Under The Radar Picks From The Read With Jenna Book Club That You May Not Have Heard Of

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Jenna Bush Hager has proven to be a major force in the publishing industry. Her reading group's impact is comparable to the life-changing opportunity of being highlighted by Reese's Book Club. Being selected as a monthly Read With Jenna pick could translate into boosted sales and notoriety — The New York Times reported that 47 of the first 74 Read With Jenna titles charted on the publication's bestsellers list. "Jenna is actually the closest analogue to the original Oprah book list," Kristen McLean, an executive director at NPD Books, told the NYT in 2022. "She is on linear mainstream TV."

While avid readers and internet users have likely encountered Hager-approved titles like "Remarkably Bright Creatures" by Shelby Van Pelt and "The Wedding People" by Alison Espach, not every selection has reached the same mainstream popularity. Lucky for you, we've curated a list of Hager-approved picks that may have flown under your radar but are still worth considering for your TBR. Just as the best of Read With Jenna's book club picks span across genres, these titles range from vulnerable memoirs to hard-hitting historical fiction, offering a little something to every reader.

"Patsy" by Nicole Dennis-Benn is the first on our list of under-the-radar picks from the Read With Jenna catalogue. The fiction title, which was selected as the literary group's August 2019 read, was honored with the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction and nominated for the Stonewall Book Award for Literature, but has less than 12,000 reviews on Goodreads. The challenging tale centers around Patsy, an undocumented immigrant seeking freedom and love in New York City, and Tru, the daughter who must reconcile with her mother's decision to leave her behind in their beautiful but rigid Jamaican town.

"It's a story about resilience and there's some broken-heartedness," Jenna Bush Hager told Today about her pick. "But 'Patsy' is a book that will open a lot of minds." Exploring themes of motherhood, queer sexuality, freedom, religion, and immigration, "Patsy" is a beautifully-written novel featuring complex and compelling characters. The book also contains heavy themes and topics, so readers should consult trigger warnings, if necessary. Otherwise, this is a Read With Jenna pick for book lovers interested in challenging and emotional tales of motherhood and immigration, with Dennis-Benn's powerful prose being a major draw.

While "The Four Winds" by Kristin Hannah earns the title of the highest rated historical fiction from the Read With Jenna book club, "We Must Not Think of Ourselves" by Lauren Grodstein is a worthwhile pick from the genre that you may have missed. The December 2023 selection follows Adam Paskow, a widower and former teacher confined to the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II, as he embarks on a secret archival mission based on the real-life Oneg Shabbat project. He endeavors to document the harsh realities of survival and the stories of his fellow Jewish prisoners, unexpectedly finding love with one of his flatmates along the way, until escape from the brutal ghetto becomes imperative.

"This is a love story; a novel about resilience, sacrifice, and hope, even in the darkest moments," Jenna Bush Hager wrote on Instagram. "It's timely and powerful, and it proves that even in the darkest corners, love still remains." Though "We Must Not Think of Ourselves" has only a little over 13,000 ratings on Goodreads, it boasts an average of 4.06 stars on the platform, with readers highlighting how the title combines unflinching depictions of poverty and abuse with sentiments of love and resilience. In this way, this Read With Jenna title would be an ideal pick for avid readers of emotionally gripping historical fiction or those specifically interested in stories exploring the Holocaust.

If you pay attention to the annual Goodreads Choice Awards, then you might recognize "How To Say Babylon" by Safiya Sinclair, a 2023 release that was nominated for Readers' Favorite Memoir & Autobiography. This poignant memoir is well-loved by its readers, boasting an average Goodreads rating of 4.44 stars, but it ranks as a Read With Jenna book club pick you might've missed with only 27,000 reviews. In this Jenna Bush Hager-backed title, Sinclair explores how her volatile father's strict adherence to an oppressive sect of Rastafari and his derision of Western culture impacted her family and upbringing. Though she and her sisters were governed by strict, patriarchal rules, Sinclair was eventually able to use her education, including her love for poetry, to grow her voice and establish her independence.

"This stunning memoir explores themes of freedom, choice, and self-discovery," Jenna Bush Hager wrote on Instagram. "It's a story of a young woman's courageous decision to forge her own path, defying her father's expectations. At its core, it's a celebration of womanhood." Not only is "How To Say Babylon" praised for its beautiful prose and vulnerability, but it's also noted as having a great audiobook experience. In this way, fans of memoirs and feminist explorations of religion and culture should definitely check out this underappreciated Read With Jenna pick.

"Heartwood" by Amity Gaige is another Jenna Bush Hager-backed title that you might've missed, with the April 2025 book club pick having less than 20,000 reviews on Goodreads. The thrilling mystery revolves around the disappearance of Valerie Gillis, a forty-two-year-old nurse who went missing while hiking the Appalachian Trail. The looming questions surrounding her ongoing disappearance are unraveled through multiple perspectives: Gaige weaving together letters written by the wilderness-enveloped Valerie to her mother; the investigation of Maine State Game Warden Beverly; the amateur research of an elderly birdwatcher named Lena. Together, the truth is slowly uncovered.

"I picked up this propulsive mystery and was hooked from the first page," Hager said on Instagram. "This is a story of survival, hope, and the many ways we find our way back — to ourselves and to each other. I devoured this book and couldn't put it down!" With a 4-star average rating, "Heartwood" is praised for beautiful, nature-inspired writing paired with themes of resilience, motherhood, and belonging. The Read With Jenna book club has highlighted some great mystery and thrillers, with this suspenseful, under-the-radar pick being another one to add to your TBR.

Rounding out our list of Read With Jenna book club picks you might've missed is "Here For It; Or, How to Save Your Soul In America" by humor advice columnist and pop culture and politics writer R. Eric Thomas. The essay-featuring memoir was selected as an August 2020 read in collaboration with Noelle Santos, whose indie bookstore journey was first highlighted by Jenna Bush Hager in 2017. The joint pick was read alongside "The Comeback" by Ella Berman, making the memoir an easy one to miss. In this book club pick, Thomas combines humor and heart to explore identity and culture, with essays focused on the economic and racial contrast between his urban home and his schooling in white suburbia, the struggle between his sexual orientation and his Christian upbringing, and his experience with accidental internet virality in college. 

"Some are hilarious, some are heartbreaking," Hager said of the essays on the "Today" show. "They're all about growing up and [struggling] with self-acceptance, finding hope, and embracing the future." With an average rating of 4.03 stars on Goodreads, "Here For It" is praised by reviewers for balancing deep reflections and hopefulness with quick wit and laugh-out-loud humor. Whether you're looking for your next book club read or enjoy a lighthearted collection of essays, this Read With Jenna pick is worth checking out.

To curate a list of Read With Jenna book club picks that readers may have missed, we identified titles from the celebrity reading group that had less than 30,000 reviews on Goodreads and a 3.45-star rating or higher on the platform. From there, we endeavored to highlight a range of publications diverse in genre, themes, and perspective, using commentary from Jenna Bush Hager to inform our final selections.