There are many ways a person can discover new books. They can browse the shelves of their local bookshop or library where they can also get specialist advice. They can wade through brutal reader write-ups on Goodreads, the literary world’s answer to Tripadvisor. They can consult reviews by dedicated literary critics, such as The Independent’s own Martin Chilton, to discover the best (and worst) of the month’s releases. Or they can visit their preferred podcast app to hear what… Dua Lipa is reading?
If you’re wondering quite how the British-Albanian disco colossus known for breezy singles including “New Rules” and “Love Again” has rebranded herself as a literary oracle, you’re probably not alone. Pop star extra-curricular activities tend to involve flogging branded perfumes, makeup, clothing lines or, if you’re the rock band Kiss, coffins and condoms. Kylie even has her own brand of wine.
But Lipa has opted for a more high-minded side-hustle with her literary podcast, Service95 Book Club, which has just relaunched on Spotify and where, by way of introduction, she says “reading has been an anchor through every phase of my life.” Previous interviewees have included George Saunders, Emma Cline, Patti Smith, Khaled Husseini, Hernan Diaz and Patrick Radden Keefe; Lipa’s first guest in the relaunched version is Jennifer Clement, talking about her book Widow Basquiat, which chronicles her friend Suzanne Mallouk’s love affair with the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Lipa is not a podcast newbie, having previously hosted the celebrity series At Your Service. As an interviewer, she is no Buxton or Theroux, but she is perfectly fluent and does her homework. It helps, of course, that writers tend not to need much prodding when asked to talk about their work. And Lipa is well-connected, meaning she can pull in some big literary names. But are celebrities really the best people to be championing books? Should they be steering sales by taking cute Instagram selfies with their latest literary faves? There are, after all, more widely read people whose entire jobs are devoted to separating the wheat from the literary chaff, from the journalists who fill the pages of the London Review of Books, the Times Literary Supplement and newspaper books pages, to the hosts of literary podcasts such as the peerless, long-running Backlisted or NPR’s Book of the Day.
In any case, Lipa is one of countless celebrities to have jumped on the book club bandwagon. It’s nearly 30 years since Oprah Winfrey launched Oprah’s Book Club, a segment on her hit talk show where she would choose a novel for viewers to read and discuss each month. Such was the club’s popularity that the books under discussion would immediately shoot up the bestseller list. Following Oprah’s lead, former UK daytime TV stalwarts Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan launched a wildly successful TV book club as part of their teatime Channel 4 series; rare was the bestseller that didn’t carry a “Richard & Judy” sticker in the 2000s.
In 2017, Legally Blonde actor Reese Witherspoon proved she had Oprah-levels of clout after she launched Reese’s Book Club, an online forum focusing on female writers. Industry experts have credited Witherspoon with driving the success of, among other titles, Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Meg Mason’s Sorrow and Bliss and Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing. Other A-list book club hosts include Natalie Portman, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Florence Welch, Kaia Gerber, Gwyneth Paltrow, Emma Watson, Dakota Johnson and rapper Noname. Talk show host Jimmy Fallon even got it on the act with Fallon Book Club, although in recent months it appears to have morphed into a vehicle for books written by Jimmy Fallon.
You might think all this makes for a less stuffy method of getting books to readers and putting power in the hands of enthusiasts. But the above enthusiasts aren’t exactly everyday bibliophiles; they are moneyed celebrities and influencers with Instagram feeds to fill and to whom publishers are pitching hard. There’s a difference between enthusiasm and promotion, but that line gets blurred when celebrities get involved. It’s worth noting that Service95 Book Club is just one arm of Lipa’s Service95 brand that includes fashion, travel, beauty and shopping.
All this is symptomatic of a wider problem in publishing. Celebrities and influencers are muscling their way into all corners of the publishing industry: along with hosting book clubs, they are “writing” children’s books, cosy crime dramas, cook books and autobiographies, putting a squeeze on genuine writers who, rather than dabbling, are trained and have devoted their lives to their craft. The same is happening in the podcast world, too, where you can’t move for famouses hosting chummy chats with their equally famous friends. In doing so, they are smothering the competition and hoovering up budgets that would previously have been directed towards dedicated audio makers.
I’ve no doubt that Lipa’s intentions with her book club are mainly noble. As well as boosting her brand, she gets to indulge her love of literature, share her recommendations and give a platform to writers – what could be wrong with that? But, if you’re a book lover, it’s worth remembering there are other ways to discover writers that can actively help an ailing industry, and which doesn’t involve lining the pockets of already wealthy celebs: simply consult the experts.
