• Celebrity
    • OTE – Screen Kings
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • OTE – Screen Kings
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
      • The State Of R&B
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Entertainment

Find Out What New Book Your Favorite Celebs Can't Put Down

It looks like Hollywood’s elite have traded in red carpets for page turning.
Find Out What New Book Your Favorite Celebs Can’t Put Down
By Keyaira Boone · Updated October 23, 2020

It looks like Hollywood’s elite are skipping after parties for page turning. Ta-Nehisi Coates highly anticipated new release The Water Dancer has turned half primetime hooked thanks to Oprah’s Book Club. Following the story of an enslaved boy whose memory can help access superpowers that access paths to freedom, this magnetic novel is Coates’ first popular fiction effort. Everyone from Kerry Washington to Lena Waithe has posted a picture of themselves curled up with their copy. See what they had to say about Coates’ latest literary smash below. 

Kerry Washington held the book closely on a sunny day calling it “Extraordinary.” 

View this post on Instagram

I have been getting a lot of texts asking me what I’m reading…And @Oprah said I couldn’t tell you 😱 because it was a secret! But now I can! 🤣 “The Water Dancer” by @tanehisipcoates is extraordinary. And it’s Oprah’s pick for @oprahsbookclub!! 📚📖 #ReadWithUs ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ P.S. Text me if you have any other book recommendations, I’d love to hear what everyone is reading!!! 718-400-7118 📲

A post shared by Kerry Washington (@kerrywashington) on Sep 25, 2019 at 9:10am PDT

Tracee Ellis Ross took a break from caring for our curls to thank Coates for his creation. She called the book, “a worthy read filled with truth and magic. it will conjure much to ponder and discuss. thank you for yet another extraordinary contribution to our culture, Ta-Nehisi.” 

View this post on Instagram

THE WATER DANCER ~ @tanehisipcoates a worthy read filled with truth and magic. it will conjure much to ponder and discuss. thank you for yet another extraordinary contribution to our culture, Ta-Nehisi.

A post shared by Tracee Ellis Ross (@traceeellisross) on Sep 19, 2019 at 8:40pm PDT

Angela Bassett and her hubby Courtney B. Vance were relationship goals for library lovers. They each posted up on the ‘gram with their copies.

View this post on Instagram

Just joined the club & can’t wait to dig in! #readwithus #longflightgreatbook

A post shared by Courtney B Vance (@courtneybvance) on Sep 24, 2019 at 4:22am PDT

View this post on Instagram

Hey @courtneybvance -reading with you! I know whenever @tanehisipcoates puts pen to page something good is gonna happen! #readwithus

A post shared by Angela Bassett (@im.angelabassett) on Sep 24, 2019 at 4:29am PDT

Lena Waithe told us not to look for her as she gets lost in the story. “I just read the first few pages and now I’m all in! if you don’t hear back from me, it’s because I’m reading this cover to cover. This is an important story for our times that the world needs NOW!” 

View this post on Instagram

Yes yes y’all! I’m so excited to be a Reading Ambassador for @oprahsbookclub! Play cousins and extended family join me as I dive into @Oprah’s first pick – “The Water Dancer” by @tanehisipcoates. I just read the first few pages and now I’m all in! if you don’t hear back from me, it’s because I’m reading this cover to cover. This is an important story for our times that the world needs NOW! I hope ya’ll make some time and #ReadWithUs 📚

A post shared by Lena Waithe (@lenawaithe) on Sep 23, 2019 at 4:41pm PDT

Tika Sumpter kicked off hoodie season with a fresh read. “After work I’m ready to curl up and read Ta-Neshisi Coates’s The Water Dancer.” Excited to dig in,” she wrote in her caption. 

View this post on Instagram

After work I’m ready to curl up and read Ta-Neshisi Coates’s “The Water Dancer”. Excited to dig in. @oprahsbookclub #ReadwithUs

A post shared by Tika Sumpter (@tikasumpter) on Sep 23, 2019 at 6:00pm PDT

Anthony Anderson posted nestled in his robe. The Black-ish star let us know that for something to catch his attention it has to really be groundbreaking. “I’m not easily excited by things but Ta-Nehisi Coates new novel ‘The Water Dancer’ excites me,” he wrote. 

View this post on Instagram

I’m not easily excited bybthings but Ta-Nehisi Coates new novel ‘The Water Dancer’ excites me! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have so far. Thanks for sharing @oprahsbookclub #readwithus tell a friend!

A post shared by Anthony Anderson (@anthonyanderson) on Sep 23, 2019 at 6:16pm PDT

Queen Sugar’s Dawn-Lyen Gardener, with her flawless lashes, said they were, “diving in.”

View this post on Instagram

Diving in! @oprah’s first selection for her new collab with @apple: THE WATER DANCER by *the* @tanehisipcoates. Can’t wait to get into it… #ReadWithUs 📖 • • #OprahsBookClub #Ambassador @oprahsbookclub #Tanehisipcoates #TheWaterDancer #Oprah #DawnLyenGardner

A post shared by Dawn-Lyen Gardner (@dawnlyen) on Sep 23, 2019 at 8:41am PDT

Niecy Nash said you can’t sit with her if you’re not packing pages. “I don’t trust people who don’t read,” she wrote in the caption for her selfie with the title.

View this post on Instagram

@oprahsbookclub 😍@tanehisipcoates #TheWaterDancer #ReadWithUs 📚❤️🥰 ps. I don’t trust people who don’t read 🤷🏽‍♀️

A post shared by Niecy Nash (@niecynash1) on Sep 25, 2019 at 4:07pm PDT

After a busy weekend working, Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown advised us to avoid spoilers while he was catching up. “You don’t want anybody to ruin it for you!” 

View this post on Instagram

Had a busy weekend, so I didn’t get to finish, but I’m half way through @oprahsbookclub first selection, #TheWaterDancer by @tanehisipcoates and it is outstanding!!! Pick this one up ASAP. You don’t want anybody to ruin it for you! #ReadWithUs ✌🏿

A post shared by Sterling Brown (@sterlingkbrown) on Sep 23, 2019 at 5:34pm PDT

Tyler Perry called it, “powerful.” 

View this post on Instagram

I’m reading this powerful book. How many of you will join me? I love a good read. @oprahsbookclub #ReadWithUs

A post shared by Tyler Perry (@tylerperry) on Sep 23, 2019 at 7:41am PDT

Greenleaf’s Merle Dandridge spoke to how work like The Water Dancer, can provide community for those without it. “May #thewaterdancer continue the refreshing and raw look at where we are with race in our country. Growing up bi-racial in Nebraska, feeling foreign to my peers, it is a relief to have forum. Let’s get talking,” she wrote on Instagram. 

View this post on Instagram

What a pleasure to dig into the new @oprahsbookclub collaboration between @oprah and @apple celebrating @tanehisipcoates , the prolific writer of “Between the World and Me.” His work is an education and awakening. May #thewaterdancer continue the refreshing and raw look at where we are with race in our country. Growing up bi-racial in Nebraska, feeling foreign to my peers, it is a relief to have forum. Let’s get talking. #readwithus #Oprah #oprahsbookclub #apple #betweentheworldandme #thewaterdancer

A post shared by Merle Dandridge (@merledandridge) on Sep 23, 2019 at 4:42pm PDT

Tell us what book has your full attention this fall.

TOPICS:  Angela Bassett Anthony Anderson Book Books courtney b vance Kerry Washington Lena Waithe merle dandridge Niecy Nash Oprah's Book Club Sterling K. Brown Tika Sumpter Tracee Ellis Ross Tyler Perry
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now