Celebrities love to start book clubs.
Acted in a few movies? Book club.
Toured your music a couple times? Book club.
Have your own talk show? Book club.
At this point, it almost seems like a rite of passage.
But are these book clubs any good? Can the monthly recommendations of the rich and famous really be trusted by the humble reader?
Or should we turn to other sources for our next rec?
Oprah’s Book Club
By Oprah Winfrey
Format: 1 book per month + a Q&A with the author (including questions from audience members)
Main Genres: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Memoirs/Non-Fiction, Classics
Past Picks:
- Kin – Tayari Jones
- Some Bright Nowhere – Ann Packer
- A Guardian and a Thief – Magha Majumdar
- All the Way to the River – Elizabeth Gilbert
- Bridge of Sighs – Richard Russo
Rating: 3 / 5 stars
Review: This year marks 30 years since the inauguration of one of the most notorious celebrity book clubs. Congrats Oprah!
With such a long track record, Oprah has paved the way for many acclaimed celebs to follow. Without her, I may not even have enough book clubs to review for this article.
Many of her choices are solid, including Ocean Vuong’s Emperor of Gladness, and Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead to name a few.
And there’s a real mix! From poignant memoirs to visceral historical re-tellings, and even Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, there’s enough material to satisfy most people.
But despite the glittering spotlight Oprah’s Book Club receives each month, I’ve got a few issues.
For most celebrities, commercialisation is a key source of income. In our capitalist society, this isn’t anything out of the ordinary.
But with Oprah, it goes a bit too far for my comfort. Since December 2024, she conducts a monthly author Q&A, with readers/fans invited to sit in the audience and ask questions throughout.
This concept in itself enables some really insightful discussion, and it’s always nice to hear the voice of ‘normal’ people. But it’s very jarring watching these interviews when the entire thing is produced on a Starbucks set, with Starbucks branding scattered everywhere.
For Elizabeth Gilbert’s interview, the Starbucks logo is literally the first thing you see (not to mention the disputes surrounding her book in the first place).
I didn’t sign up to have my subconscious branded with the face of a very controversial company, when all I want is to read and talk about books!!!
So despite some genuinely interesting book suggestions, and her ability to seriously change the shape of author’s lives and dramatically affect their sales (otherwise known as the ‘Oprah Effect’), the over-commercialisation goes a bit too far for my liking.
Am I receiving a book recommendation every month, or a sales pitch?
Oprah, you get 3 stars.
Reese’s Book Club
By ReeSe Witherspoon
Format: 1 book per month + author message + a podcast episode (every few weeks) + regular Substack articles
Main Genres: Women’s Fiction, Thriller/Mystery, Romance, Young Adult
Past Picks:
- Lady Tremaine – Rachel Hochhauser
- In Her Defense – Phillipa Malicka
- The First Time I Saw Him – Laura Dave
- The Heir Apparent – Laura Armitage
- Wild Dark Shore – Charlotte McConaghy
Rating: 4 / 5 stars
Review: Reese Witherspoon’s book club is all about celebrating women. Literally. The number one criterion is that all books must be written by a female author and/or centre around a woman.
While it’s never a bad idea to spotlight the voices of women, this is something to keep in mind if you (for some reason) have a particular disinclination against reading women’s stories.
I must admit, Reese does a good job of bringing smaller authors onto a bigger stage. While there are some very well-known authors thrown in the mix (like Emily Henry and R. F. Kuang), many are new to me.
There’s also a great selection of diverse cultures and themes which is always good to see, such as Nemonte Nenquimo’s stories of her Waorani Indigenous people in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
As someone who reads to gain fresh perspectives, Reese’s picks have opened my eyes to some really incredible books. Gotta give credit where credit is due.
But compared to the hour long author interviews and thorough reviews published by other book clubs (*cough Dua Lipa cough*), Reese’s feels a bit lacklustre.
Sure, it meets the criteria of a book club. But only a 30s video summing up your thoughts on each month’s book … seriously Reese?
Also not a fan of the non-removable stickers that end up on the cover of every Reese’s Book Club edition! Not a problem if you are an avid Reese’s Book Club aficionado, but for the non-members, it’s a rather ugly stamp to permanently have on a book that you can’t get a different edition of.
To talk about Reese’s Book Club means to also talk about her production company, Hello Sunshine. Reese and her team have struck up a pretty neat deal in which her company gets the rights to the books featured in her club. This allows them to be turned into TV shows and films, many of which Reese herself stars in or produces.
When you are getting paid $2M per episode, it’s a quite a compelling deal for her and her team.
Similarly to Oprah, these money-making ulterior motives have become heavily intwined with the book clubs themselves, leading me to question the authenticity of each pick.
But, it’s nice to have a space that celebrates a wide mix of female authors, and brings many of these titles to the big screen.
Reese’s Book Club overall? Not terrible, but not outstanding.
4 stars.
Service95 Book Club
By Dua Lipa
Format: One book per month + a 30 min to 1 hour recorded conversation between Dua Lipa & the author of that month’s book + several subsidiary articles for each book
Main Genres: Literary Fiction, Memoirs, Global & Translated Fiction
Past Picks:
- Bad Feminist – Roxanne Gay
- The Son of Man – Jean-Baptiste Del Amo
- Night People – Mark Ronson
- Brightly Shining – Ingvild Rishøi
- The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars
Review: Dua acts as an instigator of really insightful conversation which, to be honest, has become increasingly difficult to find in celebrity culture today.
It’s a breath of fresh air to see a celebrity actually having a genuine conversation with an author, and you can tell she (or someone on her team) has actually done their homework.
The questions are personal, reflective, nuanced, and deep.
They challenge the authors’ own perceptions of their texts, and have been praised by journalists, writers, and readers alike.
When listening to one of her interviews, it’s not uncommon to hear the author say “That’s a really interesting question. I’ve never been asked that before.” So it’s nice to see someone pay attention to what they’re reading and who they’re talking to.
The authenticity doesn’t go unnoticed, and neither do the very interesting articles written by the Service95 Team for each selection.
Like every celebrity book club, Dua’s also falls complicit to critiques of smothering up budgets that would otherwise go to smaller creators, or over-the-top promotions on carefully curated Instagram feeds.
Out of all celebrity book clubs though, and even just book clubs in general, Dua Lipa’s Service95 is one of my most trusted.
It’s the one I reach for when I’m in the mood for something profound, complex, and possibly life-altering. And it’s the one I know always delivers quality collateral information for every book.
I’m a fan of Dua, and I’m a fan of her book club.
4.5 stars.
The Verdict
While celebrity book clubs have hailed criticism for their elitist connotations or money-making motives, it must be admitted that their power to direct attention and revenue to lesser-known authors is impressive.
Whether they intend to or not, each of these celebrity book clubs uses their platform in some way to shine a spotlight on a story and give us, the readers, more insight.
Ultimately, I think that does more good than damage.
Celebrity book clubs: 4 stars.
Original images by Alison Kennelly