If your lockdown brain has turned to mulch, you may simply need to refresh your reading list.
Take your cue from model Kaia Gerber, whose book club has been delighting her Instagram followers — besides excellent reads, she’s had visits from Jia Tolentino and recommendations from Lena Dunham and Gerber’s mum, supermodel Cindy Crawford.
Join the club: this is Kaia’s reading list.
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
This week’s book is selected in honour of her mother — who’ll be appearing on Instagram Live to discuss it on Friday. Where The Crawdads Sing, a 2019 New York Times bestseller, is a brooding literary mystery set in North Carolina, featuring shifting timelines (and a protagonist called Kya).
Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind
A left-field choice: written in 1890/91 by the German playwright, this progressive drama about teenagers and sexuality takes aim at conservative mores. Gerber selected it “to raise awareness for the performing arts industry in New York”, currently imperilled by the pandemic.
This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
A zeitgeist 2017 novel about parenting a transgender child. Reese Witherspoon also picked it for her influential book club. It’s a tear-jerker (“let’s all cry together,” warns Gerber).
Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino
New Yorker staff writer Tolentino is the millennial’s Cassandra: this collection of sharp essays explores the mores and neuroses of a generation who grew up mostly online.
Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan
Teenage angst, but elegantly written and oh-so-French. This intense Sixties novel by Sagan — who was only 18 when she wrote it — centres on the méchante Cecile, who takes a dislike to her father’s planned marriage. Will make you dream of the French Riviera.
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Probably one of the most famous books in the world right now, thanks to its sexy BBC3 production. But the novel came first: a yearning story about first love and heartbreak. Clearly, it has second-generation supermodel pedigree: Kate Moss’s daughter Lila Grace tells Gerber she “loved” it too.
