel. This is a great book club to join if you want to step outside your comfort zone and explore new topics and points of view.
Level of Involvement: Monthly engagement (can participate in weekly discussions)
May 2023 Pick:
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
From the Publisher: Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Convenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: In every generation, at least one person dies by drowning – and in Kerala, water is everywhere.
How to join the book club:
Instagram – @oprahsbookclub #ReadWithUs!
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/OprahsBookClub
Website – https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/books/
Newsletter – https://www.oprah.com/newsletters.html
Reese Witherspoon Book Club
If you want an in-depth book club with LOTS of levels of engagement this is the one for you. Since 2017 every month over on Instagram Reese Witherspoon announces her monthly book pick. Typically it is a new release fiction with a female protagonist. I have followed her list for a few years and the books are hit or miss for me. Throughout the month there is an online chat for discussions of the book, there are interviews with the author, and other readers post their reviews. On her website, you can even purchase a themed reading box that includes the book and several related items. Reese has also created a production company and has turned some of her favorite picks into movies and TV shows including, Where the Crawdads Sing and Daisy Jones and the Six. If you follow her on Instagram there are regular updates on the production process. It is interesting to follow along as the books are turned into visual entertainment and you see behind-the-scenes glimpses of the process.
Level of Involvement: Almost daily on Instagram
May 2023 Pick:
Did you Hear About Kitty Karr? By Crystal Smith Paul
From the Publisher: When Kitty Karr Tate, a White icon of the silver screen, dies and bequeaths her multimillion-dollar estate to the St. John sisters, three young, wealthy Black women, it prompts questions. Lots of questions. The truth behind Kitty’s ascent to stardom from her beginnings in the segregated South threatens to expose a web of unexpected family ties, debts owed, and debatable crimes that could, with one pull, unravel the all-American fabric of the St. John sisters and those closest to them.
How to join the book club:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ReesesBookClub/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ReesesBookClub
Website – https://reesesbookclub.com/
Newsletter – Join from her website for the weekly newsletter
Jenna Bush Hagar Book Club
Read with Jenna is a regular installment on the Today Show since 2019. Every month Jenna shares a book she truly enjoyed. The collection of choices is diverse general fiction with some memoirs, and the books are chosen because they entertain and engage the reader. This month’s pick sounds very interesting and fits in with my love of dystopian fiction I will definitely be checking it out. Discussions for Read with Jenna happen on Facebook, Goodreads, and Instagram. This book club is a very low level of engagement and is a good choice if you are looking for different types of fiction that might not be so mainstream. You find out the book choice at the beginning of the month and why Jenna chose it. At the end of the month post your review on Goodreads and read what others thought of it.
Level of Involvement: Light
May 2023 Pick:
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
From the Publisher: Loretta Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane Staxxx” Slacker are the stars of the Chain-Gang All-Stars, the cornerstone of CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, a highly-popular, highly-controversial, profit-raising program in America’s increasingly dominant private prison industry. It’s the return of the gladiators and prisoners are competing for the ultimate prize: their freedom.
How to join the book club:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/readwithjenna/ #ReadWithJenna
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/groups/1869958969771277
Website – https://www.today.com/read-with-jenna
Newsletter – http://link.today.com/join/5ci/readwithjenna
Jimmy Fallon Book Club
Back in 2018 Jimmy Fallon started a Book Club to encourage his viewers to read more and to help him find a book to read during his summer break. He picks one book a year in July. There is a Facebook group and you can follow along on Instagram. I found that the Facebook posts are too many random conversations and self-promotion with very little discussion of the book. The Instagram feed was similar. This book club would be a good choice to just find a random fun fiction pick for the summer and hear Jimmy Fallon’s thoughts on it in September.
Level of Involvement: Non-existent
Summer 2023 Pick: Coming July 2023
How to join the book club:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jimmyfallon/ #FallonBookClub
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/groups/1448784578920614
Website/Newsletter – No dedicated sites for these
Joining one (or all) of these celebrity book clubs is a great way to branch out with your reading and connect with other bibliophiles. It is also a cool way to create a new Reading Challenge for yourself. You can select one of the book clubs and print out a list of all their picks from over the years and work your way through the list. Do any of the May picks speak to you? Which of these celebrity book clubs is the best fit for you? Leave a comment
