Reese Witherspoon's Top Book Recommendations

Actress, Author, Founder/Hello Sunshine

Want to know what books Reese Witherspoon recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Reese Witherspoon's favorite book recommendations of all time.

1
In this part-manifesto, part-memoir, the revolutionary editor who infused social consciousness into the pages of Teen Vogue explores what it means to come into your own—on your own terms

Throughout her life, Elaine Welteroth has climbed the ranks of media and fashion, shattering ceilings along the way. In this riveting and timely memoir, the groundbreaking journalist unpacks lessons on race, identity, and success through her own journey, from navigating her way as the unstoppable child of an unlikely interracial marriage in small-town California to finding herself on the...
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Recommended by Reese Witherspoon, and 1 others.

Reese Witherspoonlaine’s book is a call for young women to find their voice and spark their courage—it’s a book I would have loved to discover as a young woman starting my own career. (Source)

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2

Such a Fun Age

A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both.

Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living showing other women how to do the same. A mother to two small girls, she started out as a blogger and has quickly built herself into a confidence-driven brand. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is...
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Recommended by Reese Witherspoon, and 1 others.

Reese WitherspoonIf one of your #NewYearResolutions 💫 is to read more books… I have a GREAT one for you! Our January book pick is #SuchaFunAge by @kileyreid. This story is a beautiful conversation starter about race, privilege & class... Follow along at @ReesesBookClub and let’s discuss! 📚 https://t.co/NmxVactxhW (Source)

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3

The Cactus

In this witty and heartfelt debut, one woman’s unconventional journey to motherhood means learning to embrace the unexpected

Even the prickliest cactus has its flower…

For Susan Green, messy emotions don’t fit into the equation of her perfectly ordered life. She has a flat that is ideal for one, a job that suits her passion for logic and an “interpersonal arrangement” that provides cultural and other, more intimate, benefits. But suddenly confronted with the loss of her mother and the news that she is about to become a mother herself, Susan’s greatest fear...
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Recommended by Reese Witherspoon, and 1 others.

Reese WitherspoonHappy June everybody! I’m so excited to announce that our 1st book pick of the summer is #TheCactus by @SarahxHaywood. I found myself laughing out loud at Susan’s prickly character as she finds herself in a love triangle, while navigating family ties. Read along! @ReesesBookClub https://t.co/hHn2NPbsuH (Source)

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4

The Giver of Stars

Set in Depression-era America, a breathtaking story of five extraordinary women and their remarkable journey through the mountains of Kentucky and beyond, from the author of Me Before You and The Peacock Emporium.

Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice...

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Recommended by Reese Witherspoon, and 1 others.

Reese WitherspoonI can’t think of a better book to read during the month of giving than #TheGiverofStars by @JojoMoyes.📚 Her characters are so compelling and y’all already know how much I love historical fiction! Follow along at @reesesbookclub and let’s read together! 🌟 https://t.co/gkymgzyXE2 (Source)

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5
"It was love at first sight when Tembi met professional chef, Saro, on a street in Florence. There was just one problem: Saro's traditional Sicilian family did not approve of him marrying a black American woman, an actress no less. However, the couple, heartbroken but undeterred, forges on. They build a happy life in Los Angeles, with fulfilling careers, deep friendships and the love of their lives: a baby girl they adopt at birth. Eventually, they reconcile with Saro's family just as he faces a formidable cancer that will consume all their dreams. From Scratch chronicles three summers Tembi... more
Recommended by Reese Witherspoon, and 1 others.

Reese WitherspoonThis book gives me all the feels! My May pick for #reesesbookclubxhellosunshine is #FromScratch by @tembilocke. This beautiful memoir takes us on Tembi’s personal journey of love, parenthood, and ultimately the loss of her husband. Follow along at #ReesesBookClubxHelloSunshine! https://t.co/cWbBrZz76P (Source)

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6

Little Fires Everywhere

In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother – who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the...
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Recommended by Reese Witherspoon, and 1 others.

Reese WitherspoonY’all! I’m so excited to tell you that @kerrywashington and I will be bringing #LittleFiresEverywhere to the screen together ! I love this beautiful book about motherhood and I can’t wait to finally collaborate with one of my favorite actresses. https://t.co/98pq64llMU (Source)

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7

Where the Crawdads Sing

A novel about a young woman determined to make her way in the wilds of North Carolina, and the two men that will break her isolation open.

For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. She's barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark.

But Kya is not what they say. Abandoned at age ten, she has survived on her own in the marsh that she calls home. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes...
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Recommended by Reese Witherspoon, Kris Crocker, and 2 others.

Reese WitherspoonGreat article about the success of Where the Crawdads Sing. Did you read the book? ⁦@ReesesBookClub⁩ 🤗 https://t.co/w1ZgQLRzsx (Source)

Kris Crocker@spokanelibrary I love this book!! (Source)

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8

Secrets We Kept

Secretaries turned spies, love and duty, and sacrifice—inspired by the true story of the CIA plot to infiltrate the hearts and minds of Soviet Russia, not with propaganda, but with the greatest love story of the twentieth century: Doctor Zhivago.

At the height of the Cold War, two secretaries are pulled out of the typing pool at the CIA and given the assignment of a lifetime. Their mission: to smuggle Doctor Zhivago out of the USSR, where no one dare publish it, and help Pasternak's magnum opus make its way into print around the world. Glamorous and...
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Reese WitherspoonIf you’re a fan of historical fiction, then you’re going to love the September book pick! This month for @ReesesBookClub, we are reading #TheSecretsWeKept by @laraprescott. Follow along, I can’t wait to hear what y’all think!📚 https://t.co/squXAKigf9 (Source)

Betsy Fischer MartinThanks @AU_SPA for flagging alum @laraprescott and her best-selling new book "The Secrets We Kept." I picked it up and could not put it down! #CIA #Spies #Secrets #Russia #DrZhivago #historicalfiction https://t.co/lKE0UOx1tA (Source)

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9

In a dramatic account of violence and espionage, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposes serial abusers and a cabal of powerful interests hell-bent on covering up the truth, at any cost.


In 2017, a routine network television investigation led Ronan Farrow to a story only whispered about: one of Hollywood's most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from high-priced lawyers to elite war-hardened spies, mounted a secret...

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Reese WitherspoonCongrats @RonanFarrow on your incredible book #CatchandKill. Amazing investigative reporting and A real thrill ride of a read. 📚 (Source)

Julie K. BrownThe parallels to the Jeffrey Epstein case are amazing in ⁦@RonanFarrow⁩’s new book. Imagine this same predatory behavior and coverup among powerful men — not at a TV-media network — but at the highest levels of our government. #perversionofjustice ⁦ https://t.co/wh2EJlg7iW (Source)

Bastian ObermayerI know I’m very late to this party, but: „Catch And Kill“ from the unrelenting @RonanFarrow is a hell of a read!! Need inspiration for how to hold the powerful accountable - or only looking for great entertainment? Get this book. https://t.co/y3xWkUTWhh (Source)

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