Celeb Book Clubs You've Probably Never Heard Of

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The rise of social media has brought us both the good and the bad, but one of the most-positive movements to come out of widespread digital communication is the evolution of the celebrity book club. Stars had book clubs long before they could jump online and invite their readers to join the conversation — just ask Oprah, whose book club began with an unforgettable thriller in 1996. But thanks to platforms like Instagram and TikTok (or should we say, Bookstagram and BookTok), even celebrities without their own TV shows can create like-minded communities of readers and highlight their favorite picks. 

Even if you're not an avid reader, you've no doubt heard of Reese's Book Club, the globally successful community founded by movie star Reese Witherspoon, which has championed such titles as "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens, "Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang, and Reese's Book Club's first-ever pick, "Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman. Ahead of summer, Reese's Book Club has also picked some phenomenal beach reads. Oprah's Book Club is another well-known platform that has since joined competitors on social media. But there are less-famous celebrity book clubs that are also worth checking out since every club targets a slightly different type of reader and offers a unique experience for its community members. 

Florence Welch's Between Two Books platform, for example, focuses on the parallels between literature and music and typically chooses very different titles from Dua Lipa's Service95. And getting involved with a book club, celebrity or not, is a great way to break out of your reading rut and explore more books. You may not have heard of the following clubs, but who knows — one of them may end up being your literary happy place. 

Though Florence Welch's Between Two Books club isn't as recognized as Reese Witherspoon's community, it's hardly a newbie (with nearly 150,000 followers on Instagram). The Florence and the Machine lead singer started the club back in 2012, reportedly getting the idea after a fan tweeted her about it. It's quite an interactive community to be part of since many of the book picks are chosen by readers and guest authors of previous picks. Typically, Welch's club features contemporary fiction, but classics from the likes of Mary Shelley and Virginia Woolf have also been chosen.

The Between Two Books website reveals that the club is "a vibrant online community, still led by original members, Kate and Leah, along with Florence, Maria and Terri-Jane." Given Welch's connection to the music industry, musicians and directors are also invited in to offer their recommendations. Though based in the U.K., the club is open to anyone around the world, and discussions about the picks are held on Instagram, Facebook, and X. In addition to book discussions, authors are invited to give readings and Q&A panels to further stimulate discussion. 

Along with regular picks, the website keeps members updated on live events, though these aren't frequent in 2025, and also features a music playlist for reading. Judging from submitted pictures of the community's reading spaces, the aesthetic is cozy, old-world charm. As for the reading list, titles like Gwendoline Riley's "Opposed Positions," the 1937 classic "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston, and 2011's "Ice Age" by Kirsten Reed are highlighted. The club also promotes Welch's own book, "Useless Magic," which is a collection of poetry, lyrics, and sermons.

Chicago-based rapper Noname, aka Fatimah Warner, has a way with words. "I do see poetry and rap as one and the same," she told the Los Angeles Times in 2024. "Rap is poetry that's put to music." A poet who grew up in her mom's bookstore, Noname started the Noname Book Club in 2019. "We believe building community through political education is crucial for our liberation," the club, which highlights one title by a Black author per month, writes on its website, adding that all of its resources are free because Black people "should have access to unlimited educational materials." Though this is an online club, there are 20 local chapters in the United States, plus chapters in Nairobi, London, Accra, and Lagos, along with chapters based in prisons. "Just got finished packing 200+ books for our prison chapters," Noname shared on her personal Instagram in 2021, inviting fans to donate books for the cause.

With 160,000 followers on Instagram, the club is clearly reaching beyond the physical chapters, though it regularly advertises its in-person meet-ups in various cities. "Africa Is Not a Country" by Dipo Faloyin was the pick for May 2025, and previous months have boosted titles like 1988's "A Small Place" by Jamaica Kincaid and "Parable of the Talents" by Octavia E. Butler. "I struggled with reading in school, so I just had no interest at all," the rapper told Teen Vogue in 2022. "But as I've gotten older, and as I've become radicalized, politicized, whatever, I do see the importance of having these sorts of spaces, not just bookstores that are for profit, but free libraries, just educational spaces where people can come."

Sometimes, the celebrity's level of fame doesn't match their book club's fame. Case in point: Natalie's Book Club by Natalie Portman. Despite Portman being a household name (and one of the celebrities with the most beautiful faces, according to science), there are plenty of readers who haven't heard of her book club, which has nearly 170,000 followers on Instagram. The club might not receive as much hype as Reese Witherspoon's or Oprah's, but Portman steadily keeps the community going with frequent posts, giveaways, and interviews with authors. 

A quick glance at her reading list suggests that Portman leans toward less-buzzy books that haven't yet become global phenomena, including Miriam Toews' "Fight Night" and "Biography of X" by Catherine Lacey. The "Star Wars" actor's passion for books stems from a love of reading she's had for years, in addition to growing concerns she had about the messages she saw in literature after becoming a mother. "I was frustrated with the classic stories," she told Romper in 2020. "I wanted to read them to my kids, and every time I would, they were all male characters, and I would have to change the genders while I was reading it. I wanted to do new ones, because I think that the stories are really valuable and have incredible messages that we want to keep. I don't want to throw away the stories that I grew up on."

Along with founding a book club, Natalie Portman wrote her own book, "Natalie Portman's Fables," which features classically inspired stories for children with a modern twist. Portman made the creative decision to make all her characters animals, so no child would feel left out. Similarly, she decided to give her girl characters more active roles in her stories, telling the outlet, "For both boys and girls, it's important to be relating to female stories."

Dua Lipa's image as a pop star doesn't exactly conjure notions of a traditional book club. But she does have her own book club, and it's anything but traditional. According to its official website, Service95 Book Club is "a space to enjoy all things literary, including Dua's Monthly Reads and exclusive Q&As between her and the authors, plus the best new book releases, reading recommendations from our team and more ways for you to read the world differently."

The website features a blog filled with literary-angled articles, and Dua Lipa herself picks a book to highlight every month. Additionally, the club includes author interviews on YouTube and a bi-monthly newsletter. Since its launch in 2023, Service95 has mainly focused on stories that center on global issues and movements rather than romance books TikTok has gone wild over, ranging from upmarket literary fiction to non-fiction. "Starting the book club was a bit of a no brainer for me," the "Houdini" singer told the crowd at the Hay literary festival that year, per Elle. "I absolutely love reading, I love the idea of sharing how books make people feel ... books are really important to me and if I can share that in some way, then I feel like I'm on the right track." 

A year before she launched her book club, Dua Lipa gave the keynote speech at the prestigious Booker Prize ceremony, telling the audience, "Reading is a passion that has taken many forms for me. Like countless other London school children, my early obsessions included Roald Dahl and Malorie Blackman, both of whom gave me little pearls of wisdom that still guide me today" (via the Daily Mail). Since moving on from the classics, she has picked titles like "There There" by Tommy Orange, Paul Murray's "The Bee Sting," and "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" by Ocean Vuong.

Emma Roberts isn't just a talented actor; the "Space Cadet" star is also a book enthusiast, so it only made sense for her to start her own book club with producer Karah Preiss. Belletrist (French for "a writer of beautiful words") hit the scene in 2017 and evolved to become a literary all-rounder. As its website explains, the community "is dedicated to books and the people who love them." Roberts and Preiss highlight one book per month and then facilitate discussion about that title on social media, where they have 275,000 Instagram followers. 

"Karah and I have been friends for around nine years, and books have always been the center of our friendship," Roberts told Teen Vogue just after launching the book club. "I keep hearing and reading this really disturbing commentary about how my generation doesn't read books, and I just can't believe that to be true, because every time I'm carrying a physical book around with me people stop me and want to discuss it." While many celebrity book clubs simply involve recommending and discussing books, Belletrist has stood out since partnering with online book co-op Tertulia and now offers a new kind of membership where readers can have the book club picks delivered to them.

Along with being a great resource for readers, Belletrist is writer-friendly, offering story competitions that give aspiring authors the chance to have their work noticed in an oversaturated market. Roberts herself has revealed an interest in writing a collection of short stories one day, so supporting other writers is a natural move. "Twist" by Colum McCann was the club's pick in May 2025, with past titles including "Darkly" by Marisha Pessl and "The Motherload" by Sarah Hoover. In addition to works of fiction, the club promotes cookbooks and other non-fiction titles, often inviting authors to create content for the platform. Now, these clubs should offer more than enough inspo for your TBR pile, so it's time to check out some creative ways to organize your new books for a cozy reading space.