Book Appointment Now
A dive into why horror, sci-fi, and fantasy might not be making the cut
Jenna’s Book Club picks tend to be emotionally layered stories about the meaning of life. The honorably mentioned titles are often centered on identity, resilience, love, and personal growth, which is no coincidence. The books Jenna Bush Hager personally wrote, like “Ana’s Story: A Journey of Hope” and “Everything Beautiful in Its Time: Seasons of Love and Loss,” center on themes of human connection, self-discovery, and family.
A glance at her Goodreads profile will also tell you a lot about the author and avid reader. She’s got a strong preference for emotionally-driven literary fiction and memoirs. Of all the books she listed as read, there wasn’t one horror or fantasy in sight. However, her last entry into “currently reading” was a sci-fi dystopian novel, “Camp Zero” by Michelle Min Sterling. Whether she finished it or not is unclear, but it shows she dips her toes into genres that stray from her usual picks.
The book club host was also asked by a fellow Goodreads reader how she chooses her books, and Hager responded, “We read a ton of books every month, and our mission is to highlight debut and diverse authors. The most important aspect of choosing a book is that it is well-written and compelling …” It’s reassuring to hear from the host herself that the book club prioritizes the story rather than the genre.
