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Celebrities reveal their all-time favourite novels

Stock up on reading material as recommended by the stars


celeb books
Abigail Malbon
Lifestyle Writer
Updated: May 11, 2021
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BBC Two's new show Under the Covers is the perfect watch for book lovers everywhere, as the book club show sees famous faces join Sara Cox to discuss their all-time favourite novels. If you need some more inspiration about what to add to your reading list, we have put together famous faces' favourite books. Better get placing those orders asap!

MORE: 11 books written by the royals

Meghan Markle

Before Meghan Markle’s blog The Tig disappeared from the internet when she met Prince Harry, Meghan spoke about many of her great loves - and reading is certainly one! In one particular post she said she was “obsessed” with Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s existentialist classic The Little Prince. 

littleprince

The Little Prince, £7.90, Amazon

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Natalie Portman

Natalie is such a huge fan of Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell that she tried to convince her friends and family to read it too by buying it for every birthday and Christmas gift! She told the Oprah website: "It's six different stories told in different time periods and genres: One is historical fiction, another is a '70s thriller mystery, the sixth is a post-apocalyptic story. It's one of the most beautiful, entertaining, challenging books, something that takes all your attention. I think the stories are meditations on violence, specifically the necessity of violence." 

cloud atlas

Cloud Atlas, £8.32, Amazon 

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Olivia Wilde

Olivia has previously sung the praises of The Circle by Dave Eggers, which was subsequently turned into a film starring Emma Watson. Posting on Instagram, she wrote: "This book is SO GOOD and SO SCARY my hair is simultaneously trying to attack and escape." The story follows a young woman who joins a tech company and becomes embroiled in it's desire to remove all privacy from the world.

the circle 1

The Circle, £7.37, Amazon 

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Holly Willoughby

This Morning presenter Holly has varied taste in books, and has gushed about multiple titles. In 2014, she admitted she’s a huge fan of E.L.James’ Fifty Shades of Grey: "I finished the first book and thought, ‘This is the best thing I’ve ever read.’ I was completely obsessed. Literally couldn’t put it down. I mean, bloody hell, you learn a lot - I think every woman should read them!” she said.

fiftyshades

Fifty Shades of Grey, £8.38, Amazon

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But she says her childhood favourite was Enid Blyton's The Wishing Chair. “It captured our imagination completely - the thought of sitting together in an old chair and it sprouting wings and taking us off on adventures.  What could be more wonderful."

wishingchair

The adventures of the Wishing Chair, £2.51, Amazon

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Jessica Biel

Jessica is a big fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel Tender is the Night. While F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is arguably the author's most known work, Tender Is She said: "I've read it quite a few times and just love it. It's tragic, and I think tragedies might be good for you: You read them and think, Maybe I'm not doing so bad—I'm doing okay!" 

tender the night

Tender is the Night, £6.65, Amazon 

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Ben Aldridge

The Our Girl actor has lent his voice to the audio book of Neil Blackmore's The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle. "I absolutely love this book by @neilblackmo and it was an honour to narrate it," he told his followers this week. "The audiobook is available to buy on 30th April on Audible, Apple Books and Google Play."

intoxicating mr lavelle

The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle, £12.99, Amazon

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Claudia Winkleman

The Strictly Come Dancing host is obsessed with The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne. Asking her followers for suggestions, she said: "Best book you've read in the last month? Here's mine."

the hearts invisible furies

The Heart's Invisible Furies, £19.55, Amazon

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Michelle Obama

Michelle is a bestselling author in her own right thanks to her book Becoming, but she’s happy to shout out other authors, too. "One of the books that I loved - one of the first books that I loved and read cover to cover in one day - not because anybody made me read it but because the book was good - it was a book called Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison,” she said.

View post on Instagram
 

“And that book helped me love reading, because before then reading was kind of like something you did when you had to do it. But that book, it like grabbed me and pulled me and I just kept reading and kept reading.

solomon

Song of Solomon, £7.99, Amazon

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Lorraine Kelly

TV presenter Lorraine loved to settle down with a novel, in particular Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky “Possibly the greatest book ever written and one I read as a 13-year-old studying Russian at secondary school,” she said. “It’s a brilliant psychological thriller as well as a detective story and the tortured Raskolnikov will haunt you forever.”

crime punishment

Crime and punishment, £6.49, Amazon

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Alison Brie 

The GLOW actress is all about the domestic thrillers! Praising Liane Moriarty's books, she said: "I've been reading a lot of Liane Moriarty's books, the same author who wrote Big Little Lies, and What Alice Forgot is such a good one. It's about a woman who has forgotten a chunk of her memory so she’s thinking about her life from ten years ago versus her current life, which is very different.

MORE: A Little Life author Hanya Yanagihara announces new novel and it sounds heartbreaking

"It’s also about being grateful for the people and relationships in your life. The book reminded me of how lucky I am to have my amazing husband [Dave Franco] and our cats." 

what alice forgot

What Alice Forgot, £6.29, Amazon

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Victoria Beckham

After their fourth child Harper Seven was born, Victoria’s husband David posted on Facebook: "Victoria's favourite book is To Kill A Mockingbird, it's a very strong, passionate book and the author was Harper Lee, and that is where Harper came from.

mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird, £4.70, Amazon

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Reese Witherspoon

Reese’s Hello Sunshine Book Club has inspired millions of people to enjoy reading, so it’s almost impossible for her to pick a favourite book. But she did tell Harper’s Bazaar: "I think the book that had the biggest impact on my life was Wild by Cheryl Strayed," she says. "It's the first book that I optioned to turn into a movie that I was producing and starring in.

"I was really nervous and I asked Cheryl if it would be okay to option her book, but I didn't really have a track record as a producer, but she took that leap of faith with me and I'll be forever grateful."

wild

Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found, £6.49, Amazon

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Issa Rae 

The Insecure star adores The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, telling Oprah magazine: "I read The Alchemist during a transitional period in my life, and it just made me think differently." The story follows a young boy who goes on a search for treasure in Egyptian pyramids. 

the alchemist 1

The Alchemist, £13.57, Amazon

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