The Best Celebrity Book Clubs: What to Read in 2024
Celebrity book clubs are all the rage but they can be a lot to keep up with and not all their picks are actually worth reading.
So what’s a book worm to do? Where should you start? Whose book club is worth following?
We can help! We’ve kept up with many celebrity book clubs and we have our favorite picks from each listed below. There is also a link to each of the full lists where the books are ranked from 5 stars to 2.
*Post contains affiliate links. Purchases made through links result in a small commission to us at no cost to you. Some books have been gifted. All opinions are our own.
The Best Celebrity Book Clubs
Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club
Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club was really the first of the modern celebrity book clubs to catch on in recent years. Started in 2017, her list features thrillers, romances, historical fiction, YA, non-fiction, and modern fiction.
Our favorites are below, but you can see the whole book list, ranked, here.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
August 2023 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick
In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return home and beg their mother to tell the story of her romance with a movie star from long ago.
Throughout their Mom’s telling of her summer theatre experience at Tom Lake, the daughters get the long-awaited answers to questions they’ve asked for years. The whole family also re-examines their lives and relationships through the new lens of information. While this is a pandemic story, it’s more of a plot device to get the family together than anything else. So don’t expect to be triggered!
Why I Loved it: Ann Patchett is an amazing storyteller and I love all her books, so it’s no surprise that this story is one of my best books of 2023 picks! I was completely enchanted by this story, especially because Meryl Streep reads the audiobook version.
Find this book in Best Books of 2023 / Novels Set on a Lake / Isolation Books / Family Dramas
Wrong Place Wrong Time
Author: Gillian McAllister
Year: 2022
Genre: Mystery Thriller
More info: August 2022 Reese’s Book Club Pick
Age Range: 15+
Plot
Jen is waiting for the 18-year-old son, Todd to return home the night before Halloween when she watches him come from the darkness and murder a total stranger by stabbing him. She does not know why her son would do this but her life is torn to pieces.
When she wakes up the next morning, she is shocked to discover that she has gone back to a day before the murder. Can she stop it from happening? First, she needs to find out why.
Now, each time Jen wakes up, she has gone further back in the past- days, weeks, and years before the murder ever happened.
Why Jackie loves it
This time travel mystery is one of the smartest and most captivating books I have ever read. It is an easy pick for a favorite book of the year.
Find this book in:Best Thriller Books / Best Time Loop Books
From Scratch by Tembi Locke
May 2019 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick
I knew what this book was about before reading it and I was still not prepared for the heartbreak and beauty within the pages. This memoir is truly a love letter to Tembi’s husband who died from cancer. This is an incredibly sad book that had me in tears.
The descriptions of the food, the people, and the love she had for her husband are unlike anything that I have read before. This is a five-star book about grief if you can read through heartache. It’s one of the Netflix book adaptations I’m planning on watching.
The Christie Affair
Author: Nine de Gramont
Year: 2022
Genre: Historical Mystery
More info: February 2022 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick
Age Range: 16+
Plot
I adored this mystery novel set during the 11 days of Agatha Christie’s disappearance. It’s told from the perspective of Christie’s husband’s mistress and it is utterly absorbing.
This biographical fiction novel is totally fictional because there is no account of what actually happened to Agatha Christie during her missing days. There are layers of mystery throughout, with a side of a love story.
Why Kirsten loves it
I never felt I would be able to sympathize with a mistress but I was cheering for her by the end. I was also enchanted by the setting of the small hotel. If you love historical mystery books, this is a must-read.
Find this book in: Biographical Fiction Novels / Historical Mystery Books / Hotel Novels / Ultimate List of Mystery Books
Daisy Jones & The Six
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Year: 2019
Genre: Historical Fiction
More info: March 2019 Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range: 16+
Plot
The book is laid out like a VH1 Behind the Music style interview. It’s laid out in chronological order about the making of the band Daisy Jones & the Six, but the story is told in interview style from a dozen sources.
It’s a story about the music scene of the 1970s in Hollywood when the band The Six meets Daisy Jones and together they rocket to superstardom! Among the drama of touring, there is also a forbidden love story or two, and plenty of crazy parties!
It’s truly the perfect mix of historical fiction, romance, and rock ‘n’ roll.
Why Kirsten loves it
This book needs to be listened to, not read. The audio version has a different narrator for each character and the performances are stupendous. I was overcome with emotion numerous times while I was listening.
Why Jackie loves it
This celebrity fiction story about the rise and fall of one of the hottest bands of the 70s was so utterly fabulous – it’s pure sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll in all the best ways.
Find this book in: Books Like Daisy Jones & The Six / Taylor Jenkins Reid Books in Order / Books Set in the 70s / Full Cast Audiobooks / Ultimate Beach Reads 2020
Read With Jenna – Jenna Bush Hager’s Book Club
Jenna Bush Hager started her book club on the Today show back in the spring of 2019. Her picks are generally stellar, with very few duds in the bunch.
They are often more literary than Reese’s picks and cover a variety of thought-provoking topics. You can see all of Jenna’s Book Club picks here, where we ranked them.
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
April 2024 Read with Jenna Book Club Pick
Think of this book as Sci-Fi lite. It calls upon sci-fi-based principles – mainly multiverses – but it doesn’t dwell on the scientific for even a moment.
The premise is simple. Lauren, a single woman, comes home one night to a husband she didn’t know she had. Her phone, friends, and photos in her apartment reflect this new life but she can’t remember it. And then something crazy happens.
He goes up to the attic to change a lightbulb and a new husband descends from the attic. Whenever a new husband emerges, the life around her shifts again. So with an endless supply of husbands, she finds herself torn between knowing when to send them back and when to keep one and start living.
Why I Loved It: Easily one of the most unique plots I’ve ever read. Even as a confirmed disliker of Sci-Fi books, I found this story compulsively readable. I had a blast watching Lauren try to figure out her life and the revolving door of husbands had me giggling at times. #gifted by PRH Audio
Find this book in Best Sci-Fi Books / Summer Reads 2024 / 2024 Fiction Favorites
Maame
Author: Jessica George
Year: 2023
Genre: Literary Fiction
More info: February 2023 Read with Jenna Book Club Pick
Age Range: 16+
Plot
This story about Maddie, known as Maame to her family, was immersive and beautifully complex. Dealing with friendships, racism, familial obligations, and then grief, this story swept me away. Maddie lives in London as the primary caretaker of her father who has Parkinson’s. Her mother spends most of her time in Ghana.
Trigger Warnings
Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness
Why Kirsten loves it
I felt fiercely protective of Maddie while reading this book. There were times I wanted to swoop in to relieve some of the burdens of this wonderful character with a heart of gold. But it was more rewarding to see Maddie finding her inner strength and learning to prioritize herself and her dreams. I can’t recommend this coming-of-age book about grief enough – especially as a book for book clubs.
Find this book in: Best Books of 2023 / Best Coming-of-age Books for Adults / Novels about Africa / Beach Reads 2023 / Fiction Books about Grief
Solito by Javier Zamora
September 2022 Read with Jenna Book Club Pick
I was blown away by Javier Zamora’s memoir about his solo journey to America. At just 9-years-old, he traversed 3,000 miles, to reunite with his parents in America.
While his grandpa accompanies him for the beginning of his journey, they soon have to part ways and he is left in the care of the adults traveling with him on his journey.
This book about immigration is one that is seared into my memory. I was so grateful for the mother on the journey that took him in as her own. Frustrated, sorrowful, and ultimately joy were all emotions I felt while reading this book. Its a best book of 2022 pick for me for sure.
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
A Read With Jenna Pick for February 2022
I absolutely loved this contemporary fiction which is a story about love, family, and acceptance. It captured me from the first page with the story and the writing.
When Eleanor Bennett dies, she leaves a voice recording for her two children Benny and Byron. She wants to tell them things about her life that she could not say when she was alive.
While listening to their mother’s story, Byron and Benny learn about their mother, family, and themselves. They try to piece their relationship back together. The novel looks at everyone’s lives in the present and the past, but in its essence, it is a book about motherhood.
Find this book in Books About Women in Sports / Books for Book Club / Books About Mothers / BIPOC Female Authors / Books with Color in the Title
Remarkably Bright Creatures
Author: Shelby Van Pelt
Year: 2022
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
More info: May 2022 Read with Jenna Book Club Pick
Instant New York Times Bestseller
Age Range: 12+
Plot
I haven’t read a novel with as much heart as this one in quite some time. Elderly, recently widowed Tova loves her job cleaning the aquarium in town in the quiet of the night, especially because of her fondness for Marcellus, the octopus. She finds solace in the aquarium as it makes her feel closer to her son, Erik – a marine life lover – who disappeared on a boat when he was 18.
But when she hurts herself and is unable to return to work at full capacity, she grows close with her replacement, Cameron, a young man who newly arrived in town looking for his birth mother.
Meanwhile, Marcellus knows what happened to Erik and he wants to help Tova find the closure she needs. His narration is interspersed with Tova and Cameron’s for a story that is compelling, heartwarming, and utterly unique.
I will be shoving this book into the hands of everyone who asks for a book recommendation because it’s my favorite book of 2022
Why Jackie loves it
This book has more heart than any book I have read in a long time. The unique perspective of a grumpy octopus may seem silly, but is brilliantly done and adds a unique perspective.
Why Kirsten loves it
The themes in this book, the plot, and the characters- especially Marcellus- really tugged at my heartstrings. I loved that Marcellus added some laughter and made me smile. I recently gave this book to my son and he adored it as much as I did.
Find this book in: Best Audiobooks of 2022 / Family Drama Books / Ultimate List of Feel-Good Books / Contemporary Fiction Books / Book Club Books
The Good Morning America Book Club
GMA’s answer to Read with Jenna was to host their own celebrity book club. This one launched in the Fall of 2019 and it’s probably the best one of the bunch.
It’s not one of the celebrity book clubs with the face of one celeb, but rather the whole cast of GMA morning show anchors. For the whole list of GMA books, ranked, check out this post.
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
April 2024 GMA Book Club Pick
The premise of this story is rather straightforward and sweet – Justin and Emma discover they both have a “curse” where people immediately find their soul mate AFTER dating them. To find their own happily ever afters, they decide to date each other and then break up.
Sounds fun and light, right? But it’s so much more! Each of them is going through some very serious family drama which adds intimacy and drama immediately to their relationship. Their relationships with the secondary characters also made my heart soar. The representations of friendship, family bonds, and found family really tugged at my heart.
Why I Loved it: The romance!! Omg the butterflies this story gave me. Justin and Emma’s relationship may be my favorite romance ever. The way they supported each other, cared for one another, and loved each other was perfection.
Find this book in Beach Reads 2024 / Lake Books / New Romance Books 2024
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
March 2024 Good Morning America Book Club Pick
2024 is the year of the thriller and this one doesn’t disappoint! Lucy is returning to her hometown for the first time since she was accused, but never charged, with murdering her best friend Savvy 5 years ago.
She has no memories of the night Savvy died, but she needs answers for herself. So she decides to team up with true crime podcaster, Ben Owens, to discover the truth – even if she’s implicated in the process.
Ben is real-time podcasting the whole investigation and his interviews are interspersed between chapters, revealing new insights each time.
Why I Love It: This is one mystery/thriller that is even better in audiobook format! The background noises and interviews bring the podcast to life. #gifted by Macmillan Audio
Find this book in Best Audiobooks / Best Beach Reads 2024 / New Mystery Books of 2024
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
December 2023 Good Morning America Book Club Pick
I was so excited to read this pick from the 2023 book releases and let me tell you that I was not disappointed!
This historical mystery is inspired by the diary of Martha Ballard, an 18th-century midwife, who never lost a single mother in over 1000 deliveries.
When a man found entombed in ice, also happens to be the same man accused of a horrible attack, Martha tries to seek justice for the women that nobody else wants to protect. This book is brilliantly written and so well-researched that I could not put it down.
Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
September 2023 Good Morning America Book Club Pick
Happiness Falls is a captivating and heartwrenching tale about a Korean-American family in Virginia. When her dad mysteriously vanishes, Mia is convinced there’s a logical explanation. But as the search unfolds, family secrets unravel, and Mia’s younger brother, who is non-speaking Autistic, becomes the only witness.
Packed with shocking twists and thought-provoking questions, this book explores love, language, disabilities, and the lengths a family will go to understand one another. It was more than just a mystery. It was an exploration of the bonds of family.
Dava Shastri’s Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti
Good Morning America Book Club December 2021 Pick
I DEVOURED this contemporary fiction story of a billionaire music mogul who releases her death announcement 2 days early so she can read her own end-of-life articles.
The best part was that during the snowstorm that trapped her family with her at the ski chalet, she neglected to tell them about her terminal illness and her harebrained scheme.
We get to see the impact the decision has on her family as well as get a look at her colorful life before her cancer diagnosis. This family saga book about motherhood was so compelling.
Oprah’s Book Club
And now we arrive at the OG. The queen bee of celebrity book clubs started picking best sellers back in 1996. After a brief hiatus, she relaunched Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 in 2012.
Oprah picks anywhere from 1-4 books a year and they are all heavy hitters. Deep, thought-provoking texts that can be hard to read at times, Oprah’s picks are best for when you are in a certain mood.
With over 88 book picks under her belt, we have her full ranked list in this post, but our favorites are below.
Hello Beautiful
Author: Ann Napolitano
Year: 2023
Genre: Literary Fiction
More info: March 2023 Oprah Book Club Pick
Age Range: 16+
Plot
I adored this family saga about the four Padavano sisters and the man that enters their family orbit. William Waters grew up in a house with indifferent parents, so he fell head over heels for Julia and then her family.
But William’s inner demons cause a rift between the sisters that shakes the family to its core and dramatically changes the dynamics between all the Padavanos. Told over decades, this story examines the ties that bind us to our family through the ebbs and flows of life.
Trigger Warnings
Suicide attempt, Mental illness
Why Kirsten loves it
As one of four children, this coming-of-age story really spoke to me. Napolitano does an incredible job of accurately depicting the individual sibling relationships with one another and the role each person plays within the larger family dynamic. It’s a tall order and a near-impossible challenge to nail the complexities of a big family, but Napolitano does it with aplomb.
Find this book in: Books About Sisters / Coming-of-age Books for Adults / Best Books of 2023 / Family Sagas
The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois by Honoree
August 2021 Oprah’s Book Club Pick
Wow. This is one of the best books I’ve listened to this year, and yes, I recommend it on audio for a few reasons.
First, the different narrators help tell this dual-timeline contemporary fiction. Through one narrator, we learn about Ailey’s life as an African American woman in the 20th century. The other narrator tells the story of the female ancestors of Ailey’s going all the way back to her Indigenous, black, and white relatives from two centuries earlier.
Through Ailey and her ancestors, the weight of what it means to be a black woman in America means. The sacrifices, injustices, struggles, and harassment endured by Ailey and her kin in the present day and the past are explored with a depth so real, I forgot it was a fictional story at times.
The second reason this book is great on audio? It’s LONG. It clocks in at over 800 pages or almost 30 hours of audiobook time. The narrators sucked me in and those 30 hrs flew by.
I will say, this book made me consider my White Privilege in a way no non-fiction book could have. It’s a heavy story, but very worth the read and a great book for book clubs.
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
June 2020 Oprah’s Book Club Pick
Stop everything and add Hidden Valley Road to your TBR now!! All I can say is wow! This favorite is one of the best books on Mental Illness and an absolutely fascinating non-fiction book.
This is the amazing story of Don and Mimi Galvin whose family paved the way for schizophrenia research over the past 50 years. Of their 12 children- 10 sons and 2 daughters, 6 of the boys have schizophrenia.
The struggles of this family to survive through the age of lobotomies and institutionalization provides a look into the history of this disorder. It’s unbelievable to think how far we’ve come and yet, we are not even close to understanding this disease.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
January 2004 Oprah Book Club Pick
This multi-generational family saga is about the Buendiá family and their hometown, the magical Maconda. It’s a comedy, a tragedy, and it looks at the rise and fall of the town’s founding family.
For the record, I read this book BEFORE Oprah picked it! We spent a semester learning about this family saga in high school. Each person was assigned a symbol to report on throughout the book each week.
Mine was goldfish -part of the symbolism of amnesia and the duality between amnesia and nostalgia. Yep. I still remember the lesson. Maybe the teaching contributed, but this remains one of my favorite books ever.
Find this book in Kirsten’s Favorites / Magical Realism Books / Classic Books
Night by Elie Weisel
January 2006 Oprah Book Club Pick
I have a personal story about this book. My husband’s grandmother grew up in the same town as Elie Weisel. She knew both him and his wife. This was the first thing that she told me when I met her (My husband’s name is also Elie but this is purely coincidental).
This is a must-read non-fiction book about the Holocaust written by the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. It is a short but very powerful book that will emotionally wreck you.
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