Celebrity Book Club Picks for January 2022

Hi everyone!  Today I’m sharing my monthly feature highlighting the Celebrity Book Club Picks for January 2022. These book clubs are internet-based and open to all who follow.  So if you’re like me and always on the lookout for the next great read, you will now find these picks all in one spot – That Happy Reader’s blog!

Oprah’s book club has not had a new pick for several months now, so I’ve deleted this book club for now and added one from one of my favourite authors – Emily Giffin. If Oprah’s book club selects a new pick I will certainly add her book club back to this list.  Without further adieu, let me introduce you to these Celebrity book club picks for January 2022.

Good Morning America’s Book Club

The GMA Book Club is officially called “Cover to Cover” and was started in the Fall of 2019. Their selections highlight diversity and books are chosen from both fiction and non-fiction genres. The book club chose “The Maid” by Nita Prose as their January 2022 pick.

From The Publisher:

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.
Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.
But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?
A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

Published: January 4, 2022 by Ballantine Books, 304 pages

Genres: Mystery, General Fiction

Add The Maid to your Goodreads shelf

Emily Giffin’s Book Club

Emily Giffin was educated as a lawyer but dreamed of becoming a writer.  After practicing law for several years (and paying off student loans) she wrote her first book “Something Borrowed” in 2004 and is now the bestselling author of 9 books.  Her book club is based on Instagram (@egbookclub) which started in May 2021.  “The Good Sister” by Sally Hepworth is her January 2022 pick.  You can read my review of this book Here .

From The Publisher:

There’s only been one time that Rose couldn’t stop me from doing the wrong thing and that was a mistake that will haunt me for the rest of my life.
Fern Castle works in her local library. She has dinner with her twin sister Rose three nights a week. And she avoids crowds, bright lights and loud noises as much as possible. Fern has a carefully structured life and disrupting her routine can be…dangerous.
When Rose discovers that she cannot get pregnant, Fern sees her chance to pay her sister back for everything Rose has done for her. Fern can have a baby for Rose. She just needs to find a father. Simple.
Fern’s mission will shake the foundations of the life she has carefully built for herself and stir up dark secrets from the past, in this quirky, rich and shocking story of what families keep hidden.

Published: April 13, 2021 by St. Martin’s Press, 309 pages

Genres: Women’s Fiction, Thriller

Add The Good Sister to your Goodreads shelf

Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club (Hello Sunshine)

Founded in 2017, Hello Sunshine always chooses books with women at the centre of the story. Their website notes “We make our choices thoughtfully and look for ways to deepen our connection to books, authors and ourselves”.  This book club chose “Honor” by Thrity Umrigar as their January 2022 pick.

From the Publisher:

Indian American journalist Smita has returned to India to cover a story, but reluctantly: long ago she and her family left the country with no intention of ever coming back. As she follows the case of Meena—a Hindu woman attacked by members of her own village and her own family for marrying a Muslim man—Smita comes face to face with a society where tradition carries more weight than one’s own heart, and a story that threatens to unearth the painful secrets of Smita’s own past. While Meena’s fate hangs in the balance, Smita tries in every way she can to right the scales. She also finds herself increasingly drawn to Mohan, an Indian man she meets while on assignment. But the dual love stories of Honor are as different as the cultures of Meena and Smita themselves: Smita realizes she has the freedom to enter into a casual affair, knowing she can decide later how much it means to her.
In this tender and evocative novel about love, hope, familial devotion, betrayal, and sacrifice, Thrity Umrigar shows us two courageous women trying to navigate how to be true to their homelands and themselves at the same time.

Published: January 4, 2022 by Algonquin Books, 336 pages

Genres: General Fiction, Multi-cultural

Add Honor to your Goodreads shelf

Read With Jenna (Jenna Bush Hager)

Starting in March 2019, the former First Daughter announced her book club on the Today show.  Each month she chooses a book that is sure to generate discussion.  Jenna chose “The School for Good Mothers” by Jessamine Chan as her January 2022 pick.

From The Publisher:

Frida Liu is struggling. She doesn’t have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents’ sacrifices. What’s worse is she can’t persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with their angelic daughter Harriet does Frida finally feel she’s attained the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she’s just enough.
Until Frida has a horrible day.
The state has its eyes on mothers like Frida — ones who check their phones while their kids are on the playground; who let their children walk home alone; in other words, mothers who only have one lapse of judgement. Now, a host of government officials will determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother’s devotion. Faced with the possibility of losing Harriet, Frida must prove that she can live up to the standards set for mothers — that she can learn to be good.
This propulsive, witty page-turner explores the perils of “perfect” upper-middle-class parenting, the violence enacted upon women by the state and each other, and the boundless love a mother has for her daughter.

Published: January 4, 2022 by Simon & Schuster, 336 pages

Genres: General Fiction, Science Fiction

Add The School For Good Mothers to your Goodreads shelf

So that’s Celebrity Book Clubs for January 2022. Do any of these books appeal to you?  Will your book club be selecting any of these books? Let me know in the comments.

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