Celebrity bookworms are here to stay.
Ever since Oprah Winfrey started her iconic book club in the ’90s, celebrities including Reese Witherspoon, Emma Roberts, Dua Lipa and Jenna Bush Hager have joined the ranks, picking monthly books that skyrocket to the top of the bestseller lists.
“I absolutely love reading, I love the idea of sharing how books make people feel … books are really important to me and if I can share that in some way, then I feel like I’m on the right track,” Lipa told Elle UK in 2023.
Roberts, who started Belletrist with best friend Karah Preiss in 2017, told AP that giving book recommendations brings her “so much joy.”
Witherspoon, meanwhile, built an empire on books with her Hello Sunshine media company, highlighting diverse female authors.
See below for all the May celebrity book club picks.
Goodreads rating: 4.16/5 stars
“The May @reesesbookclub pick has arrived a little early and it’s a mystery, romance, and thriller all rolled into one captivating story!” Witherspoon announced of her latest book pick.
“The plot follows two journalists competing for the chance to interview a prominent socialite who has been missing for 30 years. What unfolds between them? I won’t give away any spoilers, but trust me, it’s so good! You don’t want to miss our May pick and the incredible new release, “Great Big Beautiful Life” by the very talented @emilyhenrywrites!”
Goodreads rating: 4.13/5 stars
“Laura and Alina are friends in their early thirties, living in Mexico City. Both are determinedly childfree, believing that motherhood is a trap of the patriarchy. Then, Alina changes her mind. You might think this is where their lives diverge, but the turning point in this book is a surprise for everyone,” Lipa wrote in her newsletter of Service95’s May pick.
“This book is both uplifting and gut-wrenching, often at the same time. If you are dealing with any of the issues tackled in the book, please explore this story at your own pace. At its heart, it is a story about the many different ways to be a family, and it made me reflect on what an honor it is to care for someone you truly love.”
Goodreads rating: 4.64/5 stars
“My next @oprahsbookclub pick is ‘Matriarch’ by @mstinaknowles. A great memoir has you reflecting on your own life while reading the life story of the author — and that’s exactly what Tina has done with this book,” Oprah wrote alongside her announcement.
“Beginning with her life as a young girl in the 1950s, ‘Matriarch’ offers us the riveting details of how Tina overcame numerous obstacles growing up in a segregated Galveston, Texas, to pursue her dreams far beyond society’s limited expectations. We learn how the strength and wisdom of the women who came before her fueled Tina’s passion to achieve and gave her the ability to nurture her own daughters into the incredible women they are today.”
Goodreads rating: 4.21/5 stars
“In her dazzling debut, Jemimah Wei explores the formation and dissolution of family bonds in a story of ambition and sisterhood in turn-of-the-millennium Singapore,” “GMA” said of their new book pick.
Goodreads rating: 4.35/5 stars
“It’s May, which means it’s time to announce another @readwithjenna pick…’The Names’ by Florence Knapp!” the Read With Jenna book club announced.
“What if the name you were born with had the power to change your entire life? That’s the question at the heart of this stunning debut novel. The story starts with a single moment — a mother, Cora, standing in a hospital, unsure what to name her newborn son. From that decision, three alternate lives unfold, each shaped by a mother’s decision, and three different names. This beautiful story set in the UK is about life’s ‘what-ifs,’ family, resilience, and the power of choice.”
Goodreads rating: 3.95/5 stars
“For our May Pick, I can’t wait for you all to join me in reading Consider Yourself Kissed — a look at how relationships shift over time as Coralie navigates motherhood, love, and her own desires,” Portman gushed over her latest read.
Goodreads rating: 3.81/5 stars
“May Book: Twist by @colummccann.author,” the book club announced on Instagram. “We can’t wait for you to pick up a copy and read along or to join us on Belletrist.”
Goodreads rating: 3.51/5 stars
“This month we’re reading ‘Audition’ by Katie Kitamura. One woman, the performance of a lifetime. Or two. A mesmerizing Mobius strip of a novel that asks who we are to the people we love. You’ll never be the same after this one,” TeaTime wrote of “Audition.”
“Two people meet for lunch in a Manhattan restaurant. She’s an accomplished actress in rehearsals for an upcoming premiere. He’s attractive, troubling, young—young enough to be her son. Who is he to her, and who is she to him? In this compulsively readable, brilliantly constructed novel, two competing narratives unspool, rewriting our understanding of the roles we play every day—partner, parent, creator, muse—and the truths every performance masks, especially from those who think they know us most intimately.”
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