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Our friends over at Libby—the ebook/audiobook/digital magazine app that services 22,000 public libraries across the US—have been sharing some very interesting data on its readers these past couple of weeks. We’ve already looked at the romantasy books most circulated on the app this past month, as well as the overall most circulated books on the app in March. Now, we’re looking at book club books, specifically celebrity book clubs, which have had quite the resurgence the last few years.
If you’re averse to anything you might think to be unnecessarily celebritized, I get it, but when it comes to books, I have to say I appreciate the effort. These book clubs are, after all, highlighting great books, supporting authors, and probably exposing people to certain titles they may never have thought to look into. They can also be very thoughtful. I’ve heard, for instance, that the author interviews Dua Lipa conducts through Service95 are very entertaining and thorough.
If you’re curious about exactly how far-reaching these celebrities’ impact is when it comes to books, the Libby data analysts comprised a list of some of the most popular celebrity book clubs’ picks for March and looked at how each selection fared within the Libby app. The results are ranked in order below.
7. Tea Time Book Club (Dakota Johnson)
LOCA by Alejandro Heredia
What Tea Time had to say: “It follows one daring year in the lives of young people living at the edge of their own patience and desires.”
6. Library Science (Kaia Gerber’s Book Club)
Early Thirties by Josh Duboff
What Library Science had to say: “It’s not a feel-good book per se, but when you finish it, you actually do miss these toxic people you’ve spent the last 300 pages with. Josh perfectly captures the anxiety of outgrowing someone you love — with dialogue that is so petty and bitchy and brutal, at times it feels like you’re just reading leaked texts between friends and co-workers. So fun / so smart / so unlike anything we’ve ever covered.”
Don’t miss an excerpt highlighting the best new poetry collections of 2025 (so far) after these popular celebrity book club books!
5. Belletrist (Emma Roberts & Karah Priess)
The Strange Case of Jane O by Karen Thompson Walker
What Belletrist had to say: “A year after her child is born, Jane suffers a series of strange episodes: amnesia, premonitions, hallucinations, and an inexplicable sense of dread. Three days after her first visit to a psychiatrist, Jane suddenly goes missing. A day later she is found unconscious in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, in the midst of what seems to be an episode of dissociative fugue; when she comes to, she has no memory of what has happened to her.”
4. Service95 Book Club (Dua Lipa)
There There by Tommy Orange
What Dua Lipa had to say: “Tommy Orange starts with a brief but sharp history lesson in the prologue of There There, dispelling 400 years of slurs and stereotypes against Native people in 10 fiery pages – almost too painful to bear, but essential to start his story.
If you are expecting beads and fry bread, you’ve come to the wrong book. Orange’s characters – 12 ‘Urban Indians’ living modern lives in American cities – are single parents, filmmakers, recovering addicts, survivors of sexual violence and kids searching for meaning. In short: life in all its complexity.
The connections between the cast reveal themselves bit by bit as events spiral towards a violent and horrific crescendo in the Big Oakland Powwow, an occasion that holds a desperate significance for each of them. Among the tragedy that is foreshadowed throughout, there is also redemption and humanity. It’s a stunning book.”
3. Read with Jenna
The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
What Jenna had to say: “This is a book about how technology shackles us even when it connects us, how it can make us not feel present, and it’s a commentary on that. It is a book that is filled with beautiful characters who you will never forget, and it really shows the power we all have to dream.”
2. Oprah’s Book Club
The Tell by Amy Griffin
What Oprah had to say: “I was just floored when I read Amy’s story. What she discovered about herself, about her past, made me recognize how powerful the desire to forget is and also how powerful the desire to remember is.”
1. Reese’s Book Club
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
What Reese had to say: “Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall is an unforgettable story of love, loss, and the choices that shape our lives… but it’s also a masterfully crafted mystery that will keep you guessing until the very last page. Seriously, that ending?! I did not see it coming.”
Suggestion Section
Book Club Tings:
A printable list of book club-friendly questions
More To Read
8 Unforgettable Literary Fiction Reads by Marginalized Authors
This True Crime Book Was So Unnerving and I Absolutely Devoured It
The Best New Poetry Collections of 2025 (So Far) to Add to Your TBR
These are the 10 Most Challenged Books of 2024: Book Censorship News, April 11, 2025
**Below is a list of 11 book club-friendly books out this week for All Access members**
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The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.
This week, we’re highlighting the best new poetry collections of 2025 (so far)! From the deeply personal to powerfully political, many of these collections reflect the zeitgeist and introduce some fresh voices in poetry. Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.
How is it that we’re already more than a quarter of the way through 2025? I’m ahead of my reading goals and still feel so far behind at the same time. I’ve packed in plenty of poetry, though, finding lots of wonderful and surprising voices emerging. It’s early, but totally time to check in with some of the best new poetry collections of 2025 so far.
It’s funny how timely these collections are. Keep in mind that publishing moves VERY SLOWLY, so books that have been released in the first quarter of 2025 were probably completed in late 2023 or early 2024, only seeing the light of day recently. So, these collections were written in the run-up to last year’s presidential election. Nevertheless, many of these collections feel like guttural reactions to the world right now. Amazing how prescient art and artists can be, huh?
These poetry collections run the gamut from deeply personal to powerfully political. Let’s face it, those two are often the same anyway, particularly when it comes to poetry. Most exciting to me is how many of these best new poetry collections of 2025 so far are fresh voices to the poetic scene. Let’s dig into those collections, shall we?
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