What Book Clubs Are Reading in May

The newest Oprah’s Book Club selection is the highly anticipated sequel to the novel that inspired the Oscar-nominated film Brooklyn. But Oprah says you don’t need to have read that first book or have watched the movie to dive into this one, telling her readers, “This novel has everything you need to know in its own completely riveting story.”

According to The New York Times, the sophomore novel by the author of Goodbye, Vitamin sparked a frenzied 17-way bidding war between top publishers—and with good reason. The book, picked by both Jenna Bush Hager and Roxane Gay this month, has been one of the most popular fiction books on Tertulia this month. Spanning from China during the Cultural Revolution to late '90s Manhattan, the book tells a remarkable multi-generational story that tackles issues of class, race and family while veering into sci-fi territory.

Actor Dakota Johnson recently joined the growing list of celebrity book club mavens, telling Bustle that her reading group will focus on literary fiction by mostly female, debut authors. For May, the Malibu denizen picked out a hotly anticipated debut novel about gay men in rural China and the women who marry them, which has received love from the likes of Jessamine Chan and Robert Jones, Jr.

This May, Emma Roberts and Karah Preiss invite their club members to delve into this “irresistibly unnerving collection of stories that explore the anxieties of living while Black — a high-wire act of literary-fantastical hybrid fiction.”

To kick off his 2024 book club, late-night host Jimmy Fallon designed a March Madness-style bracket for readers to vote on the winner of his spring pick. The results are in, and a psychological thriller took the crown. The comedian couldn't hide his excitement: "Legit, I do not want to put this book down! No spoilers but Chapter 14/15?!?!”

The Icelandic and Chinese singer dubbed "Gen Z's Pop Jazz Icon" by the NY Times picked a crime classic she hailed as the “most beautiful thriller I’ve read. The Italian landscapes and attractive characters come to life off the page — it’s the type of imagery that you’d expect from a romantic novel! This book had me gripping my seat at the cafe.”

“Set in Poland in the 1980s during the brutal decline of communism, it’s a beautiful coming-of-age love story between Ludwik and Janusz. They spend a serene summer camping and swimming in lakes, but when they go back to their lives in Warsaw, the compromises they have to make to continue their relationship become clear. Written as a love letter from Ludwik to Janusz, it’s warm and lyrical while shining a light on the oppression the Polish LGBTQIA+ community has suffered for decades,” declared Dua Lipa of her latest book club pick.

This Spring, Reese Witherspoon chose a debut romance novel from the screenwriter who adapted Emily Henry's People We Meet On Vacation, telling her readers that it’s “about what happens when two writers with a complicated history end up working on the same TV show…but can they re-write their story?”

Natalie Portman's May selection is “a decades-long exploration of sexuality, abortion, friendship and love” written by a bestselling French author, documentary film director, and journalist. The english translation of this highly anticipated release hits US shelves next week.

GMA book club picked this sci-fi-spy-rom-com mash-up as their May selection. The Ministry of Time follows a group of expat time travelers—a captain from a doomed Arctic exploration, a WWI soldier, a plague victim—and their 21st-century "bridges," tasked with guiding them through the modern world. Sharp, sexy, and surprising, it's no wonder that A24 snapped up the TV rights on sight.