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With the start of a new month, it is time to check out celebrity book club picks for March 2023.
How is it already March? February went so fast. But there were some amazing celebrity book picks last month, such as It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover, or Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.
So many books and I love it!
Now let’s talk about March!
Reese Witherspoon’s pick is The House of Eve, a historical fiction novel exploring motherhood and achieving one’s goals, while Read with Jenna recommends Maame, a coming-of-age story about finding your way in life. Oprah’s Book Club pick is Bittersweet, a bestselling book about grief and living life to the fullest.
So many amazing books! With such a varied and engaging selection, there’s something for everyone this March!
I hope you will enjoy the following list of celebrity book club picks for March 2023!
Reese’s Book Club
For March 2023, Reese’s celebrity book club has picked The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson.
Set in 1950s Philadelphia and Washington, DC, this historical fiction novel is a triumph that tells the intersecting stories of two women. Readers are taken on a journey that explores the challenges and sacrifices that come with being a mother and achieving one’s greatest goal, culminating in a beautifully written and surprising ending that is sure to leave a lasting impact.
The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson
1950s Philadelphia: fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright.
Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his parents don’t let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been searching for. But having a baby—and fitting in—is easier said than done.
With their stories colliding in the most unexpected of ways, Ruby and Eleanor will both make decisions that shape the trajectory of their lives.
Read with Jenna
Read with Jenna’s celebrity book club pick for March 2023 is Maame by Jessica George.
Maame is a lively, funny, and poignant story about finding your way in life, with a deeply moving portrait of the joys and guilt that come along with it. The story revolves around a woman named Maame, which means “woman” in Twi, with different interpretations.
Maame by Jessica George
Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi but in my case, it means woman.
It’s fair to say that Maddie’s life in London is far from rewarding. With a mother who spends most of her time in Ghana (yet still somehow manages to be overbearing), Maddie is the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced stage Parkinson’s. At work, her boss is a nightmare and Maddie is tired of always being the only Black person in every meeting.
When her mum returns from her latest trip to Ghana, Maddie leaps at the chance to get out of the family home and finally start living. A self-acknowledged late bloomer, she’s ready to experience some important “firsts”: She finds a flat share, says yes to after-work drinks, pushes for more recognition in her career, and throws herself into the bewildering world of internet dating. But it’s not long before tragedy strikes, forcing Maddie to face the true nature of her unconventional family, and the perils―and rewards―of putting her heart on the line.
Smart, funny, and deeply affecting, Jessica George’s Maame deals with the themes of our time with humor and poignancy: from familial duty and racism, to female pleasure, the complexity of love, and the life-saving power of friendship. Most important, it explores what it feels like to be torn between two homes and cultures―and it celebrates finally being able to find where you belong.
Oprah’s Book Club
Oprah’s celebrity book club pick for March 2023 is Bittersweet by Susan Cain.
Bittersweet is a bestselling book by the author of Quiet that explores the power of the bittersweet personality and the misunderstood side of mental health and creativity. It offers readers a roadmap for facing grief in order to live life to the fullest. The book has been praised by many, including Brené Brown and Glennon Doyle. It was also longlisted for the Porchlight Business Book Award and named one of the best books of the year by The Wall Street Journal and Mashable.
Bittersweet by Susan Cain
Bittersweetness is a tendency to states of longing, poignancy, and sorrow; an acute awareness of passing time; and a curiously piercing joy at the beauty of the world. It recognizes that light and dark, birth and death—bitter and sweet—are forever paired.
If you’ve ever wondered why you like sad music . . .
If you find comfort or inspiration in a rainy day . . .
If you react intensely to music, art, nature, and beauty . . .
Then you probably identify with the bittersweet state of mind.
With Quiet, Susan Cain urged our society to cultivate space for the undervalued, indispensable introverts among us, thereby revealing an untapped power hidden in plain sight. Now she employs the same mix of research, storytelling, and memoir to explore why we experience sorrow and longing, and how embracing the bittersweetness at the heart of life is the true path to creativity, connection, and transcendence.
Cain shows how a bittersweet state of mind is the quiet force that helps us transcend our personal and collective pain, whether from a death or breakup, addiction or illness. If we don’t acknowledge our own heartache, she says, we can end up inflicting it on others via abuse, domination, or neglect. But if we realize that all humans know—or will know—loss and suffering, we can turn toward one another.
At a time of profound discord and personal anxiety, Bittersweet brings us together in deep and unexpected ways.
Mocha Girls Read
Mocha Girls Read’s celebrity book club pick for March 2023 is The Guest List by Lucy Foley.
The Guest List is a tantalizing and atmospheric thriller that expertly blends the classic mystery style of Agatha Christie with modern-day suspense. As a wedding celebration takes a dark and deadly turn, the author masterfully weaves together different perspectives and seemingly insignificant details to create a gripping and satisfying whodunit. Praised by critics for its expert pacing, evocative atmosphere, and memorable characters, this book has been named one of the New York Times’ Best Thrillers of the Year and is a must-read for anyone who loves a good mystery.
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
The bride – The plus one – The best man – The wedding planner – The bridesmaid – The body
On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.
But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.
And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?
Read with Marie Claire
Marie Claire’s celebrity book club pick for March 2023 is Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey.
Really Good, Actually is one hilarious and witty debut novel that chronicles one woman’s messy and relatable search for happiness and purpose in the aftermath of an unexpected breakup. With its sharp humor and well-drawn characters, Really Good, Actually has been praised by critics as a “hilarious and barbed” account of starting over, and for upending the classic tropes of romantic comedies in a fresh and insightful way. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking a fun, insightful and authentic look at life and love in the modern age.
Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
Maggie is fine. She’s doing really good, actually. Sure, she’s broke, her graduate thesis on something obscure is going nowhere, and her marriage only lasted 608 days, but at the ripe old age of twenty-nine, Maggie is determined to embrace her new life as a Surprisingly Young Divorcée™.
Now she has time to take up nine hobbies, eat hamburgers at 4 am, and “get back out there” sex-wise. With the support of her tough-loving academic advisor, Merris; her newly divorced friend, Amy; and her group chat (naturally), Maggie barrels through her first year of single life, intermittently dating, occasionally waking up on the floor and asking herself tough questions along the way.
Laugh-out-loud funny and filled with sharp observations, Really Good, Actually is a tender and bittersweet comedy that lays bare the uncertainties of modern love, friendship, and our search for that thing we like to call “happiness”. This is a remarkable debut from an unforgettable new voice in fiction.
GMA Book Club
GMA’s March 2023 celebrity book club pick is River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer.
This highly-acclaimed book is a powerful, uplifting story of a mother’s harrowing quest to reunite with her stolen children in the aftermath of slavery. A poignant and captivating exploration of motherhood, family, and resilience, this novel has been praised as a “celebration” of the enduring power of women. With its vivid depiction of history and its exploration of what truly defines freedom and family, it has been named one of the most anticipated books of 2023 by several top publications and sites, including Real Simple, Goodreads, and the New York Times.
River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer
Her search begins with an ending.…
The master of the Providence plantation in Barbados gathers his slaves and announces the king has decreed an end to slavery. As of the following day, the Emancipation Act of 1834 will come into effect. The cries of joy fall silent when he announces that they are no longer his slaves; they are now his apprentices. No one can leave. They must work for him for another six years. Freedom is just another name for the life they have always lived. So Rachel runs.
Away from Providence, she begins a desperate search to find her children—the five who survived birth and were sold. Are any of them still alive? Rachel has to know. The grueling, dangerous journey takes her from Barbados then, by river, deep into the forest of British Guiana and finally across the sea to Trinidad. She is driven on by the certainty that a mother cannot be truly free without knowing what has become of her children, even if the answer is more than she can bear. These are the stories of Mary Grace, Micah, Thomas Augustus, Cherry Jane and Mercy. But above all this is the story of Rachel and the extraordinary lengths to which a mother will go to find her children…and her freedom.
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble book club pick for March 2023 is The Snow Hare by Paula Lichtarowicz.
In this captivating and emotional novel, a strong-willed woman has big dreams of becoming a doctor. However, the upheaval of World War II leads her on a path of unforeseen love and a life-altering decision. With its intricate plot and richly drawn characters, the book provides an extraordinary depiction of the power of love, the cost of sacrifice, and the ramifications of the choices we make.
The Snow Hare by Paula Lichtarowicz
Is it possible to fall in love at the edge of life?
Lena has lived a long, quiet life on her farm in Wales, alongside her husband and child. But as her end approaches, buried memories begin to return. Of her childhood in Poland, and her passion for science. Of the early days of her marriage, reluctant wife to an army officer. Of the birth of her daughter, whose arrival changed everything.
Memories less welcome return, too. Her Polish village, transformed overnight by the Soviets, and the war that doomed her entire family to the frigid work camps of the Siberian tundra. And buried in that blinding snow, amongst the darkness of survival, the most haunting memory of all: that of an extraordinary new love.
Exploring motherhood, marriage, consequences, and our incredible human capacity for hope, The Snow Hare is the story of a woman who dares to love and to dream in the face of impossible odds, and of the peace we each must make with our choices, even long after the years have gone by.
Thank you for reading this list of celebrity book club picks for March 2023! Happy reading! ❤️