Priyanka Chopra Jonas' Bookshelf Tour: See Her Favorite Reads | Shelf Portrait | Marie Claire
Actress, entrepreneur, and author Priyanka Chopra Jonas gives us a peek at her bookshelves! The author of the new memoir "Unfinished" shares some of her all-time favorites and dishes on her reading habits, her fictional crush and much more. From the best new book she's read recently to her top 'Harry Potter' pick, Chopra Jonas shares some excellent recs and an intimate look at her temporary London library.
Transcript
00:00 I remember I used to have a library in my house
00:02 and I used to give the neighborhood kids books
00:05 that I used to let them borrow my books
00:07 and I had like a librarian,
00:09 I used to write down who borrowed my book
00:11 and when I was gonna get it back.
00:13 Hi guys, I'm Priyanka Chopra Jonas
00:15 and I'm about to give Marie Claire
00:16 a sneak peek into my personal library.
00:19 This is Shelf Portrait.
00:21 (upbeat music)
00:24 So if I was at home, you would have seen my library
00:27 and my books which are my prized possessions
00:30 but at the moment I'm not, I'm filming a movie in London
00:33 but I do have a few books in here that I did bring with me
00:37 and that I have bought while I've been in London.
00:40 I love books, I've been an avid reader since I was a child.
00:44 There's something magical about books.
00:47 Once they're printed, they live on
00:50 and they have their own legacy
00:51 and then they get passed on from person to person
00:54 and I always wonder, like I love going into used bookstores
00:59 and finding used books and I wonder
01:02 how many people have gone through those pages
01:06 or leafed those pages
01:08 and I find the journey of books fascinating.
01:10 I find the journey they take me on fascinating.
01:13 (upbeat music)
01:16 One of the books that I wanna talk to you guys about today
01:19 on my bookshelf is Amnesty by Arvind Adiga.
01:23 I have a movie coming out right now called The White Tiger
01:27 which is based on a novel that Arvind Adiga wrote in 2008
01:31 and I'm a huge fan of his writing.
01:34 He writes with wit, he always has a social commentary
01:38 and in this one, Danny, the main character, Dhananjay
01:42 is from Sri Lanka and he's a refugee in Australia.
01:47 Basically through his eyes,
01:48 there's also a murder that happens
01:50 and him trying to figure out the morality
01:53 of whether he should tell the police what he knows
01:58 or he shouldn't because he doesn't have papers
02:00 and it's just the writing.
02:01 He's so clever in his writing and he's humorous
02:04 and he's sarcastic and he's dark but at the same time,
02:07 has a very fast-paced sense of storytelling.
02:11 This book sort of makes you think about refugees
02:15 and refugees around the world and their lives
02:18 and their choices and the choices they have to make
02:22 and the ones that are made for them.
02:24 It's something that makes you think about that
02:26 and that's what I definitely picked up from this.
02:29 What's my all-time favorite book cover?
02:32 You know, I've been a big fan of graphic novels
02:34 and comics as well.
02:36 I have to say The Watchman was one of my favorites
02:39 and I remember seeing it and it being seared into my memory
02:43 and of course now The Watchman is a TV series
02:45 and it was a movie as well.
02:47 So that's something that I really remember.
02:49 The world fascinated me.
02:51 Who's my all-time favorite crush?
02:53 This is really cheesy.
02:55 Instead of it being like some heroic crush
02:58 from one of the great novels that I've read,
03:01 I would like to say it's Archie Andrews
03:03 from the Archie comics.
03:05 I really think I had a real crush on him.
03:07 Weirdo.
03:08 This is one of my favorite, favorite books of the year.
03:13 It's called Homegoing.
03:14 It's written by Yaa Gyasi.
03:16 It's based in the 18th century, actually,
03:19 and it's the story of two half-sisters in Ghana
03:22 and who are born without the knowledge of each other.
03:28 And one gets married to an Englishman
03:30 and lives an affluent life
03:33 and the other one gets sold into slavery
03:36 in the same castle that her sister is married into.
03:39 It has a commentary on family.
03:41 It has a commentary on the slave trade and what that did.
03:45 It has a commentary on being a black woman
03:48 in America today, where the book ends, actually.
03:51 And it really makes you think about life
03:54 and the privileges that come along with it
03:56 and what is destined for you
03:59 and what are the choices that you make
04:01 that change your destiny.
04:03 What book would I recommend to a book club?
04:08 At the moment, I would maybe recommend my book
04:11 to the book club.
04:12 It's called Unfinished.
04:13 I would love for you guys to check it out
04:14 and see if I did an okay job as a first-time author.
04:18 What was the process like to write a book?
04:21 Daunting, but exhilarating at the same time.
04:24 I remember being terrified at the thought
04:27 of even putting words down
04:30 and then now I'm terrified at the thought
04:32 of everyone reading them.
04:33 So I have really newfound respect for all the authors
04:36 that I've loved and admired.
04:38 This is no small feat.
04:40 This is the next book I'm gonna talk about.
04:42 I'm sure a lot of you have heard of it and seen it.
04:45 The storytelling is extremely vivid,
04:47 which I love.
04:48 It's about how she becomes the woman that she is,
04:53 from Chicago to the White House
04:56 and that journey, which is so fascinating to all of us
04:59 and it feels like a Cinderella story,
05:01 but she gives that perspective of the hardships,
05:04 trials, and tribulations that she had to go through
05:07 and her family had to go through.
05:08 Well, the one thing about this book was
05:10 when I read it a couple of months ago,
05:12 I was also in the process of writing my own memoir.
05:15 I did take a few lessons from how she really talks
05:19 about her evolution and how she digs in really deep
05:22 to her vulnerabilities.
05:23 Since I really admire her, I really enjoyed it
05:26 and I would recommend this to everyone.
05:27 What was my favorite childhood book?
05:29 I've had many, but one of the ones
05:33 that I really remember is "Black Beauty."
05:36 It's the story of this black stallion horse.
05:41 She's raised by a very loving owner
05:43 and then gets sold into a workforce.
05:48 As an animal lover, I remember being really, really moved
05:50 by this book as a kid.
05:52 Do I make notes or highlights?
05:53 Yes, I do.
05:54 I definitely highlight.
05:56 I write notes.
05:56 I write my name.
05:58 I also look up words that I may or may not know.
06:02 I have a very deep connection when I'm reading a book.
06:05 Okay, the next book I'm gonna be talking about too
06:07 is "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."
06:11 "Sorcerer's Stone," "Philosopher's Stone."
06:13 It's the British and American version,
06:15 but I kind of joined this train a little late.
06:18 I had been, I watched the movies
06:21 and everyone kept talking about the books.
06:23 I was like, reading is a completely different experience,
06:27 you know, and I really wanted to pick up the book
06:30 and read it, and when I started doing it,
06:32 I understood the hysteria.
06:34 Yes, it's based in a fantasy land
06:37 and yes, you know, we're talking about magic,
06:39 but the kind of issues that Harry deals with
06:42 and the relationships and the people,
06:44 they're all so human,
06:46 and I think that's what makes this book so riveting,
06:50 that you wanna follow Harry and his friend's journey
06:54 and you wanna see and learn from him at his young age
06:59 about being adventurous, but also, you know,
07:02 being able to stand your ground and being brave.
07:04 So I would recommend this to everyone
07:08 who hasn't read the books.
07:09 You must check out all the books.
07:11 (upbeat music)
07:14 What's my favorite genre?
07:16 So I, it depends on my mood.
07:19 I think I love reading fiction.
07:21 Sometimes I love reading nonfiction,
07:23 depending on who it is,
07:25 but most of the time, I do love getting my hands
07:28 on a good old murder mystery.
07:30 Who gives me the best book recommendations?
07:33 Well, most of the time Apple does, or Google does,
07:38 but besides that, my mom, my friends,
07:40 you know, who are avid readers, or the book clubs.
07:44 I love following Reese Witherspoon's book club,
07:47 Sonali Bendre's book club, even Oprah's book club.
07:51 Those are really interesting.
07:52 One of my other favorite books,
07:54 and I don't have the physical copy of it,
07:56 is "Letters from a Father to His Daughter"
08:00 by Jawaharlal Nehru, and Jawaharlal Nehru
08:02 was the first Prime Minister of India
08:04 after our independence from the British,
08:07 and this was a book that he wrote
08:10 when his daughter was only 10, Indira Gandhi,
08:13 who was the first female Prime Minister of India as well.
08:17 It's basically 30 essays that he has written to his daughter
08:21 telling her about the world, and how the world was formed,
08:25 and you know, shaping her worldview,
08:27 and I remember as a young kid,
08:30 I was so fascinated to read all of that
08:33 from a father to his daughter,
08:36 and I think it was a way of my dad also sort of,
08:40 you know, piggybacking on Pandit Nehru's book
08:44 so that I could learn about how the earth was made,
08:48 and all the difficult subjects
08:50 he probably didn't want to talk to me about.
08:52 Thank you for watching "Shelf Portrait,"
08:58 and please make sure you check out my new book
09:01 called "Unfinished," and my new movie,
09:03 it's called "The White Tiger," on Netflix,
09:05 and also subscribe to Marie Claire.