{"id":62177,"date":"2025-08-12T18:12:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T18:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/62177\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T18:12:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T18:12:07","slug":"what-are-dua-lipa-and-reese-witherspoon-reading-this-summer-seven-celebrity-book-club-recommendations-for-august-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/62177\/","title":{"rendered":"What are Dua Lipa and Reese Witherspoon reading this summer? Seven celebrity book club recommendations for August | People"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bookworm Summer \u2014 synonymous with hours of reading, the luxury of having free time in your schedule, and books as the must-have accessory \u2014 is one of this summer\u2019s dominant trends. Many celebrities are helping cement it through their book clubs. Since Oprah Winfrey launched her Oprah\u2019s Book Club<\/a> in the 1990s, stars like actress Reese Witherspoon and singer Dua Lipa have followed suit, creating their own \u2014 Reese\u2019s Book Club<\/a> and Service 95<\/a>, respectively. Beyond recommending books each month, they foster a community of readers and a space where they share their passion for literature.<\/p>\n

Below are six August picks from celebrity book clubs that, thanks to their influence, land their monthly selections on bestseller lists.<\/p>\n

1. Dua Lipa: \u2018This House of Grief\u2019 by Helen Garner<\/p>\n

Whether intentionally or not, Dua Lipa<\/a> is creating a new postmodern, digital literary canon \u2014 something Spotify has recognized, having hosted the singer\u2019s literary podcast on its platform since last June. The recommendations from her book club, Service 95, are not aimed at an elite audience, nor do they include only classic authors; they are predominantly female and embrace a variety of genres.<\/p>\n

\u201cI absolutely love reading, I love the idea of sharing how books make people feel\u2026 books are really important to me and if I can share that in some way, then I feel like I\u2019m on the right track,\u201d the artist told the British edition of Elle magazine<\/a> on June 5, 2023.<\/p>\n

The artist\u2019s recommendation for August is not a new release: it is the 2014 book This House of Grief by Helen Garner. The book tells the story of the murder conviction of a man accused of driving his car into a dam, causing the drowning deaths of his three children, who were in the back seat of the vehicle.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelen takes us inside the real-life trial of Robert Farquharson and invites us to join her as she sits through days of detailed evidence, weeks of witness testimony and years of appeals. What she reveals along the way is not simply a courtroom drama but a sharp and forensic analysis of the human condition,\u201d the singer said about the 300-page book in a message on Instagram<\/a>, where she has 88.1 million followers.<\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cThis is what really drew me to Helen\u2019s writing. She\u2019s not looking for monsters \u2014 her interest lies with ordinary people who seem to have been pushed beyond their emotional limits. As the trial progresses, I found myself questioning my own reactions, asking myself less, Did he do it? and instead, Is it possible to have empathy for this man, even if he did the worst thing imaginable?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough Helen has been writing for almost 50 years, her work is new to me and it\u2019s a thrilling discovery. She\u2019s one of the most fascinating writers I have come across in recent years, and I\u2019m sure that, like me, you\u2019ll find yourself diving into her back catalogue,\u201d the singer concluded.<\/p>\n

2. Dakota Johnson: \u2018Make Your Way Home\u2019 by Carrie R. Moore<\/p>\n

Actress Dakota Johnson<\/a> launched TeaTime<\/a>, her book club under the umbrella of the production company TeaTime Pictures<\/a>, in February 2024. Its recommendations focus on debut female authors and female perspectives, aiming to create critical reading spaces.<\/p>\n

In August, Johnson and her followers are reading Make Your Way Home (2025), a book of 11 short stories by Carrie R. Moore. \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful debut collection of stories set across the American South, featuring characters who struggle to find love and belonging in the wake of painful histories,\u201d the actress posted on the book club\u2019s Instagram profile<\/a>, which has 85,400 followers. <\/p>\n

The message continued: \u201cMake Your Way Home follows Black men and women who grapple with the homes that have eluded them. A preteen pregnant alongside her mother refuses to let convention dictate who she names as the father of her child. Centuries after slavery separated his ancestors, a native Texan tries to win over the love of his life despite the grip of a family curse. A young deaconess who falls for a new church member wonders what it means when God stops speaking to her. And at the very end of the South as we know it, two sisters seek to escape North to freedom.\u201c<\/p>\n

According to TeaTeim, the book \u201cexplores themes of belonging, inheritance, and deep intimacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. Oprah Winfrey: \u2018Bridge of Sighs\u2019 by Richard Russo<\/p>\n

The general concept of celebrity book clubs is the same, but each host develops it in their own way. In terms of reach and infrastructure, the benchmark is Oprah Winfrey\u2019s Oprah\u2019s Book Club<\/a>. It has been running for 28 years, recommending over 100 books, and thanks to its creator\u2019s popularity, it boosts the sales of every selection.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy next pick is Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo,\u201c Oprah Winfrey told her Instagram followers<\/a>, where she has more than 22 million followers. \u201dIt\u2019s a powerful story about unrequited love, life-long friendships, epic family drama, and the grip of the past. One man\u2019s small-town life takes a turn when a trip to Venice reopens old wounds and forgotten dreams. It makes you wonder: Can you truly overcome your destiny?”<\/p>\n

4. Reese Witherspoon: \u2018Once Upon a Time in Dollywood\u2019 by Ashley Jordan<\/p>\n

For her book club, actress and producer Reese Witherspoon<\/a> selects books written by women, with women at the center of the plot and protagonists who save themselves, \u201cbecause that\u2019s what women do. No one\u2019s coming to save us,\u201d she told The New York Times<\/a> on May 26, 2024. <\/p>\n

The Oscar-winning actress built an empire from Reese\u2019s Book Club by merging it in 2017 with her media company Hello Sunshine and starting a process of acquiring and selling film and TV rights for the books she recommends. Examples of adaptations under her belt include Wild (2014), Gone Girl (2014), and the first season of Big Little Lies (2017).<\/p>\n

For August, she\u2019s picked up Once Upon a Time in Dollywood (2025) by Ashley Jordan. \u201cIt\u2019s about this Haitian-American playwright. And she\u2019s burned out on her life in the city in New York. So she goes down to her grandmother\u2019s tiny little cabin in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where there happens to be a very handsome guy that lives next door,\u201d she said in a video on Instagram<\/a>, where she has more than 30 million followers. \u201cIt\u2019s funny and it\u2019s real, and you feel like you\u2019re talking to one of your best friends.\u201d <\/p>\n

In the accompanying message, Witherspoon wrote, \u201cAshley\u2019s voice is vibrant, funny, and full of heart. I read this in one sitting, it\u2019s that good!\u201d<\/p>\n

5. Emma Roberts: \u2018How to Lose Your Mother\u2019 by Molly Jong-Fast<\/p>\n

To share her immense love of reading, Emma Roberts founded Belletrist in 2017<\/a> with her best friend Karah Preiss. \u201cI started posting books on my Instagram and one day I was like, We should really do this for real,\u201d the actress told Elle magazine<\/a> on April 11 of that year. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing for us is to keep it organic, and to always pick books that we love and believe people would want to read,\u201d she continued. \u201cTo us it\u2019s really about spotlighting people that excite us, and that could be someone as famous and prolific as Joan Didion or it could be someone who has never written a book before.\u201d<\/p>\n

For August, Emma Roberts book club has picked How to Lose Your Mother (2025) by Molly Jong-Fast. \u201cMolly Jong-Fast is the only child of a famous woman, writer Erica Jong, whose sensational book Fear of Flying [in 1973] launched her into second-wave feminist stardom,\u201c explained the Belletrist Instagram post.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201dShe grew up yearning for a connection with her dreamy, glamorous, just out of reach mother, who always seemed to be heading somewhere that wasn\u2019t with Molly. When, in 2023, Erica was diagnosed with dementia just as Molly\u2019s husband discovered he had a rare cancer, Jong-Fast was catapulted into a transformative year.\u201d<\/p>\n

6. Natalie Portman: \u2018A Different Kind of Power\u2019 by Jacinda Ardern<\/p>\n

\u201cReading stories is one of the first ways we start practicing empathy. We feel for characters in stories as we might for ourselves or our own friends.\u201d With these words, actress Natalie Portman<\/a> welcomes everyone to her book club, Natalie\u2019s Book Club. <\/a><\/p>\n

Her book club includes interviews with writers recommended by the actress and monthly book recommendations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to find books that deepen our connection to ourselves and to each other,\u201d she says on the website<\/a>. \u201cSeeing yourself reflected in a character can be just as eye-opening as empathizing with a character who you might not readily identify with.\u201d<\/p>\n

So far, the actress has not recommended any reading for August. However, she did for last month. Her pick was A Different Kind of Power (2025), by former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t think of a better time to read Jacinda Ardern\u2019s memoir \u2014 the story of how she became New Zealand\u2019s 40th prime minister, but it is also a story of motherhood, vulnerability, how to lead with compassion. Thank you for writing this book and for inspiring us to reimagine what power and leadership can look like,\u201d Portman wrote on her book club\u2019s Instagram page<\/a>, which has 175,000 followers.<\/p>\n

7. Jenna Bush Hager: \u2018My Other Heart\u2019 by Emma Nanami Strenner<\/p>\n

As a passionate reader, Jenna Bush Hager founded Read With Jenna<\/a> in 2019. \u201cOur mission is to highlight debut and diverse writers,\u201d the Today show co-host shared with People magazine <\/a>on August 4. \u201cDiverse stories, stories that haven\u2019t always historically been published or listened to, I think is really important\u2026 We want to make sure that all of America is really represented in the stories that we\u2019re sharing.”<\/p>\n

Authors featured on Read With Jenna range from Toni Morrison<\/a> to Sandra Cisneros.<\/p>\n

For this August, Bush Hager has chosen My Other Heart (2025) by Emma Nanami Strenner: \u201cThis novel is full of motherhood and friendship and identity and loss \u2014 I fell in love with each character and was grasping for more with every chapter,” she said in a message on Instagram<\/a>. <\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cSet between Pennsylvania and Japan, the story follows a mother who was devastatingly separated from her daughter, and two best friends on the brink of adulthood, each searching for where they come from\u2014and where they belong. When the three paths finally intersect in an unforgettable climax, we are left with a story full of heart, honesty, and power. It\u2019s intelligent, moving, and just so gorgeously written.” <\/p>\n

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