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Emma Watson, the outspoken actor and advocate, shared a list of the 39 books she read in 2016 with Goodreads. As someone who runs her own international reading club, leaves books on trains, and is just about as smart and politically aware as one could hope the woman who played Hermione Granger and attended Brown could be, her picks for the last year are certainly worth adding to your Amazon wish list for this coming one.
A feminist through and through, Watson has been gobbling down notable volumes on the subject including works by Gloria Steinem, Clarissa Pinkola Estés, and no less than four titles by bell hooks. She also seems to be diving into questions of romance with Aziz Ansari’s Modern Dating, nature with Thoreau’s classic Walden, and personal improvement with Arianna Huffington’s The Sleep Revolution. Unconventional memoirs and personal essays also figure in with titles from Amy Schumer, Carrie Brownstein, Caitlin Moran, and Norah Vincent.
Yes, there are novels too for all you fiction readers out there. The Color Purple, The Handmaid’s Tale, In The Body of The World, and others all spent some time on Watson’s bedside table. You have to assume that Dave Eggers’ The Circle made the list in part because the actor is starring in a film adaptation of the sci-fi tale landing in April of 2017. Perhaps her most timely pick is also one of the oldest on her list: George Orwell’s 1984.
It’s all good stuff. Dig deeper into her selections over here and get ready to use up that Amazon gift card you got from your manager.