If anyone knows how to put on a cultural show, it’s Dua Lipa. Now, the artist-turned-multi-hyphenate with an increasing number of hyphens is bringing books back to the zeitgeist, recently announced as the curator of the London Literature Festival, which will be held at the Southbank Center in October.
In case you missed it, Lipa has been on the cutting edge of cool girl writing for a while, thanks to her hugely popular Service95 book group, where she shares monthly reads, as well as interviews with writers like Margaret Atwood and Roxane Gay. However, this latest effort marks a major shift, suggesting a long-awaited meeting of genius and pop culture. Because celebrities are legal booksellers. And women are finally allowed more than one thing. You can write songs about separation, be the face of a Chanel campaign, and talk to feminist writers about violence against women. We have masses.
Dakota Johnson and Kaia Gerber run their own book clubs, while the likes of Emily Ratajkowski, Charli XCX and Kendall Jenner often have top titles. Coach has released book charms (Elle Fanning read hers on the subway), Dior has released book bags, and Johnson in his latest viral Calvin Klein campaign even used a copy of High Life to protect her modesty. Men are there too: Jacob Elordi was photographed reading Jean Cocteau Art of Cinema and John Steinbeck’s East of Edenwhen the popular Instagram account @hotdudesreading has gathered so many followers (over a million) that they have started interviewing male celebrities – Tom Blythe is a Hemingway fan, don’t you know?
So perhaps this season’s hottest accessory isn’t a Birkin or a Baguette, it’s a Penguin Classics edition. Well one of those orange ones you can buy on Etsy for, like, £3. What you read tells the world something about who you are and how your brain works. In a world of cultural congestion, our reading habits have become ever-changing. Caretaker‘s Associate editor (fashion) Jess Cartner Morley wrote last week, ‘Put down your negroni, put down your Prada bag and pick up a piece of paper’. You heard the woman.
As a writer myself, I find all of this hilarious, especially during screen surfeit – anyone else feel like they’re losing brain cells, one stupid cat at a time? While I’m talking about fiction, especially collections and memoirs (recent highlights include Zadie Smith’s. The Dead and the Alive), I always have a book on the go, something I can sink into before bed and on the tube. Besides exercise, reading fiction is still the only thing that gets my mind off the ground. And in our current political and social climate, we could all benefit from a little escapism.
My preferences vary, though I use a lot of contemporary fiction because of the evidence I’m lucky enough to get from publishers. I recently read Sophie Macintosh’s latest book, Foreverwhich is about a couple who live in another world where everyone has issues and is worshipped A work horse by Caroline Palmer – imagine The Devil Wears Prada but by Evelyn Waugh-slash-Saltburn hearing. Last night, I finished 28 Summer by Elin Hilderbrand; very simple, but deep that touches the beach. There are also many new titles I’m excited to see, including Lena Dunham’s memoir, Famesick; Story by Meg Mason, Sophie, Who Stands There; and Elizabeth Strout’s Things We Can’t Say. I haven’t read either The Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash, which I have been told by many people is excellent.
Reading well has always been fun, but now it feels like it’s hot, it’s different. See the proliferation of literary salons across London that many double as singles’ nights considering how many attractive, eligible people turn up. Also, consider Cou Cou Intimates’ viral children’s tee that reads: “Show Me Your B00ks” – is revealing your bookshelf the scariest thing to do in 2026? It can happen.
That being said, to view this new wave of literary romance as a mere trend would be a disservice to readers, as well as writers. Because reading is not a hobby, it is a way of life. And if this new era, led by Lipa, helps more people realize that, then I’m here. Who’s ready for a bright girl summer?
Get your summer reading list here:
Bloomsbury Sophie, Stand There
Hodder 28 Summers: A powerful love story from the #1 bestseller and author of THE PERFECT COUPLE, now a Netflix original series.
The Lost Lambs: The most anticipated literary debut of 2026 – a funny family story.
Hamish Hamilton Permanence
Viking Drill & Tool Things We Don’t Talk About: The new standalone book from the award-winning author of Olive Kitteridge and Lucy By The Sea.
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