Celebrity Book Club Update: February 2022

Happy February!

This is an interesting round up to me., but it always is when you see what folks with influence pull from the plethora or books published each month. This time we have a mix of coming of age stories, friendships that twist and curdle, a memoir, family mystery, and secrets aplenty. I’m considering adding the Book of the Month subscription box’s monthly choices to these roundups to add another layer of selection and see how much overlap there is. Happy reading!

Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine - The Christie Affair, by Nina de Gramont - Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days and still nobody knows why. This book retells that time and imagines what could have been behind that disappearance. Themes of revenge, marital

goop Book Club (Gweneth Paltrow) - Lost and Found, by Kathryn Schultz - This memoir is called “and uncommon book about common experiences” and that is an intriguing descriptor to me. The goop book club is reading this for January and February.

Belletrist (Emma Roberts) - When We Lost Our Heads, by Heather O’Neill - This novel set in the 19th century is about two friends and the twisting ways their relationship develops. It looks like a hefty tome at almost 450 pages, and the blurb says it deals with issues of gender, class, identity, and desire. I’m curious about this one. It sounds like a juicy read, almost like Social Creature in that sense of a friendship that is overcome with gossip and influence and some violence. I could be way off on that, but that’s the vibe I get from the description.

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager) - Black Cake, by Charmaine Wilkerson - I’m eager to read this and have a digital ARC waiting for me. The cover is absolutely gorgeous too. When their mother dies she leaves behind a voice message and a recipe. The story looks like part mystery, part family and self-discovery story, and takes readers to London, California, the Caribbean, and I’m really interested to see how this many elements come together. This is Wilkerson’s debut novel.

#readwithmc (Marie Claire) - What the Fireflies Knew, by Kai Harris - This coming of age novel told from the perspective of a young Black girl looks like a great fit for those who like stories about family, intergenerational relationships, healing and delving into family trauma, secrets, and discovering your voice and identity. Looks interesting!

GMA Book Club - The Violin Conspiracy, by Brendan Slocumb - This one I wanna read. It’s about a Black violinist who wants to pursue music, is not well supported or encouraged by those around him, and ends up with a Stradivarius that folks then claim is not actually his. The violin goes missing and I want to know what happens!

Ashley Spivey’s Book Club - Wish You Were Here, by Jodi Picoult - I’ve heard mixed things about this one. I’ve never read Picoult and am not sure I will. I know her books work really well for a lot of people. This one is her newest and seems to be about a woman facing her life with a new lens and a pandemic that turns her plans upside down.