Natalie Portman has led her monthly book club into 2026 with the same goal she started with – to cultivate empathy and understand different perspectives of people from different parts of the world.
The 44-year-old actress launched her book club, called Nat’s Book Club, in 2021, and readers from all walks of life, including fellow A-listers, join her to read literary masterpieces every month.
The Black Swan Star has revealed her first book pick of 2026, which is a horror mystery called Strange Pictures by YouTuber Uketsu. The book has an experimental format with interconnected images that readers are free to interpret to form a story however they want.
The reading group’s previous selections include memoirs such as Malala Yousafzai’s Finding my way and Amanda Nguyen’s Saves fiveand Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner and novels such as Claire Keegans Embryoand Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr!.
Speaking about starting the initiative, Portman previously noted, “I think reading books is one of the first ways we begin to practice empathy. We feel for characters in stories as we might for ourselves or our own friends. Every time we imagine someone else’s life—their hopes and fears, their feelings and thoughts—we’re practicing empathy.”
Besides V for Vendetta star’s book club, has started this year with her nomination as the worst actress of the year for her role in the action adventure film The Fountain of Youthin the parodic awards ceremony, the Razzies or the Golden Raspberry Awards.
