The Booker Prize's Celebrity Turn
When Sarah Jessica Parker appeared at the Booker Prize ceremony at Old Billingsgate in London on 10 November 2025, she didn't just turn heads - she sparked a crucial conversation about the role of celebrities in the literary world. The actress, serving as a judge for one of literature's most prestigious awards, found herself surrounded by literary figures eager to be photographed alongside her, creating a spectacle that divided opinion among book lovers.
The Rise of Celebrity Reading Culture
Parker's involvement in the Booker Prize required her to read 153 books, a process documented by the New York Times and social media, including footage of her reading on the New York subway while being filmed. Her enthusiastic approach - reportedly messaging "Oh let me try!!!" to Booker organisers - represents the latest evolution in celebrity engagement with literature.
This phenomenon extends far beyond the Booker Prize. Celebrity book clubs have become the natural PR extension of traditional celebrity philanthropy, joining animal charities and UN goodwill ambassador roles as causes embraced by the famous. From Reese Witherspoon's decade-old book club to newer entrants like Dua Lipa, these initiatives position reading as both virtuous and fashionable.
When Reading Becomes Performance
Yet the aesthetic of these celebrity reading campaigns often raises eyebrows. The article highlights several examples that blur the line between genuine literary engagement and carefully curated content:
- Natalie Portman peering over Virginia Woolf's The Waves
- Emma Roberts napping with her newborn under a Joan Didion anthology
- Kaia Gerber declaring that "reading is sexy" on social media
- The description of "Dakota Johnson's immersive literary experience"
This presentation of reading as inherently "sexy" or fashionable raises questions about whether the message serves literature or celebrity branding. As the author notes, there's something deeply condescending in assuming that young people will only respond to reading if it's presented as "hot" or accompanied by bikini-clad promotional shots.
Not All Celebrity Book Clubs Are Equal
The piece does acknowledge distinctions between different approaches. While Witherspoon often features conventional novels about unconventional couples, Dua Lipa's book club has showcased more ambitious literary works by authors like Ocean Vuong, Patrick Radden Keefe, and Helen Garner.
Interestingly, Sarah Jessica Parker herself had previously featured Helen Garner's work on Sex and the City, with Carrie Bradshaw carrying copies of Monkey Grip and the true crime story This House of Grief - the latter being a wrenching account of a man who murders his children that somehow became a fashion accessory.
The Author Perspective
For authors, celebrity endorsement can be transformative, leading even "cranky and uncooperative literary people" to become suddenly cheerful when encountering fame. In Parker's case, her collaboration with judging panel chair Roddy Doyle saw the Irish novelist apparently agreeing with her literary judgments, though the piece subtly questions whether this reflected genuine consensus or celebrity deference.
The article recalls Jonathan Franzen's priggish refusal to participate in Oprah's Book Club, noting that as Oprah's selections become "increasingly dodgy," this stance seems more sympathetic. It suggests we might celebrate celebrity book clubs while reserving the right to find them "faintly ludicrous" - examples of people sharing opinions with "confidence entirely untainted by expertise."
Ultimately, the piece argues for a middle ground: acknowledging that celebrity involvement might bring new readers to literature while maintaining healthy scepticism about the motivations and execution. In an age of dwindling attention spans and screen addiction, any promotion of reading has value - but that doesn't mean we can't question how it's being done.
