The popularity of celebrity-led book clubs has exploded in recent years. Oprah got the ball rolling in the 1990s, but it wasn’t until social media took off that other famous women followed suit.
And yes, we said women because, as of 2024, there don’t appear to be any male celebrity-led book clubs. As one Jezebel writer joked in an article last April, “Do famous men know how to read?”
The gender imbalance aside, starting and maintaining a book club is no mean feat. Even Kim Kardashian and Chrissy Teigen announced one in 2017, only to admit a year later that it never took off “because we were lazy”, per The Guardian.
So who has managed to garner – and keep – an impressive following of fellow bookworms?
1. Reese Witherspoon
After Oprah, the Legally Blonde star is credited as the figure who really helped the celebrity book club trend take off. After founding her own production company in 2012, per ABC, she began hunting for stories featuring women in lead roles to create more opportunities for herself. “I just started reading and reading and reading,” she told IndieWire.
In 2017, she created Reese’s Book Club, with the premise of choosing “a book with a woman at the centre of the story” each month. The club now has almost 3 million followers on Instagram. What’s more, the club’s pulling power regularly sends relatively unknown reads to the top of the bestseller list.
2. Kaia Gerber
Model Kaia Gerber has proven her chops as a reliable source of great book recommendations since starting her book club in 2020 during the pandemic. Her first pick was Normal People by Sally Rooney, and she even roped Paul Mescal in to join her on Instagram live to discuss it, much to her fans’ delight. Four years later and it’s still going strong, and has a name (Library Science) and over 35,000 followers.
3. Oprah Winfrey
Should we be surprised that this self-improvement trend started with Oprah Winfrey? The queen of personal empowerment first introduced the book club format as a segment on her talk show in 1996 and, according to The Guardian, her recommendations would sell 5 million extra copies of any given book.
These days, it’s found a home on Apple TV+ and Winfrey also continues to curate lists for life’s ups and downs via her Instagram page, such as “best books to comfort a grieving friend”.
4. Dua Lipa
To many people’s surprise, the keynote speaker at 2022’s prestigious Booker Prize ceremony was none other than pop star Dua Lipa. “Touring commitments take me all over the globe and life is often hectic. Sometimes, just to survive, I need to adopt a tough exterior. And at these times, it is books that soften me,” she said to a packed room.
Last year, via her Service95 website, she launched her own book club. Her latest recommendation? Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner, who performs music under Japanese Breakfast.
5. Queen Camilla
Just as surprising was the fact that Queen Camilla began opening up about her favourite books on Instagram during the pandemic lockdowns. Per British media, the online discussions have since turned into a charity called The Queen’s Reading Room that aims to foster a love of literature in children and adults. Its comprehensive website features recommendations and even exclusive interviews with the authors, including with Elena Ferrante.
6. Shonda Rhimes
7. Emma Roberts
