Books from Natalie Portman

She Said

The instant New York Times bestseller."An instant classic of investigative journalism...‘All the President’s Men’ for the Me Too era." — Carlos Lozada, The Washington PostFrom the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters who broke the news of Harvey Weinstein's sexual harassment and abuse for the New York Times, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, the thrilling untold story of their investigation and its consequences for the #MeToo movementFor many years, reporters had tried to get to the truth about Harvey Weinstein’s treatment of women. Rumors of wrongdoing had long circulated. But in 2017, when Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey began their investigation into the prominent Hollywood producer for the New York Times, his name was still synonymous with power. During months of confidential interviews with top actresses, former Weinstein employees, and other sources, many disturbing and long-buried allegations were unearthed, and a web of onerous secret payouts and nondisclosure agreements was revealed. These shadowy settlements had long been used to hide sexual harassment and abuse, but with a breakthrough reporting technique Kantor and Twohey helped to expose it. But Weinstein had evaded scrutiny in the past, and he was not going down without a fight; he employed a team of high-profile lawyers, private investigators, and other allies to thwart the investigation. When Kantor and Twohey were finally able to convince some sources to go on the record, a dramatic final showdown between Weinstein and the New York Times was set in motion. Nothing could have prepared Kantor and Twohey for what followed the publication of their initial Weinstein story on October 5, 2017. Within days, a veritable Pandora’s box of sexual harassment and abuse was opened. Women all over the world came forward with their own traumatic stories. Over the next twelve months, hundreds of men from every walk of life and industry were outed following allegations of wrongdoing. But did too much change—or not enough? Those questions hung in the air months later as Brett Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court, and Christine Blasey Ford came forward to testify that he had assaulted her decades earlier. Kantor and Twohey, who had unique access to Ford and her team, bring to light the odyssey that led her to come forward, the overwhelming forces that came to bear on her, and what happened after she shared her allegation with the world. In the tradition of great investigative journalism, She Said tells a thrilling story about the power of truth, with shocking new information from hidden sources. Kantor and Twohey describe not only the consequences of their reporting for the #MeToo movement, but the inspiring and affecting journeys of the women who spoke up—for the sake of other women, for future generations, and for themselves.
Natalie Portman
Actress, Director
I just ripped through SHE SAID in one day. I can’t believe that a story that happened so recently, and that I thought I already knew so much about, could be such a page-turning thriller. So much appreciation to @jodikantor and #MeganTwohey for their courage and tenacity, but also to the women who came forward, at great risk to themselves, in the name of protecting other women and changing our culture. I am humbled and awed by you. #whatnatreads 📚
Books from Natalie Portman

Babysitter's Club Collection

When Kristy Thomas has the great idea to form a baby-sitters club--a chance to earn money and spend time with her friends, all the while doing something they each love to do--she has no idea how much the club will change everything. See where it all began, with the first four books in the Baby-sitters Club series. Baby-Sitters Club #1: Kristy's Great Idea Baby-Sitters Club #2: Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls Baby-Sitters Club #3: The Truth About Stacey Baby-Sitters Club #4: Mary Anne Saves the Day
Natalie Portman
Actress, Director
Today was a VERY IMPORTANT day for me. I read every single Babysitter’s Club book when I was a kid. Once when I was 9, I waited in line for 4 hours at my local bookstore to meet Ann M Martin. And today I got this in the mail from her. I feel so lucky that I grew up with books about girls who worked together, supported each other, were entrepreneurs, and who all had very different personalities. I still identify as a Kristy mixed with Stacey and a dash of Dawn. Which babysitter are you?
Books from Natalie Portman

Trick Mirror

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “From The New Yorker’s beloved cultural critic comes a bold, unflinching collection of essays about self-deception, examining everything from scammer culture to reality television.”—Esquire “A whip-smart, challenging book.”—Zadie Smith • “Jia Tolentino could be the Joan Didion of our time.”—VultureFINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE’S JOHN LEONARD PRIZE FOR BEST FIRST BOOK • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY AND HARVARD CRIMSON AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Time • Chicago Tribune • The Washington Post • NPR • Variety • Esquire • Vox • Elle • Glamour • GQ • Good Housekeeping • The Paris Review • Paste • Town & Country • BookPage • Kirkus Reviews • BookRiot • Shelf Awareness Jia Tolentino is a peerless voice of her generation, tackling the conflicts, contradictions, and sea changes that define us and our time. Now, in this dazzling collection of nine entirely original essays, written with a rare combination of give and sharpness, wit and fearlessness, she delves into the forces that warp our vision, demonstrating an unparalleled stylistic potency and critical dexterity. Trick Mirror is an enlightening, unforgettable trip through the river of self-delusion that surges just beneath the surface of our lives. This is a book about the incentives that shape us, and about how hard it is to see ourselves clearly through a culture that revolves around the self. In each essay, Tolentino writes about a cultural prism: the rise of the nightmare social internet; the advent of scamming as the definitive millennial ethos; the literary heroine’s journey from brave to blank to bitter; the punitive dream of optimization, which insists that everything, including our bodies, should become more efficient and beautiful until we die. Gleaming with Tolentino’s sense of humor and capacity to elucidate the impossibly complex in an instant, and marked by her desire to treat the reader with profound honesty, Trick Mirror is an instant classic of the worst decade yet.FINALIST FOR THE PEN/DIAMONSTEIN-SPIELVOGEL AWARD FOR THE ART OF THE ESSAY
Natalie Portman
Actress, Director
One of my favorite passages from #TrickMirror... #whatnatreads
Books from Natalie Portman

The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off!

A beautifully illustrated collection of Gloria Steinem’s most inspirational and outrageous quotes, with an introduction and essays by the feminist activist herself“A fearless book full of passion, resolute perspective, and unbiased hope for the future.”—Janelle Monáe For decades—and especially now, in these times of crisis—people around the world have found guidance, humor, and unity in Gloria Steinem’s gift for creating quotes that offer hope and inspire action. From her early days as a journalist and feminist activist, Steinem’s words have helped generations to empower themselves and work together. Covering topics from relationships (“Many are looking for the right person. Too few are trying to be the right person.”) to the patriarchy (“Men are liked better when they win. Women are liked better when they lose. This is how the patriarchy is enforced every day.”) and activism (“Revolutions, like trees, grow from the bottom up.”), this is the definitive collection of Steinem’s words on what matters most. Steinem sees quotes as “the poetry of everyday life,” so she also has included a few favorites from friends, including bell hooks, Flo Kennedy, and Michelle Obama, in this book that will make you want to laugh, march, and create some quotes of your own. In fact, at the end of the book, there’s a special space for readers to add their own quotes and others they’ve found inspiring. The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off! is both timeless and timely. It is a gift of hope from Steinem to readers, and a book to share with friends.
Natalie Portman
Actress, Director
Loved gathering with incredible women to celebrate @gloriasteinem’s new book: The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off!
Books from Natalie Portman

Royals

The Autumn Radio 2 Book Club PickA Grazia Book of the Year'Honest, provocative and disarmingly funny' Guardian'Charming, witty and touching, an Eighties Breakfast at Tiffany's' DAVID NICHOLLS'Dazzling ... I'm incoherent with love for it' MARIAN KEYES'Elegant, sexy, tender, wild ... A beautiful, beautiful book' EMMA JANE UNSWORTH, author of ANIMALSJuly, 1981. London. Shy, working-class Steven finds solace in beauty. Eighteen years old, he dreams of being a fashion designer. He's also gay, maybe – he hasn't decided yet. There's a lot Steven isn't sure about, like whether he hates himself or thinks he's amazing.When he ends up in hospital after being brutally attacked by his father, he meets Jasmine, an heiress. Intoxicating, anarchic, fabulous Jasmine. Fuelled by their shared love of fashion, a friendship blossoms and soon, Steven finds himself swept into her hedonistic world, wholly beguiled. However, underneath the glitter and the frivolity, darkness lies. Devastating, dazzling, queer and radical, Royals is a love story between unlikely friends from completely different worlds. It's about the power of art to transform lives and the power of families to destroy them. It's about working out who you are and what you want. It's a tale of giddy happiness, crushing lows and, ultimately, the fragility of lives lived too fast.
Natalie Portman
Actress, Director
Love this part from ROYALS, by my friend Emma Forrest. Couldn’t put it down!
Books from Natalie Portman

We Are the Weather

Some people reject the fact, overwhelmingly supported by scientists, that our planet is warming because of human activity. But do those of us who accept the reality of human-caused climate change truly believe it? If we did, surely we would be roused to act on what we know. Will future generations distinguish between those who didn’t believe in the science of global warming and those who said they accepted the science but failed to change their lives in response?In We Are the Weather, Jonathan Safran Foer explores the central global dilemma of our time in a surprising, deeply personal, and urgent new way. The task of saving the planet will involve a great reckoning with ourselves—with our all-too-human reluctance to sacrifice immediate comfort for the sake of the future. We have, he reveals, turned our planet into a farm for growing animal products, and the consequences are catastrophic. Only collective action will save our home and way of life. And it all starts with what we eat—and don’t eat—for breakfast.
Natalie Portman
Actress, Director
Jonathan’s new book gave me a lot to think about concerning the impact we have on the environment. He writes that not eating animal products until dinner is one of the most important actions an individual can take to slow climate change. #whatnatreads
Books from Natalie Portman

Life isn't everything

An up close and personal portrait of a legendary filmmaker, theater director, and comedian, drawing on candid conversations with his closest friends in show business and the arts—from Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep to Natalie Portman and Lorne Michaels. The work of Mike Nichols pervades American cultural consciousness—from The Graduate and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? to Angels in America, The Birdcage, Working Girl, and Primary Colors, not to mention his string of hit plays, including Barefoot in the Park and The Odd Couple. If that weren’t enough, he was also one half of the timelessly funny duo Nichols & May, as well as a founding member of the original improv troupe. Over a career that spanned half a century, Mike Nichols changed Hollywood, Broadway, and comedy forever. Most fans, however, know very little of the person behind it all. Since he never wrote his memoirs, and seldom appeared on television, they have very little sense of his searching intellect or his devastating wit. They don't know that Nichols, the great American director, was born Mikail Igor Peschkowsky, in Berlin, and came to this country, speaking no English, to escape the Nazis. They don't know that Nichols was at one time a solitary psychology student, or that a childhood illness caused permanent, life-altering side effects. They don't know that he withdrew into a debilitating depression before he "finally got it right," in his words, by marrying Diane Sawyer.Here, for the first time, Ash Carter and Sam Kashner offer an intimate look behind the scenes of Nichols' life, as told by the stars, moguls, playwrights, producers, comics and crewmembers who stayed loyal to Nichols for years. Life Isn't Everything is a mosaic portrait of a brilliant and original director known for his uncommon charm, wit, vitality, and genius for friendship, this volume is also a snapshot of what it meant to be living, loving, and making art in the 20th century.
Natalie Portman
Actress, Director
I miss Mike every day but reading the new oral history about him: Life Isn’t Everything, is like having a small piece of him back. Can’t read enough of it.
Books from Natalie Portman

Lost Children Archive

WINNER OF THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN FICTIONNATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALISTFINALIST FOR THE KIRKUS PRIZE FOR FICTIONLONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZELONGLISTED FOR THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZEOne of The New York Times 10 Best Books of the YearA Best Book of 2019: Entertainment Weekly; TIME; NPR; O, The Oprah Magazine; The Washington Post; GQ; The Guardian; Chicago Tribune; Dallas Morning News; and the New York Public Library“The novel truly becomes novel again in Luiselli’s hands—electric, elastic, alluring, new.” --Parul Sehgal, The New York Times"Impossibly smart, full of beauty, heart and insight . . . Everyone should read this book." --Tommy OrangeFrom the two-time NBCC Finalist, an emotionally resonant, fiercely imaginative new novel about a family whose road trip across America collides with an immigration crisis at the southwestern border--an indelible journey told with breathtaking imagery, spare lyricism, and profound humanity.A mother and father set out with their two children, a boy and a girl, driving from New York to Arizona in the heat of summer. Their destination: Apacheria, the place the Apaches once called home.Why Apaches? asks the ten-year-old son. Because they were the last of something, answers his father.In their car, they play games and sing along to music. But on the radio, there is news about an "immigration crisis": thousands of kids trying to cross the southwestern border into the United States, but getting detained--or lost in the desert along the way.As the family drives--through Virginia to Tennessee, across Oklahoma and Texas--we sense they are on the brink of a crisis of their own. A fissure is growing between the parents, one the children can almost feel beneath their feet. They are led, inexorably, to a grand, harrowing adventure--both in the desert landscape and within the chambers of their own imaginations.Told through several compelling voices, blending texts, sounds, and images, Lost Children Archive is an astonishing feat of literary virtuosity. It is a richly engaging story of how we document our experiences, and how we remember the things that matter to us the most. With urgency and empathy, it takes us deep into the lives of one remarkable family as it probes the nature of justice and equality today.
Natalie Portman
Actress, Director
Just finished the Lost Children Archive, a book about a family on a road trip trying to capture the echos of lost child migrants. It’s painfully beautiful. I could not recommend it more highly. #whatnatreads
Books from Natalie Portman

Normal People

OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLDTHE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES AND TOP FIVE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA BBC ONE DRAMA ADAPTATION CURRENTLY IN PRODUCTIONWINNER OF THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD 2018WINNER OF THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS NOVEL OF THE YEARWINNER OF NOVEL OF THE YEAR AND BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDSWINNER OF THE SPECSAVERS NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS INTERNATIONAL AUTHOR OF THE YEARLONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2018LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2019Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in the west of Ireland, but the similarities end there. In school, Connell is popular and well-liked, while Marianne is a loner. But when the two strike up a conversation - awkward but electrifying - something life-changing begins. Normal People is a story of mutual fascination, friendship and love. It takes us from that first conversation to the years beyond, in the company of two people who try to stay apart but find they can't. SHORTLISTED FOR THE IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD 2019SHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL ENCORE PRIZE 2019LONGLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2019
Natalie Portman
Actress, Director
So many friends have told me to read Normal People, so here it goes. If you haven’t yet read it, read with me and let me know what you think? #FebruaryBookPick
Books from Natalie Portman

Selected Poems

At the time of his death in 1962 E.E. Cummings was, next to Robert Frost, the most widely read poet in America. Combining Thoreau's controlled belligerence with the brash abandon of an uninhibited Bohemian, Cummings, together with Pound, Eliot, and William Carlos Williams, helped bring about the twentieth-century revolution in literary expression. He is recognized on the one hand as the author of some of the most beautiful lyric poems written in the English language, and on the other as one of the most inventive American poets of his time. This is the first selection from the poems of E.E. Cummings to be published since 1959, three years before his death. The one hundred and fifty-six poems selected by Richard S. Kennedy, Cummings's biographer (Dreams in the Mirror), are arranged in twelve sections, with introductions by Kennedy for each section. Also included are thirteen drawings, oils, and watercolors by Cummings, most of them never before published. The selection includes most of the favorites plus many fresh and surprising examples of Cummings's several poetic styles. The corrected texts established by George J. Firmage have been used throughout.
Natalie Portman
Actress, Director
A little Valentine’s Day prep with a favorite poem by E.E. Cummings, and a favorite recipe by @amychaplin ❤️❤️
Books from Natalie Portman

Dept. of Speculation

From the acclaimed author of Weather comes a slim, stunning portrait of a marriage--a beguiling rumination on the mysteries of intimacy, trust, faith, knowledge, and the condition of universal shipwreck that unites us all.ONE OF THE 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR - THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEWA Best Book of the Year: The New Yorker, The Boston Globe, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Vogue.com, Electric Literature, BuzzfeedIn the beginning, it was easy to imagine their future. They were young and giddy, sure of themselves and of their love for each other. “Dept. of Speculation” was their code name for all the thrilling uncertainties that lay ahead. Then they got married, had a child and navigated the familiar calamities of family life—a colicky baby, a faltering relationship, stalled ambitions. When their marriage reaches a sudden breaking point, the wife tries to retrace the steps that have led them to this place, invoking everything from Kafka to the Stoics to doomed Russian cosmonauts as she analyzes what is lost and what remains. In language that shimmers with rage and longing and wit, Offill has created a brilliantly suspenseful love story—a novel to read in one sitting, even as its piercing meditations linger long after the last page.
Natalie Portman
Actress, Director
I adore Jenny Offill. Her last book Dept. of Speculation and her kids book about a sloth, Sparky!—are some of my favorites. Can’t wait to read her new book about leading our lives during a climate crisis. #MarchBookPick #WhatNatReads
Books from Natalie Portman

The Gastronomical Me

In 1929, a newly married M.F.K. Fisher said goodbye to a milquetoast American culinary upbringing and sailed with her husband to Dijon, where she tasted real French cooking for the first time. The Gastronomical Me is a chronicle of her passionate embrace of a whole new way of eating, drinking, and celebrating the senses. As she recounts memorable meals shared with an assortment of eccentric and fascinating characters, set against a backdrop of mounting pre-war tensions, we witness the formation not only of her taste but of her character and her prodigious talent.
Natalie Portman
Actress, Director
Just finished The Gastronomical Me and was so transported by M.F.K. Fisher’s love stories, and travel accounts and, of course, her descriptions of food!
Books from Natalie Portman

Gathering Moss

Living at the limits of our ordinary perception, mosses are a common but largely unnoticed element of the natural world. Gathering Moss is a beautifully written mix of science and personal reflection that invites readers to explore and learn from the elegantly simple lives of mosses.Robin Wall Kimmerer's book is not an identification guide, nor is it a scientific treatise. Rather, it is a series of linked personal essays that will lead general readers and scientists alike to an understanding of how mosses live and how their lives are intertwined with the lives of countless other beings, from salmon and hummingbirds to redwoods and rednecks. Kimmerer clearly and artfully explains the biology of mosses, while at the same time reflecting on what these fascinating organisms have to teach us.Drawing on her diverse experiences as a scientist, mother, teacher, and writer of Native American heritage, Kimmerer explains the stories of mosses in scientific terms as well as in the framework of indigenous ways of knowing. In her book, the natural history and cultural relationships of mosses become a powerful metaphor for ways of living in the world.Gathering Moss will appeal to a wide range of readers, from bryologists to those interested in natural history and the environment, Native Americans, and contemporary nature and science writing.
Natalie Portman
Actress, Director
Seemed like the perfect book for the times we’re in — and always in awe of nature.
Books recommended by Natalie Portman
5 books

Natalie Portman 5 Favorite Books

Natalie Portman listed 5 books she would recommend reading to anyone, anywhere, at any time. Enjoy!
Natalie Portman
Actress, Director
Natalie Portman listed 5 books she would recommend reading to anyone, anywhere, at any time. Enjoy!