Book Blog: Fantasy Celebrity Book Clubs

Emma Watson launched her very own online book club last month, beginning 2016 with a 200 page memoir. Personally I enjoyed some leftover turkey – each to their own and what not. The fan branded club, “Our Shared Selves”, is Watson’s very own feminist reading group. Open to anyone who wants to share a book a month with the literary Twittersphere and share your opinion with a rating on Goodreads.com.

The first recommendation was Gloria Steinem’s recent autobiography “My Life on the Road”, and it went down a hoot. As a self-professed popular culture junkie, I naturally ordered the book immediately and ignored my degree for a few days to demolish it – because obviously I couldn’t fall behind on the reading list for a club in which no one knows I exist. The silver lining of the cloud that is my procrastination, is that Steinem’s book is well worth a read; especially for a history of American politics, the swinging sixties and some wonderfully poetic one liners.

Looking at  February’s suggested reading, it seems likely Watson, who graduated with a degree in English Literature from Brown University, will create a list fit for her on-screen counterpart Hermione Granger. The £30 million in her bank account would also buy a LOT of books on amazon prime, let me tell you.

This led me to imagine what a reading list would look like from some other famous faces, or their fictional alter-egos. So, in case you are lacking the time or feminist passion for Watson’s new twitter gang, you can go forth and enjoy these fictional celebrity book-clubs without turning a single page (*some scrolling may be required).

1.     Beyoncé (this is a club I would pay an actual membership fee to be part of) – Considering the levels of perfection Queen B has reached, it seems inevitable she will release her own bible of wisdom at some point. But until that time, readers might be given a selection of lifestyle books on how to achieve that hair flick or take the perfect ‘candid’ family shot.  Perhaps “Women in the Town”, a collection of photographs created by Giuseppe Santamaria, displaying the unique styles of women in cities across the globe or some historic vogue issues would make the cut.

2.     Amy Schumer – as one of the only Hollywood celebrities who still seems to have one foot in our mere human world (I think we’ve lost Jennifer Lawrence to the other side). Amy’s reading list would likely be relatable and hilarious. I’m thinking some down to earth self-help such as “F*** I’m in my twenties” which is sure to make us all feel better about our student lives. Given her popularity on the stage, maybe some books about her fellow female comedians would also make the list, such as Amy Poehler’s successful “Yes Please” or Mindy Kaling’s “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)”.

3.     Angelia Jolie – as a renowned mother, humanitarian, actress (must I continue?), this lady’s reading club would likely be intellectual and eye-opening. Equally, a book club made up of the original texts behind each of the actresses’ film roles would be amazing. From Susanna Kaysen’s “Girl Interrupted” to Laura Hillenbrand’s “Unbroken”, Jolie’s filmography would meet any reader’s favourite genre!

4.     Barack Obama – With the end of his presidency one step closer, we can dream that Obama will have some free time to run a book club for his supporters. Personally I think he would need to start with “A Dummies’ Guide to Politics” or I might have to quit after week one. Obama’s own books including “The Audacity of Hope” would make a nice addition, and a few suggestions from FLOTUS wouldn’t go astray considering her well-publicised sense of humour. (For further proof of this see the Minion dubsmash she uploaded on her twitter last week.) 

5.     Leslie Knope – There is no doubt that Amy Poehler’s TV double would be promoting her very own book “Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America” to her avid club members. At first I thought this might be a far-fetched dream, but alas, amazon actually stocks this gem. With Leslie’s creative obsessions and political aspirations, I like to think Hilary Clinton’s memoir and some crafting guides would be soon to follow.

Enjoy!

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