Ever wonder what your favorite celebrities are reading — whether it’s a timeless classic or the buzzy bestseller they can’t put down? Welcome to Page-Turners, where stars reveal the books that keep them hooked, inspired and up all night. Warning: your TBR pile is about to get a lot longer.
Actress Laverne Cox reads books for many different reasons, including healing, empowering and, sometimes, just for fun.
Cox — whose new memoir, “Transcendent,” is out now — explained she reads “to heal and recover parts of myself I’ve abandoned. I read to understand the circumstances I’m living in to empower myself, to make sense of what I might be feeling … I read for fun.”
She loves reading about fashion, designers, acting and vocal pedagogy.
“I feel like a perpetual student of life and the art forms I practice. So I must constantly read as well as practice to maybe one day graduate to a level of proficiency that meets my impossibly high standards,” Cox told us.
See below for Cox’s six must-read book recommendations.
“This book changed my life and shifted my critical consciousness. A must read for cultural critique through an intersectional lens. Hooks here is perhaps at her most provocative. Her chapter on ‘Loving Blackness as Political Resistance’ inspired me to start the social media movement #TransIsBeautiful. Her concept of the oppositional gaze is a critical addition to feminist film criticism and changed the way I critique and analyze all media. Bell Hooks will change your life.”
“A brilliant analysis of true belonging, drawing from her groundbreaking work on shame, vulnerability and empathy. Her B.R.A.V.I.N.G. concept has changed the way I live my life for the better. Brené Brown is everything.”
“Essential reading to understand this political moment. If you’re not convinced that this is a fascist moment, Stanley’s analysis here, grounded in historic and academic expertise, will convince you.”
“The concepts set forth by Friedrichs here I had hoped would become part of everyday conversations and what we teach our young people about informed consent post the #MeToo movement. It’s not too late. The work is set forth here.”
“This must be enjoyed in its audiobook form. Talley’s natural sense of drama and divine elocution bring sheer joy and true entertainment to his legendary, groundbreaking life in fashion based in an unparalleled work ethic and interdisciplinary knowledge of art, fashion, literature, politics, and his access to the most iconic names in fashion as well as his access to the most traditional and groundbreaking couture techniques. Eloquent, crisp prose makes André Leon Talley utterly one of one. His genius is on full display in this memoir, manifesto, tea spiller and remarkable historical document.”
“This book is much celebrated for a reason. To understand our world today, this is essential. The thorough research and history on display here is riveting, frightening, sobering, and a reminder of how much of our history has been suppressed, obfuscated and just lies. It’s a reminder that access to the truth, even in oppressive systems, can be liberatory to the consciousness of individuals.”
