Celebrity Reads Part 1

Recommendations Based on Celebrities

Part 1

Yeah, so this post doesn't really have a whole lot of sense to it, other than I wanted to give book recommendations because we could all use some reading right now, and I wanted to give it a fun theme too.
:)
I also realized that this was a lot longer than I thought it would be, so I took out half of the list and I will make that a Part 2 to this list later. 


Taylor Swift
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
"Admire" isn't a strong enough word for the sentiment I feel when I think about how amazing Taylor Swift's storytelling is. And the same applies for literally anything written by Sarah J. Maas in my opinion. The other series are phenomenal too, but ToG is 7 books long, so take your time and enjoy the nuances and twists and character developments. It's wonderful, just keep going and trust me on that one.


Theo James
Evelina by Frances Burney
Maybe little known, but Theo James was a producer on Sanditon, an amazing and beautiful adaptation of Jane Austen's unfinished work. I think he also studied philosophy (?) which, combined with this production history, makes me think he would really enjoy the classics. Evelina is a treat in my opinion. I don't think it's as widely read, but it is so funny and so interesting.


Kerry Washington
Still Life by Louise Penny
The start to a mystery series, Still Life is set in a cute little Canadian town and Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is the new Sherlock/Pirot. It edges just a little bit on the side of a cozy, but there's still a lot of good mystery and small town relationship exploration there to make it a full mystery. Based on the intense roles that she has had, I think she would really love a good mystery that had this extra complexity of exploring town life.




Michael B. Jordan
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
The first thing I think of when I think of Michael B. Jordan is Killmonger from Black Panther. There's also all the Creed movies, but generally these are action-packed intense character development stories. So is An Ember in the Ashes! It's set in a world inspired by ancient Rome and the training that Elias and Helene go through is intense, to say the least. There's just so much strength in these characters, in all sorts of different forms. 


Amandla Stenberg
Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
To this day, I associate Amandla Stenberg with Rue from The Hunger Games. She has done so much more since that, I know (like The Hate U Give and Everything, Everything --> great stuff, go read and watch), but to my brain I first knew her as Rue. With that, another dystopian book that I really enjoyed is Article 5.  I know some people have been so done with dystopians for ages now, but if you're not, voila- a (hopefully) new dystopian for you.


John Legend
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
This recommendation is a weird brain child of combining some La La Land vibes with a love for music. If you don't remember, John Legend was in La La Land and it was amazing, and then I needed a book with music in it because. . . John Legend, ya know? SO, Eleanor and Park. :) I personally haven't read this book yet, which is tragic, but I have only ever heard glowing reviews about how adorable and heartwarming this story is.


Florence Pugh
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
It seems to me that Florence Pugh has really only taken super serious, dramatic roles so far in her career. And while I haven't seen Midsommar because I don't handle horror well, there's also stuff like Lady Macbeth and Little Women. I think she would really like Shatter Me because (A) Juliette is a strong female lead, and (B) it is a little psycho and intense, which I love and think fits into the other roles that Florence Pugh has taken on so far.




Ken Jeong
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
This book has been around for awhile, and I still think just so highly of it. It's a WWII book about Liesel, a young girl growing up in Germany and how she processes death and the horrors around her. I picked it for Ken Jeong for two reasons. (1) There are some funny moments in this despite the intensity, and Ken Jeong is hilarious. (2) There is a great father figure in this book and not only does he play a great father in Crazy Rich Asians, but I get great-father vibes from him in general.


Emma Watson
Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson
Another Brooklyn is one of those rare books that somehow is able to check so many different literary and storytelling boxes that the only way I can describe it is that it is a beautiful work of literature. I don't know if Our Shared Shelf has read it ever, but if they haven't, then they totally should. And if the group won't read it, I still think it's an Emma Watson book because it shows a shade of the female experience in such a wonderful, articulate manner.


Idris Elba
Divergent by Veronica Roth
The main Idris Elba role that I first think of for him is the one from all the Marvel/Thor movies. Because those are very action based, I thought I would give an action based book. Also, I just straight up love this book and this series and needed to find a way to fit it onto the list. While there are the Divergent movies, I highly highly highly recommend reading the books. Please. Read the books. Whether you've already seen the movies are plan to never see them, go read the books. :)

Thanks for reading and stay safe!
Part 2 to come!