Reese's Book Club
Reese's Book Club is a celebrity book sales club run by Reese Witherspoon under her media company Hello Sunshine. Since its founding in 2017, the club has gained a reputation for boosting the careers of female authors such as Delia Owens, Celeste Ng, and Megan Miranda.[1]
Hello Sunshine has been involved in the adaptation of several Reese's Book Club Picks into films and television series, including Little Fires Everywhere, Where the Crawdads Sing, and Daisy Jones and the Six.[2][3][4]
History[edit]
Reese's Book Club was founded in 2017 and operates under Witherspoon's media company Hello Sunshine, led by Chief Executive Officer Sarah Harden.[5][6] Harden was appointed to the position in 2018, after serving as interim CEO beginning in June 2017.[7]
Also in June 2017, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman became the first book selected as a Reese's Book Club Pick.[2] Since then, the club has highlighted a Book Club Pick every month, reportedly chosen by Witherspoon.[1][8]
Reese's Book Club has gained a reputation for boosting the sales of its Book Club Picks.[2][1][8][9] As of 2019, no Book Club Picks had sold fewer than 10,000 copies[8] and novels selected as Book Club Picks reportedly outsell other fiction books by 700%.[2]
In August 2020, Reese's Book Club announced that it would being selecting a monthly young adult Book Club Pick, with the first YA selection being You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson.[10]
Hello Sunshine Adaptations[edit]
Witherspoon's production company Hello Sunshine has optioned the film rights to several Book Club Picks, including Where the Crawdads Sing,[11][3] Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Little Fires Everywhere, Daisy Jones and the Six, Tiny Beautiful Things, and The Last Thing He Told Me.[8][4]
Brand Partnerships[edit]
In April 2022, Reese's Book Club partnered with furniture company Havenly to create a line of home decor called "Reading Room."[12][13][14]
Controversy[edit]
Where the Crawdads Sing[edit]
Reese's Book Club faced criticism in July 2019 after it was reported that Mark Owens, the ex-husband of Delia Owens, author of Reese's Book Club Pick Where the Crawdads Sing, was possibly connected to a murder that took place in Zambia in 1995.[15][16][17][18]
The Nightingale[edit]
Reese's Book Club was the subject of controversy following the announcement of its March 2023 Book Club Pick The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. In a video posted to the Reese's Book Club Instagram page, Witherspoon explained that the novel, which tells the story of two women in German-occupied France during World War II, was chosen in response to rising antisemitism. Some criticized this choice, noting that the novel does not prominently feature any Jewish characters and was not written by a Jewish author.[19][20]
Book Club Picks[edit]
| Year and Month "Picked" | Title | Author | Genre | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2024 | The Most Fun We Ever Had | Claire Lombardo | contemporary fiction, literary fiction | |
| March 2024 | Anita de Monte Laughs Last | Xochitl Gonzalez | historical fiction, magical realism | |
| February 2024 | Redwood Court | DeLana R.A. Dameron | coming of age fiction, historical fiction | |
| January 2024 | First Lie Wins | Ashley Elston | thriller | |
| December 2023 | Before We Were Innocent | Ella Berman | coming of age fiction, thriller | |
| November 2023 | Maybe Next Time | Cesca Major | fiction, romance, magical realism | |
| October 2023 | Starling House | Alix E. Harrow | fantasy | |
| September 2023 | Mother-Daughter Murder Night | Nina Simon | mystery, thriller | |
| August 2023 | Tom Lake | Ann Patchett | fiction | |
| July 2023 | Yellowface | R. F. Kuang | fiction, thriller, satire | |
| June 2023 | Cassandra in Reverse | Holly Smale | science fiction | |
| May 2023 | Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? | Crystal Smith Paul | historical fiction | |
| April 2023 | Romantic Comedy | Curtis Sittenfeld | romance | |
| March 2023 | The Nightingale | Kristin Hannah | historical fiction | |
| February 2023 | The House of Eve | Sadeqa Johnson | historical fiction | |
| January 2023 | The House in the Pines | Ana Reyes | thriller | |
| December 2022 | The Marriage Portrait | Maggie O'Farrell | historical fiction, thriller | |
| November 2022 | Tiny Beautiful Things | Cheryl Strayed | essays | adapted into a television series by Hello Sunshine[21] |
| October 2022 | Our Missing Hearts | Celeste Ng | dystopian fiction | |
| September 2022 | On the Rooftop | Margaret Wilkerson Sexton | historical fiction | |
| August 2022 | Wrong Place, Wrong Time | Gillian McAllister | mystery, science fiction | |
| July 2022 | Honey & Spice | Bolu Babalola | romance | |
| June 2022 | Counterfeit | Kirstin Chen | thriller | |
| May 2022 | The Dictionary of Lost Words | Pip Williams | historical fiction | |
| April 2022 | True Biz | Sara Nović | coming-of-age fiction | |
| March 2022 | The Club | Ellery Lloyd | mystery | |
| February 2022 | The Christie Affair | Nina de Gramont | historical fiction, romance | |
| January 2022 | Honor | Trinity Umrigar | ||
| December 2021 | Lucky | Marissa Stapley | thriller | |
| November 2021 | The Island of Missing Trees | Elif Shafak | historical fiction, romance | |
| October 2021 | Sankofa | Chibundu Onuzu | ||
| September 2021 | L.A. Weather | María Amparo Escandón | ||
| August 2021 | We Were Never Here | Andrea Bartz | thriller | |
| July 2021 | The Paper Palace | Miranda Cowley Heller | romance | |
| June 2021 | Seven Days in June | Tia Williams | romance | |
| May 2021 | The Last Thing He Told Me | Laura Dave | thriller | adapted into a television series by Hello Sunshine[22] |
| April 2021 | Northern Spy | Flynn Berry | thriller, historical fiction, spy fiction | |
| March 2021 | Infinite Country | Patricia Engel | domestic fiction | |
| February 2021 | The Sanatorium | Sarah Pearse | thriller | |
| January 2021 | Outlawed | Anna North | western, historical fiction, alternate history fiction | |
| December 2020 | The Chicken Sisters | KJ Dell'Antonia | domestic fiction, humor | |
| November 2020 | Group | Christie Tate | memoir | |
| October 2020 | His Only Wife | Peace Medie Adzo | domestic fiction, humor | |
| September 2020 | The Last Story of Mina Lee | Nancy Jooyoun Kim | thriller, mystery, historical fiction | |
| August 2020 | Everything Inside | Edwidge Danticat | short stories | |
| June/July 2020 | I'm Still Here | Austin Channing Brown | memoir | |
| June/July 2020 | The Guest List | Lucy Foley | thriller, mystery | |
| May 2020 | The Henna Artist | Alka Joshi | historical fiction | |
| April 2020 | Untamed | Glennon Doyle | memoir | |
| March 2020 | The Jetsetters | Amanda Eyre Ward | ||
| February 2020 | The Scent Keeper | Erica Baurmeister | magical realism, coming of age fiction | |
| January 2020 | Such a Fun Age | Kiley Reid | coming of age fiction, domestic fiction | |
| December 2019 | Conviction | Denise Mina | mystery | |
| November 2019 | The Giver of Stars | Jojo Moyes | historical fiction | |
| October 2019 | Fair Play | Eve Rodsky | self-help | |
| September 2019 | The Secrets We Kept | Lara Prescott | historical fiction, spy fiction, thriller, romance | |
| August 2019 | The Last House Guest | Megan Miranda | mystery, thriller | |
| July 2019 | Whisper Network | Chandler Baker | mystery | |
| June 2019 | The Cactus | Sarah Haywood | romance, humor | |
| May 2019 | From Scratch | Tembi Locke | memoir | adapted into a television series by Hello Sunshine[4] |
| April 2019 | The Night Tiger | Yangsze Choo | historical fiction, magical realism | |
| March 2019 | Daisy Jones & The Six | Taylor Jenkins Reid | historical fiction | adapted into a television series by Hello Sunshine[23] |
| February 2019 | The Proposal | Jasmine Guillory | romance | |
| January 2019 | The Library Book | Susan Orlean | true crime, memoir | |
| December 2018 | One Day in December | Josie Silver | romance | |
| November 2018 | The Other Woman | Sandie Jones | thriller | |
| October 2018 | This Is How It Always Is | Laurie Frankel | domestic fiction | |
| September 2018 | Where the Crawdads Sing | Delia Owens | historical fiction, mystery | adapted into a 2022 film by Hello Sunshine[24] |
| August 2018 | Still Lives | Maria Hummel | mystery, thriller | |
| July 2018 | Next Year in Havana | Chanel Cleeton | historical fiction, romance | |
| June 2018 | Something in the Water | Catherine Steadman | thriller | |
| May 2018 | You Think It, I'll Say It | Curtis Sittenfeld | short stories | |
| April 2018 | Happiness | Heather Harpham | memoir | |
| March 2018 | Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows | Balli Kaur Jaswal | ||
| February 2018 | The Light We Lost | Jill Santopolo | romance | |
| January 2018 | Braving the Wilderness | Brené Brown | self-help | |
| December 2017 | The Last Mrs. Parrish | Liv Constantine | thriller | |
| November 2017 | This is the Story of a Happy Marriage | Ann Patchett | essays | |
| October 2017 | The Rules of Magic | Alice Hoffman | historical fiction, magical realism, fantasy | prequel to Practical Magic |
| September 2017 | Little Fires Everywhere | Celeste Ng | domestic fiction | adapted into a television series by Hello Sunshine[25] |
| August 2017 | The Lying Game | Ruth Ware | thriller | |
| July 2017 | The Alice Network | Kate Quinn | historical fiction, spy fiction | |
| June 2017 | Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine | Gail Honeyman | humor, romance |
| Date "Picked" | Title | Author |
|---|---|---|
| Winter 2022 | Anatomy | Dana Schwartz |
| Fall 2021 | Within These Wicked Walls | Lauren Blackwood |
| Late Summer 2021 | The Downstairs Girl | Stacey Lee |
| Summer 2021 | Tokyo Ever After | Emiko Jean |
| Spring 2021 | Fire Keeper's Daughter | Angeline Boulley |
| Winter 2021 | You Have a Match | Emma Lord |
| October 2020 | Fable | Adrienne Young |
| September 2020 | Furia | Yamile Saied Méndez |
| August 2020 | You Should See Me in a Crown | Leah Johnson |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Grady, Constance (2019-09-13). "How Reese Witherspoon became the new high priestess of book clubs". Vox. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ^ a b c d Donnelly, Elisabeth. "Celebrity Book Clubs Are Actually Selling Books". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ^ a b "Reese Witherspoon to Adapt Bestseller Where the Crawdads Sing Into a Movie". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ a b c O'Connell, Mikey (2022-09-30). "Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter Are Doing Just Fine Without the Boys Club". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ "The CEO of Reese Witherspoon's production company says 'empowerment feminism' is gaslighting women". Fortune. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
- ^ Diane, Kaci (2021-10-14). "Sarah Harden On How Hello Sunshine Is Building A Media Company With A Difference". The WIE Suite. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (2018-01-26). "Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine Names Sarah Harden CEO". Variety. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
- ^ a b c d "How Reese Witherspoon Made These Books into Bestsellers". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ^ Hunt, Elle (2022-12-12). "Legally bookish: Reese Witherspoon and the boom in celebrity book clubs". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ^ "Reese Witherspoon's popular book club will now cover Young Adult books too". Good Housekeeping. 2020-08-19. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ^ "Reese Witherspoon Reflects On Taking 'Where The Crawdads Sing' From Book Club To The Big Screen (Exclusive) | Entertainment Tonight". www.etonline.com. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ Tingley, Anna (2022-04-27). "Reese Witherspoon's Book Club and Havenly Team Up for Dreamy Home Decor Collection". Variety. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
- ^ Arneson, Krystin (2022-04-27). "Havenly and Reese's Book Club just launched a cozy collection of furniture for book lovers". CNN Underscored. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
- ^ "Reese's Book Club Wants You To Embrace "Shelf-Care" With Its New Havenly Collection". The Zoe Report. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
- ^ Miller, Laura (2019-07-30). "The Dark History Behind the Year's Bestselling Debut Novel". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ^ "Why 'Where the Crawdads Sing' Is So Controversial". Time. 2022-07-13. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ Goldberg, Jeffrey (2022-07-11). "'Where the Crawdads Sing' Author Wanted for Questioning in Murder". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ Terasaki, Kimberly (2022-07-11). "'Where the Crawdads Sing' Controversy Explained". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ Nava, A. Mana (2023-03-16). "A Reese's Book Club Pick Is Under Fire (Again)". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ Herndon, Jaime (2023-03-08). "Hey, Reese: About that Book Club Selection..." BOOK RIOT. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ "'Tiny Beautiful Things' Nails Those Awkward Conversations About Aging". Glamour. 2023-01-15. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ Richard, Nate (2023-04-12). "'The Last Thing He Told Me' Review: Jennifer Garner Stars in Apple TV+'s Forgettable Mystery Series". Collider. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ Riley Utley (2023-02-18). "That Time Reese Witherspoon's Vacation Was Interrupted Because Daisy Jones And The Six's Producer Really Wanted Rights To The Book". CINEMABLEND. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ Lang, Brent (2018-12-07). "Reese Witherspoon to Produce 'Where the Crawdads Sing' Adaptation for Fox 2000 (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2018-03-12). "Hulu Nabs 'Little Fires Everywhere' Limited Series Starring Reese Witherspoon & Kerry Washington". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-04-13.