Week 7 Prompt


I would say that over the last two years I have allowed my reading choices to be greatly influenced by Reese Witherspoon’s celebrity book club. At first, I thought it was because I’ve probably seen Legally Blonde dozens of times, and follow Reese’s life frequently on socials, but now I know it goes much deeper than that. For starters, I first heard of many of these books Reese Witherspoon selected for her book club because her production company was adapting them for the screen, after googling some of these titles I learned of the book club. I soon noticed that the majority of these books have incredibly well-crafted strong female leads, and when you add this to the fact that Reese frequently speaks out on feminist topics, I started to feel her section and opinions on these books were incredibly trust worthy. Furthermore, the CEO of Reese’s production company, Hello Sunshine, says the following about the heart behind the book club , the heart of a book club hearkens back to groups of women meeting and connecting with friends through their love of storytelling.” (Nichols 2019) This article also tells us that the mission of the company is as follows. “The whole mission of [Hello Sunshine] is putting women at the center of the story who have agency, who are not the side character, they are driving the narrative.” (Nichols 2019). I love that this company has belief that “Storytelling can shift culture.” (Nichols 2019) 

Overall, between reading and enjoying several of these book club picks, as well as learning about the missions of  both Reese’s Book Club and Hello Sunshine, I would say that this celebrity book club has not only made me  a more diverse reader but also a more empowered one. Just for fun some of my favorite picks from the book club are Little Fires Everywhere and Daisy Jones and the Six
Reference: Nichols, M. (2019 August 14). How the New Celebrity Book Clubs Are Boosting Literary Sales. Variety.


Comments

  1. BeccaFebruary 24, 2023 at 4:02 PM

    I had heard several things about this book club by my mother. She had told me that most of the book at the start were ones that Reese read and like but as it became more popular and a money maker it sort of turned into focusing on the money and to market the books more. It is nice to see at least from what you are saying that the books are sending out a message of female empowerment.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mary GraberFebruary 24, 2023 at 5:21 PM

    I've seen some interviews with Reese where she talks about how she picks books and movie projects. It is refreshing to see stories with strong female characters taking center stage. I think this is an example of someone with a large platform using it for good. Plus, I think the books she turns into movies are so well done. The adaptation of Where the Crawdad Sings felt like a true reflection of the book.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Erin CataldiFebruary 27, 2023 at 12:35 PM

    I am so happy that her book club is getting people to read (especially women!) and is helping people read outside their comfort zone. Full points!

    ReplyDelete

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