Your summer reading list, courtesy of the movie Book Club

By Seija Rankin
May 18, 2018 at 09:00 AM EDT

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Required reading

Melinda Sue Gordon/Paramount Pictures

The soon-to-be-iconic — for the number of wine-fueled toasts alone — movie Book Club is in theaters today. And while it’s ostensibly about the friendship among four friends (played by Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen, and Jane Fonda) who are navigating late-in-life romance, it also presents some entertaining reading recommendations. Whether titles inspired by the movie or favorites that come straight from the stars, here’s your curated Book Club reading list.

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Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James

Knopf Doubleday

To really get into the mindset of Team Keaton-Bergen-Steenburgen-Fonda, you’ll want to brush up on the erotic page-turner Fifty Shades of Grey. (Let’s be real, though — this probably won’t be your first foray into the world of Ana and Christian.)

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Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, by E.L. James

Knopf Doubleday

Spoiler alert: The book club ladies are so stimulated by the first installment of Fifty Shades that they decide to bulldoze through the rest of the trilogy.

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The Help, by Kathryn Stockett

Penguin Random House

The onscreen book club’s theme is “best-sellers that became movies,” and we can’t think of a more quintessential tome to take the theme and run with it.

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Wild, by Cheryl Strayed

Random House

Candice Bergen’s character may not be inspired to hike the Pacific Crest Trail herself after the book club finishes this memoir, but you may find yourself a little more recreationally inclined.

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Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn

After you return from your back-breaking multi-state hike, pick up another title from the Reese Witherspoon adaptational universe.

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Green Mansions, by W.H. Hudson

Knopf

Jane Fonda cites this childhood staple as the book that, for the first time, made her forget she was reading. According to Fonda, she became this book at the age of 12 — what more endorsement do you need?

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Dear Madam President: An Open Letter to the Women Who Will Run the World, by Jennifer Palmieri

Grand Central Publishing

Book Club star Mary Steenburgen is most inspired by this essay collection — but be warned, you’ll need tissues. 

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The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway

Scribner

Andy Garcia, who plays the love interest of one Diane Keaton, recommends this title as his most inspiring read.

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Slouching Towards Bethlehem, by Joan Didion

Macmillan

For Keaton’s part, this Joan Didion classic is her No. 1 pick.

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