I spend a lot of time thinking about celebrities for work. I spend a lot of time reading, too. Here’s what I imagine celebrities, rare creatures that they are, are reading.
1. Ralph Fiennes: Collects rare books, reads them with gloves in a special rare book reading room which he keeps locked so “grubby hands” can’t get to it.
2. Reese Witherspoon: Only reads the books from her book club — after they’re chosen.
3. Willow Smith: Exclusively reads what she, herself, has written.
4. Pete Davidson: Old copies of Mad Magazine from his childhood bedroom. They smell bad but he can’t tell.
5. Leonardo DiCaprio: Michael Lewis, pop science books about global warming, obscure biographies about egomaniacal men which he then sends to Martin Scorsese with the note, “Let’s make this!” Subtext: Another Oscar?
6. Justin Bieber: Annotated Hillsong Bible with scribbles on the side.
7. Kate Winslet: Multi-generational family epics that might be classified as intellectual beach reads.
8. Cate Blanchett: Doesn’t read novels published past 1950, except for The Price of Salt (1952), and that was for research.
9. Jon Hamm: Finishes a crossword puzzle book a month; is working his way up to Wednesdays.
10. Angelina Jolie: U.N. Whitepapers
11. Jennifer Aniston: Jennifer Weiner
12. Kim Kardashian: Instagram comments
13. Madonna: Unauthorized biographies about Madonna
14. Dev Patel: Contemporary literary fiction that his women co-stars recommend
15. Jennifer Lawrence: A healthy mix of psychological thrillers and Man Booker Prize winners, which she devours in bed on many Saturday nights
16. Brad Pitt: Accrues pottery coffee table books for his many coffee tables in his many homes
17. Saoirse Ronan: Is in a book club with her mom and her mom’s friends; when she’s not in Dublin, she Skypes in.
18. Timothee Chalamet: Is just getting into Henry Miller.
19. Rooney Mara: She carries a tattered copy of an Anne Carson book around in her pocketbook and pulls it out whenever she’s in between Things
20. Chrissy Teigen: Has a collection of heavily underlined semi-motivational books written by women.
21. Taylor Swift: She’s actually working on a rom-com novel right now, funny that you ask.
22. Beyoncé: Warsan Shire, feminist discourse, Instapoetry
23. Meghan Markle: Harry bought her a chest where she can lock away her books so we can’t judge her character. (But it’s Danielle Steele, that’s who she’s reading).