reading, books

In honour of Emirates Literature Festival 2015, which starts today (March 3), we celebrate the joys of the written word by taking a look at ten celebrities and their favourite books.

With the Emirates Literature Festival running from March 3-7 we decided to turn to our favourite celebrities and discover what books changed their life. From  thought-provoking novels to emotional prose, this is what we discovered…

Franny and Zooey

Emma Stone

Book: Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger

“I love this book, it’s funny, moving, and almost spiritual.”

 

Cloud Atlas

 

Natalie Portman

Book: Cloud Atlas By David Mitchell

“One of the most beautiful, entertaining, challenging books — something that takes all your attention.”

 

Raise High The Roof Beam

Jennifer Lawrence

Book: Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour by J.D. Salinger

“I’m so drawn to Salinger’s view of society back then, and to his sarcasm. I read Catcher in the Rye first, then this one. I don’t think there’s ever been anything like these characters in American literature.”

 

When you are engulfed in flames

Rachel McAdams

Book: When You Are Engulfed In Flames by David Sedaris

“It’s not often that a writer makes me laugh out loud, but Sedaris does. He brings me to tears. It’s to the point where I can’t read his writing in public because people think I’m having some kind of meltdown.”

 

The Passion by Jeanette Winterson

Keira Knightley

Book: The Passion by Jeanette Winterson

“I love everything by Jeanette Winterson – The Passion is my favourite.”

 

Shailene Woodley Book: Henry and June by Anäis Nin “Anäis is like the ultimate goddess. I feel really connected to her femininity.”

Shailene Woodley

Book: Henry and June by Anäis Nin

“Anäis is like the ultimate goddess. I feel really connected to her femininity.”

 

Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola

Kate Winslet

Book: Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola

“[My boyfriend at the time bought me the book]. I remember thinking: ‘You’ve got to be kidding me’. But he said: ‘This is one of the most extraordinary love stories ever written.’ And that book, which is one of the five that changed my life, has never left me.”


The most of nora ephron

Lena Dunham

Book: The Most of Nora Ephron By Nora Ephron

“I devoured her prose, her other film offerings, and became a fangirl right along with my mother, aunt, grandmother, and every other intelligent woman in the tristate area.”

 

To kill a mockingbird

Taylor Swift

Book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

“It makes you feel like it makes your world more vast. And you think about things and greater concepts after you read something like that.”

 

Song of Solomon

Barack Obama

Book: Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

“At the moment that we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold, that magic threshold into a library, we change their lives forever, for the better.”

 

 

Main image: flickr.com