Celebrity Book Club Picks This Winter

“I read the article once, twice, then a third time. Finally, I put it aside but the story followed me. I couldn’t get it out of my mind,” says author Nina de Gramont about Agatha Christie’s 11-day disappearance in 1926. In this devilishly clever novel — and Reese’s Book Club pick — de Gramont weaves intricate storylines between Christie, her husband, and his mistress to reimagine the scandal that still remains shrouded in mystery.

A strange, Bible-esque journey peppered with jokes about the human experience, “Pure Colour” is about living in the first draft of Creation — and what happens when whatever force that created it is ready to tear it apart. Unlike anything she’s written before, Heti fans should expect the unexpected, which is part of the beauty of her newest release. With its mission to highlight unique perspectives and voices, it’s no surprise this became the February pick for Amerie’s Book Club.

A scathing commentary on the assumptions and stereotypes about mothers and the government powers that separate families, Chan’s dystopian drama is a page-turner. Frida Liu’s recent divorce may be the last straw, but at least she has her 18-month-old daughter — until she doesn’t. When the single mom leaves her child home alone for two hours, she’s sent to a rehabilitation facility where she must be a surrogate mother to other children in order to earn back her own. This is Jenna Bush Hager’s January pick for her book club — she calls it “captivating, thought-provoking, and beautifully written.”

Lucky has lived a nice life through successfully scamming people, but her luck is starting to turn. Her equally scheming boyfriend has made off with all their money and she’s wanted by the police. Glimpses of her past are revealed as the plot is propelled by her increasingly desperate attempts to dodge the cops to cash in on her $390 million lottery ticket. “​​This is such an electric story about an unconventional heroine,” Reese Witherspoon said of her first book club pick by a Canadian novelist.

“I have never read a book that addresses mental health and alcoholism in as transparent and beautiful a way as ‘Bright Burning Things,’” Jenna Bush Hager says of her December Read With Jenna book club pick. Harding’s novel follows alcoholic mother Sonya as she makes poor choice after poor choice while still trying to be a devoted, caring mom to her son, Tommy. This is a devastating story of a mother’s love for her son in danger of being drowned out by her personal demons.

This short story collection from Veasna So, who died unexpectedly in 2020 on the verge of breaking through as a literary star, was an instant hit. Irreverent, funny, and raw, “Afterparties” paints a vibrant portrait of growing up queer in a Cambodian American community, with an older, refugee generation that survived the Khmer Rouge genocide and a younger generation that wants to do more than survive. Roxane Gay selected “Afterparties” as the December 2021 pick for her Audacious Book Club.