Paperback Riders In 'Starry Book Clubs'

Celebrity book clubs can have a glamorous allure — from Kaia Gerber’s Library Science to Dua Lipa’s Service 95, from Sonali Bendre’s SBC @sonalisbookclub to Oprah’s Book Club. It’s paperbacks, popstars, actors and the human touch of reading! Beyond the attention they attract, the books chosen have the capacity to open readers to new ideas, perspectives, and sensitivities previously unfathomable.

Read Between The Lines

Aashna Malhotra, third-generation bookseller at Bahrisons Booksellers in Delhi says, “Celebrity book clubs haven’t dramatically altered how Bahrisons readers discover books, though they’ve certainly added another layer to the ecosystem.” Having worked at the 70-year-old store since July 2025, she has a real understanding of how people read, from fleeting online hype to the slow work of human recommendation. “There was a time when landing on Oprah’s reading list could significantly move sales for a title or author. Today, discovery is far more fragmented.”

Plot Twist, Literally

This fragmentation is generational. Older readers still rely on newspaper reviews, prize lists, bestseller charts, and bookseller guidance, while younger audiences often turn to Bookstagram and online influencers.

Celebrity book clubs operate as one node among many, not the dominant force they appear to be on Instagram. Their presence, however, can still spark curiosity, even if it rarely translates into long-term engagement. “A customer may circle a book a few times, unsure whether to pick it up, and a thoughtful recommendation from a staff member often makes the difference,” Malhotra explains.

Starstruck Reading Material

Celebrity book clubs often act as a door to discovery rather than a map. “The initial curiosity may stem from the celebrity endorsement and the trust placed in that public figure’s taste,” Malhotra observes. “Once readers begin the book, the focus tends to shift.” Conversations move toward the writing, themes, and the author’s voice, and the celebrity presence fades. In this sense, books ultimately stand on their own, while celebrity picks act as an invitation rather than a command.

Interesting Footnotes

Kriti Sachan, a book influencer known for making complex literature approachable, adds a lens on the gendered assumptions shaping perceptions. “Most popular celebrity book clubs are women-led, and I think society has a tendency to brand anything women do as performative or a ‘branding exercise,’” she notes. For her, genuine literary engagement begins with personal attachment, and influence naturally follows when that attachment is shared publicly. “When recommendations feel consistent, thoughtful, and personal over time, readers tend to respond to that sincerity rather than questioning the intent behind it,” Sachan explains.

Fully Booked Online

Social media has made reading a visible, performative act. Sachan sees this as both a challenge and an opportunity. “Reading has definitely become more visible,” she says, but visibility does not necessarily undermine depth. “For many people, seeing others talk openly about books makes reading feel less lonely and less intimidating.” Visibility may sometimes look performative, but it can also democratise literary culture by signalling that reading is permissible, even aspirational.

Some celebrity book clubs are also criticised for favouring emotionally accessible, discussion-friendly books — stories easy to talk about and share. Sachan reframes this: such books act as entry points rather than endpoints. “Emotionally accessible books can be a doorway rather than a destination,” she says. In spaces where reading is not always encouraged, because of educational barriers, language access, or social norms, the doorways matter.

Prose Before Hoes

Service 95, demonstrates how celebrity initiatives can introduce readers to unexpected corners of literature. Selections range from international literary fiction like Shuggie Bain

to novels such as Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, offering a spectrum of sensitivity and voices from all around the world. As Kriti Sachan notes, the club “Feels considered and intentional. There’s a book for everyone, which isn’t the case with all celebrity book clubs.”

In India, that invitation works best alongside bookstores, where human guidance, conversation, and context help readers engage fully with these books — showing how celebrity-led curiosity and bookseller expertise can work together to deepen reading.

Local Reading Communities

In India, celebrity influence coexists with intimate, local reading practices. Malhotra notes a rise in small, community-driven book clubs: groups of friends, neighbourhood reading circles, or in-store discussions that offer structure, accountability, and a sense of belonging. These spaces often feel more sustaining than participation in a distant, celebrity-led club.

“They’re changing who feels invited,” says Sachan, referring to the cultural impact of celebrity-led reading initiatives. “Invited to read, to talk about books, and to have an opinion.” In a country where literary participation has historically been tied to privilege and education, that invitation is meaningful.

Famous Bookworms

• Oprah Winfrey started her book club in 1996 as part of a filler section in The Oprah Winfrey Show.

• Emma Watson’s book club, Our Shared Shelf (@oursharedshelf) is a feminist book club focusing on gender equality and empowering literature.

• Shashi Tharoor does not have a book club, but he regularly shares information about his favourite books and new reads on social media

• Emma Roberts online literary book club is called Belletrist (@belletrist)

• Sonali Bendre’s book club SBC (@sonalisbookclub) is a cozy little space where members talk, breathe and dream books