5 Celebrity Reading Lists to Plan Your 2018 Reading

We're in the final days of 2017. How are your reading challenges going? Are you hiding away reading as much as you can? Or have you finished and are now choosing the long novels for fun?

Either way, it's time to start thinking 2018. Reading lists are a great way to discover new stories and possibly push you out of your comfort zone. When they come from people we admire, then it's a bonus. That's why we've collected these celebrity reading lists. People who've changed the world or entertained the world, and sometimes have done both, recommend these titles.

Bill Gates' Best Books for 2017

Bill Gates does so much for the world and is still a prolific reader. We're thankful he shares his favorites with us, in both his summer reading lists and an end of year favorites. In his end of 2017 best-of-list, he includes two books on the Vietnam War, the memoirs from his favorite comedian, and more. As he says, they're all perfect for curling up and reading in front of the fire these holidays.

Reese Witherspoon's Book Club

We all know our favorite southern gal is more than a pretty face. Reese Witherspoon launched an Instagram book club sharing her favorite books, membership not required. There's even a rumor that she'll read and share books she's considering optioning for movie adaptations with her production company. Smart cookie. Read her recommendations from general fiction, and enjoy her beautiful bookish photography.

Emma Watson Is a Real-Life Hermione

Before filming Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban started, director Alfonso Cuarón asked the trio to write essays of their characters. As a true Hermione, Emma wrote 16 pages (Rupert never turned his in). Emma's bookish nature has continued; she even took a year off work so she could read more. Emma shares her feminist reading in a Goodreads list. Even though the list is feminist books, it's not just for females. Boys and men are welcome and encouraged. Emma even calls it Our Shared Shelf. We're in it together.

Books Recommended by TED Speakers

The ThriftBooks team is a tad nerdy (OK, more than a tad) and anyone who's given a TED Talk is a celebrity to us. They're the innovative thinkers, making the world a better and more enjoyable place. Therefore we know anything they recommend is inspiring. The list has a mix of fiction, technology, politics, business, and more, and each book impacted the speaker making it personal.

What Theodore Roosevelt Wanted Us to Read

OK, so we'll forgive you if you skip a few on this list, but as Theodore said himself, "A book must be interesting to the particular reader at that particular time." His recommended books list is long and dry with many classics from authors with only one name. It's probably more a list to be studied than binged, but rather typical for the 26th President.

To make it easier, we've made all links open in new windows, so you can easily come back and order your favorites. There's also a selection of a few below. Happy reading.

Read more by Bianca Smith