The Best Books From Emma Watson's Book Club, Our Shared Shelf

When Emma Watson isn't making movie magic, the worldwide star has worked to establish herself as an activist and philanthropist, and has a clear investment in women's issues. After being appointed the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in 2014, she launched her own feminist-focused book club in 2016, called Our Shared Shelf. So while Florence Pugh-backed books promise lots of adventure and Julia Roberts' reading list is full of modern classics, titles curated by Watson often center around feminism, equality, and social justice.

"As part of my work with UN Women, I have started reading as many books and essays about equality as I can get my hands on," Watson wrote on Goodreads. "I decided to start a Feminist book club, as I want to share what I'm learning and hear your thoughts too." The bi-monthly reading group was led by Watson until 2020, when she stepped back to focus on other endeavors. But today, whether you're looking for thought-provoking reads for your own book club or are ready to expand your feminist perspective, Our Shared Shelf club still offers several great picks.

First on our list is "Sister Outsider: Essays and Speechesm," by Audre Lorde, a cornerstone of feminist literature that serves as a natural addition to the Our Shared Shelf book club. This collection was originally selected as the November-December pick in 2018, and read alongside "Eloquent Rage," by Brittney Cooper and "Good and Mad," by Rebecca Traister. First published in 1984, with essays and speeches from between 1976 and 1984, "Sister Outsider" boasts a 4.5 average rating on Goodreads.

While female anger is a throughline in the book, Lorde also deftly explores her overlapping identities –- mother, Black woman, lesbian, cancer survivor –- alongside concepts of oppression and patriarchy. In this way, "Sister Outsider" serves as a foundational text for intersectional feminism, with the author criticizing white feminism and expressing the importance of solidarity in difference. Lorde's poetic writing remains poignant as ever, making this a great selection for anyone interested in feminism and moving prose.

"Solito, Solita: Crossing Borders with Youth Refugees from Central America" is another great nonfiction title selected for Emma Watson's Our Shared Shelf. This pick was paired with "Butterfly: From Refugee to Olympian," by Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini for the months of July and August in 2019. "Solito, Solita" was published in 2019 as part of a book series by human rights-oriented nonprofit Voice of Witness, and has a 4.4 average rating on Goodreads.

Made up of 15 oral narratives from refugees, which were compiled and edited by Steven Mayers and Jonathan Freedman, "Solito, Solita" reveals the harrowing experiences of young immigrants seeking refuge in the United States. While immigration is a divisive and politically-charged topic in the U.S., this collection of stories provides an enlightening look at the lived experiences of the young individuals entering the country, making it a must-read for all Americans.

"Persepolis," by Marjane Satrapi is a graphic novel memoir, reminiscent of the classic "Maus" by Art Spiegelman, and was selected as the June 2016 read for Emma Watson's book club. It currently boasts a 4.4 average rating on Goodreads, and was originally published in English in 2007. This book club pick is a heartbreaking, humorous, and critically acclaimed coming-of-age story set against the Islamic Revolution, recounting the author's search for and assertion of her identity amidst political and social upheaval.

"Satrapi's deceptively simple, almost whimsical drawings belie the seriousness and rich complexity of her story — but it's also very funny too," Watson wrote of the title on Goodreads. "We get a very real sense of what it was like to be a woman in Iran during this intense time of cultural and political transition." Oft-called one of the best graphic novels of all times, "Persepolis" explores themes of feminism and identity in a context that will be unfamiliar to many Western readers, making it a unique and challenging read.

In terms of fiction, "The Hate U Give," by Angie Thomas is one of the best selections from Emma Watson's reading group. This young adult novel was selected by Our Shared Shelf readers as the May-June pick for 2018, along with the unrelated nonfiction book "Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women," by Kate Moore. With over 900,000 ratings, "The Hate U Give" maintains a 4.5 average rating on Goodreads.

Concerned with community, racial injustice, and police brutality, this 2017 title follows Starr Carter, a teenager who feels divided between her home life in a low-income, mostly Black neighborhood and her school life in a suburban, mostly white private school. However, everything is unalterably changed when she witnesses a police officer shoot and kill her childhood friend Khalil, throwing her family and neighborhood into the national spotlight. While "The Hate U Give" was originally marketed to young adult audiences, its gripping narrative, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, is sure to move readers of all ages.

Rounding out our list is "Pachinko," a historical fiction novel by Min Jin Lee that was selected as the Our Shared Shelf read for May and June of 2019. Named by The New York Times as one of the best books of the 21st century, this 2017 title has a 4.4 average rating on Goodreads and is widely considered a modern classic. "Pachinko" is a sprawling multigenerational tale about the hardships and endurance of a Korean family, shaped by the complex political and social dynamic between Korea and Japan throughout the 20th century.

In the novel, we are taken from occupied Korea to Japan by Sunja, the daughter of a poor fisherman who falls pregnant with a married businessman's child. Refusing to become his mistress, she marries a sickly minister and moves to Osaka, Japan, to live with him and his family — where she discovers the startling discrimination Koreans face in the country. The resulting narrative is one of family, survival, ambition, and love, making "Pachinko" well worth the read.

Though Our Shared Shelf has continued to be a community-led book club since Emma Watson stepped back from the project in 2020, this list of titles was curated from the 32 publications selected under the celebrity's leadership. Of those, we identified all the books with an average rating of 4 stars or above on Goodreads and selected five titles that span diverse topics, genres, experiences while being representative of Watson's vision for Our Shared Shelf.