In the ever-constant journey of finding creative ways to choose books for my TBR, I turn to some of my favorite celebrities to see what they’ve read. I’m a big fan of BookTube, and I’ve seen BookTubers posts videos on reading the favorite books of notable celebrities. It seemed fun. I wanted to do the same.
So I set out to search. I wanted to find celebrities who read a lot in many genres, and I also wanted to find celebrities who are looking for diverse voices in their reading life. In the end, it was the celebrities whose reading recommendations made the difference. Here’s a look at celebrities who read diversely and the books they recommend.
Oh, and if you’d like to see this experiment taken to the next level, I’ll follow up where I read the books recommended by any of these celebrities and officially judge their reading tastes. So stay tuned!
Trevor Noah
i’m a big fan of The daily show, and host Trevor Noah often discusses new books in the series. I’m often skeptical of talk show hosts who insert books into their shows – without specifically calling out anyone, but like, there’s no way they Actually read them all, right? Except…it’s pretty clear Trevor Noah actually Is read all these books. And he has quite a few favorite books that it is recommended.
Some of Noah’s favorites include long walk to freedom by Nelson Mandela, Back home by Yaa Gyasi, To quote myself: a memoir by Khaya Dlanga, and Indigenous life in South Africa by Sol Plaatje.
Oh, what if you made it to 2022 and haven’t read Trevor Noah’s memoir Born a crime yet, what are you doing? Read it now. You will laugh. You will cry. Ten out of five stars.
Ali Wang
You might know actress, comedian and writer Ali Wong from her beloved Netflix stand-up specials Baby Cobra, bride of the hard blow, and Don Wong. Maybe you like his movie Always be my maybe, in which she starred, wrote and produced. Or maybe you read his book Dear Girls: Intimate Stories, Untold Secrets, and Tips for Living Your Best Life. However you got to know Ali Wong, you’ll be pleased to know that she loves to read, too.
Some of Ali Wong favorite books to understand Small fires everywhere by Celeste Ng, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, Sing, without burial, sing by Jesmyn Ward, The magic of life-changing storage by Marie Kondo, and Back home by Yaa Gyasi. Yes, it’s true. This is a second celebrity endorsement for Back home.
Reese Witherspoon
Of course, I had to end with some of the more obvious choices. You’re probably very familiar with Reese Witherspoon’s reading tastes because of her. very popular book club. Reese’s Book Club focuses on female-centric stories, but the types of stories and perspectives presented are very diverse.
Reese Witherspoon has recommended over 50 books through her book club, including Seven days in June by Tia Williams, Mina Lee’s Last Story by Nancy Jooyoun Kim, You should see me in a crown by Lea Johnson, Such a fun age by Kiley Reid, and Small fires everywhere by Celeste Ng. If you’re counting, yeah, that’s two votes for Small fires everywhere.
Of course, Reese Witherspoon also has her own book. So if you need even more Reese in your life, check out Whiskey in a tea cup.
Oprah Winfrey
And to end this list, we had to end with the queen of book clubs, Oprah Winfrey. Oprah’s book club started as a book segment on his talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1996. Today, in 2022, Oprah’s Book Club is probably the most influential book club of all time. Oprah loves to read and support the books she loves.
Here are some of the remarkable books that Oprah has championed over the years: The love songs of WEB Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, The sweetness of water by Nathan Harris, Caste by Isabelle Wilkerson, A nice balance by Rohinton Mistry, Fortune’s Daughter by Isabel Allende, and several novels by Toni Morrison: Song of Solomon, Sula, Heavenand The bluest eye. Yeah, that’s two celebrity votes for The eye of the blues.
I would like to quickly note that all of the people on this list are BIPOC women and/or celebrities. So white men, again, I’m going to need you to do better.
Want more celebrity content? Check out these 8 celebrity novels to add to your TBR. And here’s a look at the history of the celebrity book. Finally, here are 15 celebrity-recommended books.
