5 Celebrity Book Clubs We Love!

Book clubs used to be a quiet, living-room affair: a bottle of wine, a paperback passed around, maybe a heated debate over the ending. Today, thanks to celebrity powerhouses and the amplification capabilities of TikTok, book clubs have become cultural events, blending literary and lifestyle elements, and these celebrities are leading the charge to make reading great again!

1. Oprah Winfrey

Oprah didn’t invent the book club, but she turned it into a cultural phenomenon. Since launching Oprah’s Book Club in 1996, her influence has been unmatched; she can catapult a novel into global sales figures with a single pick. For decades, being chosen by Oprah has meant not only massive commercial success but also cultural legitimacy. She gravitates toward emotionally resonant stories, often epics grappling with identity, trauma, or redemption, that spark meaningful dialogue. Unlike newer, brand-driven clubs, Oprah’s impact feels timeless, rooted in her ability to connect deeply with readers. Even now, in the age of TikTok aesthetics and celebrity lifestyle branding, Oprah’s picks carry a weight that transcends trends. She is the original blueprint, and every celebrity-led book club that follows exists, in some way, in her shadow.

2. Reese Witherspoon

When Reese Witherspoon launched Reese’s Book Club in 2017, it was clear this wasn’t going to be a casual side project. The club became an empire. Each month, Reese selects a title, almost always female-authored, often with a propulsive, character-driven narrative, and the effect is immediate: bestseller status, expanded readership, and a media blitz that can make even a debut novelist a household name. What sets Reese apart is her pipeline to Hollywood. Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine, has adapted (or optioned) multiple picks, including Little Fires Everywhere and Where the Crawdads Sing. This dual role of book recommender and producer makes her club a launchpad for publishing success. If Oprah’s stamp of approval is legacy, Reese’s is future-facing: the next book-to-screen sensation waiting to happen.

3. Kaia Gerber

Kaia Gerber’s Library Science Lit Collective speaks to a younger, image-driven audience. While Reese’s picks live on bestseller lists, Kaia’s choices often live on Instagram feeds and BookTok mood boards. Her aesthetic is distinctly indie: slim novels, poetry collections, and buzzy titles from small presses that double as stylish coffee table props. Gerber frequently shares her reading life online -- photos of books stacked beside cappuccinos or underlined passages that look tailor-made for reposting. For her fans, reading becomes an integral part of her personal brand: a way to signal sophistication, intelligence, and discerning taste. The collective is less about the plot and more about the vibe. In Kaia’s hands, reading isn’t homework; it’s fashion, art, and cultural cachet rolled into one.

4. Emma Roberts

Emma Roberts co-founded Belletrist in 2017 with her best friend Karah Preiss, and together they’ve built a reputation for spotlighting female authors and titles that might otherwise slip through the cracks. Belletrist isn’t about the obvious picks; it’s about discovering that book you’ve never heard of but suddenly can’t stop seeing everywhere. The selections skew literary, often featuring under-the-radar talent or thematically bold works. Roberts, who frequently posts her own annotated copies, brings a bookish sincerity that resonates with readers craving substance beyond the hype cycle. Belletrist also leans into digital culture, hosting Instagram Live discussions with authors and building a community where literature and social media coexist rather than clash. 

5. BookTok

But the real accelerant? TikTok. On BookTok, fans document their outfits for meetings (blazers and loafers for literary chic, slip dresses for poetry night), annotate passages with colorful tabs like they’re sacred texts, and create mood boards for each month’s pick. These clubs aren’t just about reading; they’re about belonging to a curated aesthetic where the right tote bag and underlined quote carry as much weight as the book itself.

For publishers, the impact is impossible to ignore. A celebrity endorsement can reshape a title’s trajectory, and readers who once bought one book a season are now collecting stacks of hardcovers to keep up. The question is less about whether celebrity book clubs sell books (they do) and more about what kind of books get chosen. The pressure to align with a celebrity’s brand, whether Reese’s penchant for filmable narratives or Kaia’s affinity for minimalist cool, means these selections are never neutral.

Still, there’s something undeniably exciting about watching reading become aspirational again. For all the performative elements, these clubs remind us that stories matter, that people will gather, online and off, to discuss characters, share annotations, and turn a solitary act into a communal one. Whether that community is built around actual novels or Instagrammable vibes may be beside the point.