Use Our Celebrity Book Club To Strike Up a Convo with Ryan Gosling

GSNY / Splash News

I know. Summer's in full swing and you've got nothing to download to your Kindle for beach reading and you're fresh out of ideas for Hamptons party conversation starters (because you KNOW everyone is sick of hearing about Twilight or who you'd cast in that possibly-never-going-to-happen Fifty Shades of Grey movie). Here's where Hollywood.com comes in!

We've rounded up a few celebrity-approved titles to create our Hollywood.com Celebrity Book Club so that this summer, if you just so happen to run into Sarah Jessica Parker on the Jitney or Ryan Gosling in the TSA airport security line and find that you have nothing to talk about — or if you, like, actually like to read — you're covered. Click through the gallery for celeb-approved reading material and a bit about each title, just in case you were like me in high school and only want the bullet points.

Ryan Gosling

If you want to strike up a chat with Ryan Gosling, read "El Topo: A Book of the Film" by Alexandro Jodorowsky.

America's Boyfriend was spotted carrying the out of print first edition as he headed out of a hotel in 2013. Not exactly light vacation reading, the book was written by the director of the film El Topo and starts as a surreal western and ends with a love story about redemption and rebirth. Make sure you read this one just in case you bump into the Gos and can actually form sentences… something tells us he's not the kind of guy that just reads the Cliffs Notes or sees the movie.

  

 

Renee Zellweger

If you want to strike up a chat with Renee Zellweger, read "The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement" by David Brooks.

Zellweger was spotted picking up the title from Crawford Doyle Booksellers in New York just days after her break up with Bradley Copper in 2011. The book is about two people who lead wonderfully fulfilling lives based on the deeper meaning of success. Sound familiar?

 

Katherine Heigl

If you want to strike up a chat with Katherine Heigl, read "Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home" by Rhoda Janzen.

On the set of The Wedding in 2011, Heigl carried (and presumably read) the Janzen paperback memoir. A book about the author's efforts to tackle faith, love, and family, this choice is for anyone heading home after a midlife rough patch. Should we be worried about you, Heigl?

 

Ben Affleck

If you want to strike up a chat with Ben Affleck, grab "Usborne Illustrated Stories from Dickens" adapted by Mary Sebag-Montefiore.

While we're pretty sure Affleck picked this one up for his daughters, this book would be an adorable addition to any bookshelf, especially if you're feeling nostalgic for a literary childhood. Or pick up a copy if you find yourself headed to a kid's birthday or backyard barbecue and are desperate for a gift.

  

   

Sarah Jessica Parker

If you want to strike up a chat with Sarah Jessica Parker, read "The Stories of John Cheever" by John Cheever.

In the fall of 2012, SJP was headed out of her West Village home carrying the best seller. If you're in a pinch, pick any of the 61 stories to read about "the pain and sweetness of life"… But keep it upbeat. No one wants a depressing story over bellinis at brunch.

  

 

Jada Pinkett Smith

If you want to strike up a chat with Jada Pinket-Smith, read " The Book of Symbols. Reflections on Archetypal Images" from Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism.

Hermes Birkin bag in one hand, The Book of Symbols in the other, Pinkett Smith arrived at LAX in February 2013 with the text. The book features essays about the use of symbols throughout the world and in history. Sounds like a quick conversation about Illuminati and Scientology are in order…

  

 

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

If you want to strike up a chat with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, read Integrative Nutrition by Joshua Rosenthal.

Here's hoping that a couple trips to the gym and reading this nutrition book will have up looking like RHW ASAP! While the book is more about how to gain insight on your own diet and relationship with food than any particular fad diet, there are plenty of general nutrition tips and easy to follow recipes you can chat with Rosie about while picking over hoers d'overs at the next A-List event.