Let us now praise celebrity book clubs

Posted in The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

I’m not a fan of influencers or gossip magazines or tabloid news. I’m not wowed by famous people, don’t select my clothes based on what the stars are wearing, and couldn’t care less about lifestyles of the rich and famous.

But books? That’s a whole different matter.

I’m here now to proclaim my heartfelt opinion: Celebrity book clubs are good for readers, good for authors, good for the publishing industry, and… dare I say it?… good for the world in general!

Why? Because they get people to read, of course.

If you’re here reading this blog, chances are you’re a book fanatic — like me! — and need no encouragement to pick up a book wherever, whenever. (The hard part is getting us to put the books down — amirite?)

But for plenty of less avid readers who sometimes need a bit of inspiration or motivation, celebrity book clubs can be the perfect way to spread the word and get books into more readers’ hands. And even for die-hard book lovers (*raising my hand*), checking out celebrity book club picks can lead to discovering books that might not otherwise have crossed our radar.

I think we can all agree that Oprah Winfrey is the godmother of the modern-era celebrity book club. There are plenty to choose from now, but in 1996, when she unveiled her first book and introduced the book club concept on her daytime talk show, it was a groundbreaking moment.

Per Wikipedia: The book club’s first selection on September 17, 1996, was the then recently published novel The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard.

Since then, Oprah has been joined by many, many other celebrity-sponsored book clubs — some with consistently great picks, some that make me give a little side-eye — and while I say (again) that anything that gets people reading is fabulous, not every club or selection will be for every reader.

Beyond that, being chosen for one of the high-profile celebrity book clubs is often a breakthrough moment for authors. These books tend to end up on bestseller lists, and it’s no exaggeration to say that the impact can be life-changing (and certainly career-changing) for authors.

These days, if I remember, I keep my eye on the monthly selections for Reese’s Book Club (Reese Witherspoon), GMA Book Club (Good Morning America), Read with Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager of The Today Show)… and Oprah too, of course.

I thought I’d share some of the books I’ve love that I’ve either discovered through these book clubs, or read and then discovered that they were book club selections.

And finally, going back to the GOAT of celebrity book clubs…

Among other wonderful things that Oprah has done by popularizing great books through her book club, she’s made a point of including classic fiction among her selections. Here’s a look at some of the classics she’s chosen over the years — I’m highlighting the ones that I’ve read, although until just now, I didn’t realize that they were Oprah picks!

And here are other Oprah books I’ve read. As with the other book clubs mentioned, I didn’t necessarily pick up these books directly because of Oprah… but I think for many, she gets the credit for making them so widely discussed and shared, which one way or another really raised awareness of these books.

I should point out that it’s thanks to Oprah that I first read a book by author Chris Bohjalian (Midwives)… and he’s become one of my favorite authors!

This round-up really just scratches the surface when it comes to celebrities promoting books! I’ve highlighted the book clubs that seem to consistently choose books I enjoy — although I certainly pick and choose which of their selections to read, even for the clubs I follow. Again, not every book is for every reader! And also, if I read every single one of their selections, when would I find the time to read anything else???

I’ll note that I’ve found some other interesting books that are tied to celebrity book clubs; notably, in the last year or so, I’ve read two of Mindy Kaling’s recommended books, and have a couple of others bookmarked to come back to at some point:

As I’ve said, there are lots of celebrities promoting lots of books, and while I might not be interested in all of them — either the celebrities or the specific books — I do wholeheartedly endorse anything that gets more people interested in reading and discussing books!

Do you follow celebrity book clubs? Are there any whose picks you find especially worthwhile? Have you ever discovered an amazing book thanks to one of these (or any other) celebrity book club? I’d love to hear your experiences!

Purchase links: There are obviously too many books in this post to provide links to every single one! But if you’re interested in clicking through, here are a few places to start:

Amazon – Oprah’s Book Club
Amazon – Reese’s Books Club
Amazon – Read with Jenna
Amazon – Mindy’s Book Studio
Amazon – GMA Book Club
Bookshop.org – Celebrity book club picks recommended by Bookshelf Fantasies

5Mar2025

Audiobook Review: The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Love of My Afterlife
Author: Kirsty Greenwood
Narrator: Sofia Oxenham
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: July 2, 2024
Print length: 369 pages
Audio length: 9 hours 32 minutes
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Library
Rating:

A recently deceased woman meets “the one” in the afterlife waiting room, scoring a second chance at life (and love!) if she can find him on Earth before ten days are up….

If she wasn’t dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment. Not only did she just die by choking on a microwaveable burger, she’s also now standing in her “sparkle and shine” nightie in front of the hottest man she’s ever seen. And he’s smiling at her.

As they start to chat, everything else becomes background noise. That is, until someone comes running through a door yelling something about a huge mistake and sends the dreamy stranger back down to Earth. And here Delphie was thinking her luck might be different in the afterlife.

When Delphie is offered a deal in which she can return to Earth and reconnect with the mysterious man, she jumps at the opportunity to find her possible soulmate and a fresh start. But to find him in a city of millions, Delphie is going to have to listen to her heart, learn to ask for help, and perhaps even see the magic in the life she’s leaving behind. . . .

This delightful rom-com has so much more to it than you might suppose from the synopsis! After Delphie chokes on a burger and ends up with a particularly chatty afterlife attendant who clearly is dying (ha!) for a project, she’s given the chance to return to the world of the living, but with a catch. Delphie will have ten days to locate the man she’s briefly met (whose afterlife arrival is apparently an error; he’s sent back after their encounter, with his memory wiped). If she can get him to kiss her, of his own free will, she’ll get to stay alive — and presumably, get her very own happily ever after with her soulmate. If not, though… she’ll be dead again, this time permanently.

For Delphie, the proposition is decidedly challenging. For years, she’s been living in isolation, carefully walling herself off from having to interact with practically anyone. As she informs us early on, she’s only talked to three people in the past several years — the two women she works with at the pharmacy across the street, and her elderly neighbor, whom she checks in on every day.

She’s not just shy. Delphie has been severely emotionally wounded in her earlier life. After her parents’ divorce, her mother stopped functioning, only reviving after falling in love again and basically ditching Delphie to move away and pursue a new life as an artist. Delphie was also horribly bullied during her high school years by her former best friend, causing her to shut off, trust no one, and even give up the drawing and painting that had given her so much joy.

In her late twenties, Delphie is a virgin, has never dated or been kissed. So for her, having to suddenly dash around London to locate one particular man feels like an impossibility — except she wants to live, and actually believes that he could truly be her soulmate. She’s smart enough to realize she needs help, and thus begins the truly lovely part of this story — seeing Delphie start to break out of her shell and connect with other people.

From admitting to her boss and coworker (a mother and daughter) that she needs time off and reluctantly agreeing to finally join them for after-work drinks (which they’ve been inviting her to for years), to meeting the local librarian and having him enthusiastically give her books on finding missing persons, to (literally) running into a friendly dogwalker in the park and having her decide to accompany Delphie on her quest — Delphie suddenly expands the circle of people she knows, and finds, to her surprise, that she doesn’t hate it.

Most interesting is the grumpy downstairs neighbor with whom she’s exchanged snide comments and insults for many years. (She describes him “like if Timothée Chalomet had an extremely tall, extremely brooding asshole of an older brother”.) Cooper may be a jerk, but he assists her when she needs it, and is soon asking her for a favor in return. As they spend time together, she learns more about what’s going on beneath his surly exterior… but all her focus is on finding Jonah, her true soulmate, so onward she must go!

The quest to find Jonah is quite silly and full of mishaps. How to find one man in all of London, when all she knows is his first name and what he looks like? With her growing circle of acquaintances helping her track down clues, Delphie has a series of near-misses, seeking Jonah at a running club, a life-drawing class, a silent disco, and more, before figuring out a way to meet him at last. But as we readers know to expect, tracking Jonah down is very different than convincing him that she’s the love of his life, and things go all sorts of sideways.

The Love of My Afterlife surprised me in so many ways! There are romance tropes galore, but the narrative cleverly recognizes that tropes are at play, and Delphie’s awareness of these tropes (enemies to lovers! only one bed! fake dating!) makes it especially fun.

The true beauty of this book is in seeing Delphie emerge from her painful past and finally start living.

“I never wanted people, though. They make everything messy.”

“That’s a good thing, love. The thing about people is you have to let them drag you to places you don’t want to go. Let them tell you things you don’t want to hear. Let them break you and put you back together… That’s what being alive is.”

As she meets the people of her neighborhood and starts engaging with them, new relationships form, and she finds herself making connections with people who want to know her. She spent years feeling unworthy and unloved, but by opening herself to new people and experiences, she gets to experience what it feels like to care and be cared about.

And yes, there’s a romance! It’s a delicious slow-burn, and the interference of her meddling afterworld coach is quite funny and entertaining.

I listened to the audiobook, and had a blast with it. Narrator Sofia Oxenham captures the silliness and the somewhat zany escapades with flair, but also conveys Delphie’s sadness and loneliness, and the steep hill she has to climb in order to let people into her world.

The Love of My Afterlife only crossed my radar thanks to idly looking up celebrity book club picks one day. This was a Good Morning America pick last year — and I’m not sure why it initially caught my eye, but I’m so glad it did!

With very funny interludes and a lovable main character, and with real emotion to balance the humor and silliness, The Love of My Afterlife is deeper than it might initially seem. It’s wonderful storytelling, full of laughter, that also manages to pull on the heartstrings. A great choice for when you’re in the mood to be uplifted and entertained. Don’t miss it!