Sarah Michelle Gellar's Favorite Books Are Engrossing Fiction Reads

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Sarah Michelle Gellar loves to get absorbed in a good novel. The actor opened up about a few of her favorite books, and they're all modern literary classics that combine propulsive plots with immersive prose. The tome that tops her list is a cult fave that is widely considered to be one of the best dark academia books: "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt. This 1992 novel centers on a group of classical literature students at an Ivy League-esque university in New England. "I know they've tried to make it a movie for years. I hope it never gets made," Gellar told The New Yorker in 2026. "I hope it stays a book so that you can always see it the way you see it, right? Because then it's not putting ideas in your head. It's the craziest book if you try to describe it to someone."

Two of her other favorite books balance nuanced themes with compulsive readability. She shared that she often recommends "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, which reads like an unconventional ghost story, and "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger, a non-linear sci-fi romance tome. All three novels have reputations for being commercially successful, in addition to being critically well-regarded. In other words, this '90s star might be a beauty — on plenty of occasions, Gellar has been known to rock a leggy look — but she's also got some big brains.

Sarah Michelle Gellar's love of reading is well documented, from a snap of her reading Brett Easton Ellis' "American Psycho" on the set of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," to her TBR stack shared on her Instagram. "I love books. Books are my passion," Gellar told The New Yorker in 2026. "It's how I unwind, how I meditate." On Facebook, the star shared that reading a new book on the beach was her favorite way to pass a Sunday, and a glance at her favorite picks shows that she probably appreciates the kind of beach read that proves a summer book can still cut deep.

Sarah Michelle Gellar reading American Psycho on the set of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. pic.twitter.com/qxuJOs7Iqm

— Diandra Krueger //// (@SassySledgehmmr) April 5, 2024

Gellar revealed that once she started making money as an actor, she began collecting rare, first-edition books. "Collecting first-edition books started for me when I was on 'Buffy [the Vampire Slayer]," she told Apartment Therapy. "A lot of our cast got new cars, and for me, it was like, books."

But while she might have an extensive library at home, she can't exactly take tons of books with her when she's working. In fact, Gellar reads so much that a Kindle Paperwhite e-reader is now among her must-have items. "I'm an obsessive book reader; I'll pull out a book wherever I can. I travel so much, too, and I used to carry all these hardcover books in my suitcases," she told The Strategist in 2020. "Now, to be able to have so many selections is such a gift."