By Megan Mclean, Fourth Year English
In recent years, books have been trending. Celebrities have been pictured walking with books almost like they're a designer bag, promoting their interest in literature and casting themselves as intellectuals instead of indulging the bimbo stereotypes pushed onto a lot of women in creative industries. Some celebs with genuine interest in books have started their own book clubs to share their passion with their followers: so which one is the best?
This is entirely subjective as everyone has different taste in books; ultimately if you are reading you are informing yourself and engaging with the cultural landscape. All reading is reading! Which sounds like an ineffectual statement, of course reading is reading, but I mean to say that regardless of what genres you read it doesn't diminish your status as a reader. So, with that disclaimer in mind, my comments on these book clubs will mostly be to do with how the celebrity engages with their audience.
Service95 book club - Dua Lipa
I'm starting with one of my favourites, because I truly believe she is redefining the so-called celebrity book club landscape. Dua Lipa's passion for books radiates from her book club, I think there is a predetermined idea that the celebrities don't engage with their pages and started these clubs for commercial benefit - but I don't think there is a world where this can be argued for Service95.
With frequent updates on social media such as Instagram, the members can truly feel as if they are part of a community and it isn't simply recommendations (which isn't necessarily a bad thing!). The Instagram in particular is beautifully curated, it is colourful and aesthetically ties together really well. Service95 as a whole is a brand founded by Dua Lipa that describes itself as your 'cultural concierge', it is a hub for anyone who has interest in what is occurring in the creative industries. The book club specifically features her personal recommendations and branches off into a podcast as well which features her interviews with the authors of these books. Her interviewing style is curious and engaging, a lot of authors being impressed by the richness of her questions and being elated to be able to discuss their work in such depth.
Additionally, she recommends such an incredible breadth of books: it's not just your white male centred school curriculum. It is primarily literary fiction she promotes, so if that isn't your genre then perhaps this is one to miss. Some previous picks have been: There There by Tommy Orange, Ocean Vuong's On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous and Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.
Oprah's book club
The classic, the original some may say. I think when celebrity book clubs is brought up in conversation, Oprah's is the first many people think of. It is renowned in society and its prominence is emphasised by the references that are made to it in modern films and pop culture, if anyone has watched Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out film, then you may remember it being featured as part of a comedic scene in there.
It is not just the notoriety that makes this book club appealing however, for one it has been established for so long there is a plentiful list of excellent recommendations to sink you teeth into, even if you don't feel ready to commit yourself to the monthly reading schedule. The full list of book club picks is formatted on the website in such an accessible manner, with the option to filter by tags of your preferred genres, you are sure to find your next read within the list. From historical fiction such as Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan to non-fiction like All The Way To The River by Elizabeth Gilbert.
Oprah herself appears to just be the figurehead of the whole operation nowadays, her involvement with the running of the club seems to be limited, but she does feature on the page occasionally. I think overall, the book club's reputation for elevating many authors onto bestsellers lists is impressive, but it is largely just a page dedicated to giving a variety of recommendations.
Teatime book club - Dakota Johnson
I'm putting this one in here because I think it has an awful lot of potential, but as of right now it still feels like it is only just getting its foundations set. There isn't a clear distinction between her own public profile and her production company's, with the book club bleeding across the two of them. The picks thus far have been intriguing, a mix of classics and contemporary fiction written primarily by women about women: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and The Dilemmas of Working Women by Fumio Yamamoto to name a couple. Dakota Johnson herself comes across in interviews as effortless cool, witty and her candour is delightfully refreshing. This is why I think Teatime has potential, I just think some distinctions between the production company and the book club are needed and for Dakota Johnson to inject some more of her personality into the community. She is also encouraging people to buy from independent bookshops, which in this economic landscape are becoming increasingly important to support.
Inklings - Jack Edwards
Now, while Jack Edwards is not a celebrity in the conventional sense he is certainly a public figure: with his brand being curated around books I couldn't ignore him in this article. It may be slightly because of personal bias, myself following his youtube career for the last eight years, but his trajectory into the public sphere is impressive. From making videos during his time at Durham University to now being branded as 'The Internet's Resident Librarian' and founding his book club Inklings in July of last year. Right, fangirl moment over. Inklings exudes everything that Jack Edwards has proclaimed to love over the years, it champions literary fiction as a genre and translated fiction. It boasts a huge community over on the bookish app Fable, where individuals can discuss their thoughts on the books chapter by chapter. He also executes fascinating celebrity interviews, from your favourite authors to
the stars of upcoming book adaptations sharing their favourite reads. Their current read is Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, a novel that I expect has popped onto everyone's radar recently with the release of Emerald Fennell's adaptation.
Honourable Mentions - Reese Witherspoon's book club & Vogue's book club
A couple of other book clubs I wish to mention briefly are Reese Witherspoon's and the emergence of Vogue's new book club
Reese's book club is by far the most popular out there at the moment, and with her solely choosing books with women at the centre of the narratives it is an excellent option for people who are looking to engage with more women-led narratives.
Alex Boersma
Amelia McCabe
Interestingly, while I was compiling this list, Vogue's newly announced book club popped onto my radar. Unsurprisingly, their first pick is also Wuthering Heights. It left me with a lot of questions about the notion that inspired the hook of this article. In their article where they launch the club, they proclaim themselves 'from the ubiquity of BookTok to the popularity of IRL reading retreats and the rise of the going-out book... presents the perfect opportunity for Vogue to get in on the fun'. They appear to be seizing onto the increasing 'coolness' of reading. I'm intrigued as someone who has had reading as a hobby for a long time (and studies English lit) how they will handle this going forward.
I hope I have managed to either inspire you to join one of these book clubs, do your own research maybe into joining a local one or simply made you want to pick up a book! Being a reader is cool! That definitely is personal bias though...
Featured image: Megan McClean
Have you been part of a book club?
