Which Celebrity Book Club Could (Actually) Change Your Life?

In the beginning, there was Oprah. Now, there are over a dozen celebrity-helmed book clubs that could make an author's career. But do they actually move the needle? "It used to be that if you got a big book-club pick, your book was an automatic best seller, and that is so not the case anymore," says one publicist. We asked 15 authors and industry insiders what these clubs can really do for a book.

- Emily Gould

THE BIG FOUR

Oprah's Book Club, Read With Jenna on the Today show, Reese's Book Club, Good Morning America

Oprah is usually the first place to pitch, one publicist told us, especially if the book is nonfiction or has weightier themes. Then she'll go to Jenna Bush Hager, then Reese Witherspoon, then Good Morning America. All have different upsides: Fans of Read With Jenna appreciate that the former First Daughter's picks skew feminist and political. GMA gets dinged for not having a famous figurehead, but the show tends to air multiple segments for its picks, so authors can end up on TV three times instead of just once.