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

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

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

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

Where the Crawdads Sing

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

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
Reese's Book Club Picks
Year and Month "Picked" Title Author Genre Notes
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 The 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
Reese's Book Club YA Picks
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
  1. Grady, Constance (2019-09-13). "How Reese Witherspoon became the new high priestess of book clubs". Vox. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  2. Donnelly, Elisabeth. "Celebrity Book Clubs Are Actually Selling Books". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  3. "Reese Witherspoon to Adapt Bestseller Where the Crawdads Sing Into a Movie". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  4. 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.
  5. "The CEO of Reese Witherspoon's production company says 'empowerment feminism' is gaslighting women". Fortune. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  6. 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.
  7. Otterson, Joe (2018-01-26). "Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine Names Sarah Harden CEO". Variety. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  8. "How Reese Witherspoon Made These Books into Bestsellers". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  9. 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.
  10. "Reese Witherspoon's popular book club will now cover Young Adult books too". Good Housekeeping. 2020-08-19. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  11. "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.
  12. Tingley, Anna (2022-04-27). "Reese Witherspoon's Book Club and Havenly Team Up for Dreamy Home Decor Collection". Variety. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  13. 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.
  14. "Reese's Book Club Wants You To Embrace "Shelf-Care" With Its New Havenly Collection". The Zoe Report. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  15. Miller, Laura (2019-07-30). "The Dark History Behind the Year's Bestselling Debut Novel". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  16. "Why 'Where the Crawdads Sing' Is So Controversial". Time. 2022-07-13. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  17. Goldberg, Jeffrey (2022-07-11). "'Where the Crawdads Sing' Author Wanted for Questioning in Murder". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  18. Terasaki, Kimberly (2022-07-11). "'Where the Crawdads Sing' Controversy Explained". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  19. Nava, A. Mana (2023-03-16). "A Reese's Book Club Pick Is Under Fire (Again)". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  20. Herndon, Jaime (2023-03-08). "Hey, Reese: About that Book Club Selection..." BOOK RIOT. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  21. "'Tiny Beautiful Things' Nails Those Awkward Conversations About Aging". Glamour. 2023-01-15. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  22. 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.
  23. 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.
  24. Lang, Brent (2018-12-07). "Reese Witherspoon to Produce 'Where the Crawdads Sing' Adaptation for Fox 2000 (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  25. Andreeva, Nellie (2018-03-12). "Hulu Nabs 'Little Fires Everywhere' Limited Series Starring Reese Witherspoon & Kerry Washington". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
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