Reese's Book Club is a celebrity

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run by Reese Witherspoon under her media company Hello Sunshine. Since its founding in 2017, the club has gained a reputation for boosting the careers of female authors such as

Delia Owens Delia Owens (born c. 1949) is an American author, zoologist, and conservationist. She is best known for her 2018 novel ''Where the Crawdads Sing''. Owens was born and raised in Southern Georgia, where she spent most of her life in or near true ...

Celeste Ng Celeste Ng ( ) (born July 30, 1980) is an American writer and novelist. She has released many short stories that have been published in a variety of literary journals. Ng's first novel, '' Everything I Never Told You'', released on June 26, 20 ...

, and Megan Miranda. Hello Sunshine has been involved in the adaptation of several Reese's Book Club Picks into films and television series, including '' Little Fires Everywhere,'' ''

Where the Crawdads Sing ''Where the Crawdads Sing'' is a 2018 coming-of-age murder mystery novel by American author Delia Owens. The story follows two timelines that slowly intertwine. The first timeline describes the life and adventures of a young girl named Kya as s ...

'', and '' Daisy Jones and the Six''.

History

Reese's Book Club was founded in 2017 and operates under Witherspoon's media company Hello Sunshine, led by Chief Executive Officer Sarah Harden. Harden was appointed to the position in 2018, after serving as interim CEO beginning in June 2017. Also in June 2017, '' Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine'' by Gail Honeyman became the first book selected as a Reese's Book Club Pick. Since then, the club has highlighted a Book Club Pick every month, reportedly chosen by Witherspoon. Reese's Book Club has gained a reputation for boosting the sales of its Book Club Picks. As of 2019, no Book Club Picks had sold fewer than 10,000 copies and novels selected as Book Club Picks reportedly outsell other fiction books by 700%. In August 2020, Reese's Book Club announced that it would being selecting a monthly young adult Book Club Pick, with the first YA selection being ''

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'' by Leah Johnson.

Hello Sunshine Adaptations

Witherspoon's production company Hello Sunshine has optioned the film rights to several Book Club Picks, including ''Where the Crawdads Sing'', ''Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine'', ''Little Fires Everywhere'', ''Daisy Jones and the Six,'' ''Tiny Beautiful Things'', and ''The Last Thing He Told Me.''

Brand Partnerships

In April 2022, Reese's Book Club partnered with furniture company Havenly to create a line of home decor called "Reading Room."

Controversy

''Where the Crawdads Sing''

Reese's Book Club faced criticism in July 2019 after it was reported that Mark Owens, the ex-husband of Delia Owens, author of Reese's Book Club Pick ''Where the Crawdads Sing'', was possibly connected to a murder that took place in Zambia in 1995.

''The Nightingale''

Reese's Book Club was the subject of controversy following the announcement of its March 2023 Book Club Pick ''

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'' by Kristin Hannah. In a video posted to the Reese's Book Club

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page, Witherspoon explained that the novel, which tells the story of two women in

German-occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

during World War II, was chosen in response to rising

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. Some criticized this choice, noting that the novel does not prominently feature any Jewish characters and was not written by a Jewish author.

Book Club Picks

References

{{Reflist Reese Witherspoon Book clubs