Well-read, southern-bred, multi-faceted… the list of words that describe Reese Witherspoon are never-ending. In addition to book-clubbing guru, we can now add bestselling author to Reese’s list! It’s absolutely fitting that our favorite Hollywood bibliophile would share a book, WHISKEY IN A TEACUP, with the world! But when she’s not producing, acting, designing clothes, writing, and altogether crushing life, Reese is devouring books and recommending great reads for her Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine Book Club. We’ve been able to keep up with her book recs on Instagram and can confirm these books are worth reading. Here are some of our favorite Reese-approved books.
Reese's latest book club pick is for foodies, wanderlusters, and those looking for a story of resilience and family. In her memoir FROM SCRATCH, actress Tembi Locke chronicles the three summers she spent with her daughter and late husband's family in Italy in the wake of his death. Once estranged from his family—who disapproved of their interracial union—Locke finds solace and nourishment at her mother-in-law's kitchen table. A delicious and heart-wrenching story of love, food for the soul, and home, as Yangsze Choo (author of the April pick NIGHT TIGER) says, "get ready to farfalle in love with this book."
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A poignant and transporting cross-cultural love story set against the lush backdrop of the Sicilian countryside, where one woman discovers the healing powers of food, family, and unexpected grace in her darkest hour.
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 spends in Sicily with her daughter, Zoela, as she begins to piece together a life without her husband in his tiny hometown hamlet of farmers. Where once Tembi was estranged from Saro’s family and his origins, now she finds solace and nourishment—literally and spiritually—at her mother in law’s table. In the Sicilian countryside, she discovers the healing gifts of simple fresh food, the embrace of a close knit community, and timeless traditions and wisdom that light a path forward. All along the way she reflects on her and Saro’s incredible romance—an indelible love story that leaps off the pages.
In Sicily, it is said that every story begins with a marriage or a death—in Tembi Locke’s case, it is both. Her story is about loss, but it’s really about love found. Her story is about travel, but it’s really about finding a home. It is about food, but it’s really about chasing flavor as an act of remembrance. From Scratch is for anyone who has dared to reach for big love, fought for what mattered most, and needed a powerful reminder that life is…delicious.
With IN A DARK, DARK WOOD; THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10; and now THE LYING GAME making appearances all over Reese’s Instagram, we think it’s safe to assume she’s a big fan of Ruth Ware. Ware’s latest thriller is an atmospheric, twisty novel about four friends whose past lies—and games—come back to haunt them. It will keep you on your toes until the last page.
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Reese’s January pick is a must-read for frequent library dwellers and all-around bibliophiles. On the morning of April 29, 1986, the stacks at the Los Angeles Public Library were consumed by flames. The fire was disastrous: it reached 2000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, Susan Orlean delivers a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling book that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before.
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When Nikole Paterson accompanies her actor boyfriend to a Dodgers game, the last thing she expects in a grandiose proposal (on the scoreboard, no less). Saying no isn’t the hard part, disappointing a stadium full of fans, however…? On top of being a Reese Witherspoon X Hello Sunshine pick, THE PROPOSAL received praise from Roxane Gay, BuzzFeed, Essence and the list goes on. If you love rom-coms films in book form, THE PROPOSAL is a fun, relatable, and sharp read.
When honeymooners Erin and Mark discover something in the water while scuba-diving, their decision to speak out or keep their discovery a secret trigger a devastating chain of events. Perfect for readers of Ruth Ware (another Reese Witherspoon favorite), SOMETHING IN THE WATER is the vacation read you never knew you needed.
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Last October, Reese Witherspoon made THE RULES OF MAGIC—Alice Hoffman’s prequel to PRACTICAL MAGIC—her RW Book Club pick for the month, which makes perfect sense because it has everything your book club could ever want: magic and family secrets. This novel tells the story of the two beautiful Owens sisters who will grow up to be the revered, and sometimes feared, aunts in PRACTICAL MAGIC, a beloved read of all Alice Hoffman enthusiasts.
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Reese made Celeste Ng’s LITTLE FIRES EVEYWHERE her September RW Book Club pick, saying, “Celeste Ng writes with stunning accuracy about the power of motherhood, the intensity of teenage love, and the danger of perfection. And a fire that destroys it all.” Book clubs everywhere are raving about this novel!
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Reese’s July RW Book Club Pick, THE ALICE NETWORK, is an enthralling blend of historical fiction, engaging drama, and mystery. It’s the story of two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—who are united in this fast-paced, breathtaking tale of courage and redemption.
Reese says Chanel Cleeton’s NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA is a “…beautiful novel that's full of forbidden passions, family secrets and a lot of courage and sacrifice." Sound like something you’d be into? Moving from Havana 1958 to Miami 2017, NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA follows a Cuban-American woman exploring the roots of her identity and unearthing a long-hidden family secret.
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