Celebrity Memoirs That Make Great Book Club Picks

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Selecting a book that lacks thematic depth is one of the key mistakes you don't want to make when picking a new read for your book club. After all, you want a pick that will keep everyone engaged, provoke strong opinions, and inspire lively conversations. If you choose a flashy story with little substance, then even if you take the time to cultivate questions for your book club discussion, it will be difficult to get a rousing conversation going. But that doesn't mean you need to tackle "War and Peace" either.

They sometimes get dismissed as fluff, but plenty of celebrity memoirs are great, well-written books. While many of them coast by on salacious gossip and shocking circumstances, the best ones have more artistic ambitions — taking on highly singular lives in the spotlight to explore the same questions about the human experience as classic literature. If you're looking for a book club read that blends a little gossip with great writing or a more profound meditation on the creative process, a celebrity memoir might be the perfect next choice.

In "Crying in H Mart" — this delightful literary offering from musician Michelle Zauner, who performs under the stage name Japanese Breakfast — food becomes the lens through which the author explores grief, memories of her mother, and her Korean heritage. Zauner's mother passed away from pancreatic cancer when the artist was just twenty-five, and she grapples with that loss in a way that is both deeply personal and remarkably universal. Upon its release, this book shot to New York Times bestseller status, and it's arguably one of the all-time best memoirs written by musicians.

"Michelle's memoir hits home really hard for me and my family, as she discusses the horrible grief of losing a parent to cancer and trying to hold onto the memories as much as possible," wrote one Goodreads reviewer. "This book made me reflect on my own relationship with my immigrant mum and my own cultural identity, as well as my own relationship with my mum's cooking," added another. If your book group is interested in tackling questions about grief, mother-daughter relationships, or the immigrant experience, then this deeply emotional story offers a great jumping-off point. Just don't be surprised if you come away hungry. Zauner's vivid descriptions of food are an art form all their own.

After years of being silenced by a conservatorship, pop icon Britney Spears finally got to tell her own story with her 2023 memoir, "The Woman In Me." This book fills in many of the blanks around the superstar, giving insight into Spears's troubled relationship with her family and partners, including Kevin Federline and Justin Timberlake. While the prose might not be strictly literary, this book raises ambitious questions about the ways power and control intersect with gender. Plenty of readers agreed that they came away feeling angry on Spears's behalf. "It seems to me that Britney Spears is one of the loneliest people in the world," mused one Goodreads reviewer.

"Even if you aren't a fan of her music, this book is a must-read as it portrays an accurate account of conservancy abuse and a woman's fight to regain her freedom," wrote another Goodreads reviewer. This is a great pick if your book club is interested in conversations about gender, family dynamics, and personal freedom. Bonus: Actress Michelle Williams's immersive narration makes this a celebrity memoir you'll want to listen to on audiobook.

This memoir by former child actor Jeanette McCurdy shot to the top of bestseller lists when it was released, and with good reason. "I'm Glad My Mom Died" is an unflinching portrayal of a fraught, abusive mother-daughter relationship and a de facto exposé on the horrors of child stardom. "It's a portrait of the ugly side of child acting," observed one Goodreads reviewer. "Reading this, I found myself feeling that surely no child can give informed consent to becoming an actor. They are pushed and pulled between adults who fixate on their appearance, who criticise them, build them up and reject them."

But McCurdy's memoir is more than just an inside look at a famous life — this book has serious artistic chops. "She is able to get across very nuanced and contradictory sentiments without sounding like a complete whiner. And that's a really hard thing to accomplish in practice," noted another Goodreads reviewer. "She is able to outline how, despite understanding how privileged and 'lucky' she was to be famous and on TV, she loathed acting, a lot of the fans, and the experiences that came with it all." By remaining darkly funny and movingly vulnerable, she's written a story that will resonate with anyone who has struggled to navigate a parent's mental illness. If your book club doesn't shy away from conversations about trauma or complicated grief, then McCurdy's sharp, clear-eyed memoir will give you plenty to talk about.

If celebrity memoirs sometimes get a bad reputation for being less literary, Patti Smith's "Just Kids" is the book to completely obliterate that notion. The musician's memoir, which centers on her relationship with photographer Robert Maplethorpe, is a peek into her extraordinary life and also a glimmering portrait of late-'60s and early-'70s New York City. "This is not a kiss and tell memoir," wrote one Goodreads reviewer. "It's an opportunity to walk a mile in Patti Smith's head, in a less coded and more factual way than in her music or poetry."

Here, Smith's unique life takes a backseat to her extraordinary consciousness. Readers get to see the world through her eccentric, creative perspective for a meditation on the creative process and what it means to be an artist. Smith's book was a National Book Award winner and is beloved by celebrity memoir fans and literary readers alike. Between Smith's artistic ambitions and her playful name-dropping, this pick will give your book club plenty to talk about, whether you're interested in heady conversations about the creative process or you're just intrigued by the '70s art scene in New York.

Gabrielle Union's snappy memoir-in-essays, "We're Going to Need More Wine," is fearless. The "Bring It On" actress fearlessly tackles topics like colorism and sexual assault, and her book is better for it, which is part of why it earned 4.19 stars on Goodreads. Each chapter is a masterclass in using the personal to explore the universal. Where other celebrities might be overly preoccupied with how they're coming off, Union writes with a vulnerable honesty that's unusual for a celebrity with a PR team. At times, her harshest criticisms are for herself, but in service of bolder, braver ideas. "I just didn't really see Gabrielle Union as a writer in my mind, but boy was I wrong," wrote one Goodreads reviewer.

The hilarious Union finds levity even as she confronts serious topics like #MeToo and infidelity, making this book as inspiring as it is smart. "If you want a book that is really by a feminist and someone with a brain, this is the book for you," wrote another review. For book groups excited to discuss race, gender, or the legacy of the pop star Prince, Union's essays will give you plenty to sink your teeth into.

When compiling selections for this list, we considered reads that were well-suited for book club picks, meaning they engaged with serious themes and provoked strong emotional responses. Selections that went beyond a merely linear recounting of a celebrity's life and engaged with bigger, literary ideas were more likely to be considered for inclusion. Consideration was also given to the cultural impact of the book, as well as its critical and popular reception. Celebrity memoirs that received high star ratings or positive comments on social media sites like Goodreads and Reddit were ranked more favorably, as were those that had been awarded notable accolades or achieved bestseller status. Finally, industry recognition was considered a positive indicator of the book's capacity to stimulate interesting book club discussion.