Just like there are books that appear on more than one of the Top 5 Book Clubs’ book list, there are also authors that appear on these lists multiple times, too. Based on the reading lists for the Top 5 Book Clubs, here are 10 authors that appear on at least two or more of the lists. In other words, these are authors that your book club should read. Add these authors to your book club’s reading list now!
Fun facts: Seven of these authors first appeared on Oprah’s Book Club list! Additionally, three of them have yet to appear on Oprah’s Book Club list at all. Can you spot which ones?
Toni Morrison
Topping this list at six appearances across three different major book club lists is Nobel Prize winner, Toni Morrison. She currently appears the most of any author. Five of her 11 novels have been selected by the Top 5 Book Clubs. Chosen twice, The Bluest Eye is currently the most popular Toni Morrison pick.
Four of Morrison’s six reading list appearances are for Oprah’s Book Club. Starting in October 1996, Oprah’s Book Club selected Morrison’s Song of Solomon. Two years later, Paradise was Oprah’s Book Club pick in January 1998. A two year pattern continued through 2002 with Oprah selecting The Bluest Eye in December 2000 and Sula in April 2002.
More recently, Toni Morrison’s books were also selected by two other major book clubs. Beloved landed on Our Shared Shelf’s list in September 2019. The Bluest Eye was chosen again by Read with Jenna in December 2020.
Ann Patchett
Ann Patchett is the second most recurring author across the major book clubs. Having written nine novels and four non-fiction works to date, Patchett has appeared on three different reading lists. Her memoir, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, has been selected twice and The Dutch House has been selected once.
The first reading list This is a Story of a Happy Marriage appeared on was for Our Shared Shelf in October 2017. The next month it was selected for Reese’s Book Club’s November 2017 pick. Then, in October 2019, Read with Jenna chose Patchett’s novel, The Dutch House.
The following eight authors have been selected by two different major book clubs so far. Furthermore, each author below, other than Maggie Nelson, has had two different books selected. All but two of these authors have been on Oprah’s Book Club list. Find out which book club selected which author and book below.
Isabel Allende
Known for her magical realism style, Isabel Allende has written 21 novels and five non-fiction books to date. In February 2000, Daughter of Fortune landed on Oprah’s Book Club list. Allende’s The House of Spirits was selected twenty years later by Our Shared Shelf in November 2020.
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou, known for her memoirs, poetry and civil rights activism, was first selected by Oprah’s Book Club. The Heart of a Woman was Oprah’s pick in May 1997. In November 2016, Our Shared Shelf selected Mom & Me & Mom.
Edwidge Danticat
First selected by Oprah’s Book Club, Edwidge Danticat’s novel Breath, Eyes, Memory was her May 1998 pick. In July 2020, Reese’s Book Club selected Danticat’s collection of short stories, Everything Inside.
Glennon Doyle
In September 2016, Oprah’s Book Club picked Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle (then known as Glennon Doyle Melton). Four years later, Untamed was selected by Reese’s Book Club in March 2020.
Jeffrey Eugenides
Pulitzer Prize winner Jeffrey Eugenides writes novels and short stories. Oprah’s Book Club picked Eugenides’ Middlesex in June 2007. The Marriage Plot was the ninth book pick for Between Two Books.
Alice Hoffman
Alice Hoffman’s novels often blend magical realism, fantasy and historical fiction. In March 1998, Hoffman’s novel, Here on Earth, was chosen by Oprah’s Book Club. The Rules of Magic, a prequel to Hoffman’s Practical Magic, was the October 2017 pick for Reese’s Book Club.
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Taylor Jenkins Reid has written almost a dozen novels. About half of which take place in a historical fiction universe she created, which includes the two books listed here. Reid was first selected by Reese’s Book Club. Daisy Jones & The Six was her club’s pick in February 2019. Read with Jenna chose Malibu Rising as June 2021 pick.
Maggie Nelson
Maggie Nelson is a memoirist, poet and theorist. Nelson’s The Argonauts has been selected twice. And by two different major book clubs. Our Shared Shelf selected The Argonauts in May 2016. The Argonauts was the 31st pick for Between Two Books.
Based on the reading lists for the Top 5 Book Clubs, these are the top 10 authors that your book club should read. How many of these authors has your book club read? Furthermore, are there any books by these authors that you were surprised to not see on this list? Post in the comments below!