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.
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00:00 I remember I used to have a library in my house and I used to give the neighborhood kids books that I used to let them borrow my books and I had like a librarian.
00:09 I used to write down who borrowed my book and when I was going to get it back.
00:13 Hi guys, I'm Priyanka Chopra Jonas and I'm about to give Marie Claire a sneak peek into my personal library.
00:19 This is Shelf Portrait.
00:24 So if I was at home you would have seen my library 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 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.
00:46 Once they're printed, they live on and they have their own legacy and then they get passed on from person to person.
00:55 And you know, I always wonder, like I love going into used bookstores and finding used books and I wonder, you know, how many people have gone through those pages or leafed those pages.
01:08 And I find the journey of books fascinating. I find the journey they take me on fascinating.
01:13 One of the books that I want to talk to you guys about today on my bookshelf is Amnesty by Arvind Adiga.
01:23 I have a movie coming out right now called The White Tiger which is based on a novel that Arvind Adiga wrote in 2008.
01:31 And I'm a huge fan of his writing. He writes with wit. He always has a social commentary.
01:38 And in this one, Danny, the main character, Dhananjay, is from Sri Lanka and he's a refugee in Australia.
01:47 Basically, through his eyes, there's also a murder that happens and him trying to figure out the morality of whether he should, you know, tell the police what he knows or he shouldn't because he doesn't have papers.
02:00 And it's just the writing. He's so clever in his writing and he's humorous and he's sarcastic and he's dark but at the same time, you know, has a very fast-paced sense of storytelling.
02:11 This book sort of makes you think about, you know, refugees and refugees around the world and their lives and their choices and the choices they have to make and the ones that are made for them.
02:24 It's something that, you know, makes you think about that and that's what I definitely picked up from this.
02:30 What's my all-time favorite book cover? I, you know, I've been a big fan of graphic novels and comics as well.
02:36 I have to say The Watchman was one of my favorites and I remember, like, you know, seeing it and it being seared into my memory.
02:44 And of course, now The Watchman is a TV series and it was a movie as well. So, that's something that I really remember. The world fascinated me.
02:51 Who's my all-time favorite crush? This is really cheesy. Instead of it being like some heroic crush from, you know, one of the great novels that I've read, I would like to say it's Archie Andrews from the Archie comics.
03:05 I really think I had a real crush on him. Weirdo.
03:09 This is one of my favorite, favorite books of the year. It's called Homegoing. It's written by Yaa Gyasi.
03:17 It's based in the 18th century, actually, and it's the story of two half-sisters in Ghana and who are born without the knowledge of each other.
03:28 And one gets married to an Englishman and, you know, lives an affluent life and the other one gets sold into slavery in the same castle that her sister is married into.
03:40 It has a commentary on family. It has a commentary on the slave trade and what that did. It has a commentary on being a black woman in America today, where the book ends, actually.
03:51 And it really makes you think about life and the privileges that come along with it and, you know, what is destined for you and what are the choices that you make that change your destiny.
04:06 What book would I recommend to a book club? At the moment, I would maybe recommend my book to the book club.
04:12 It's called Unfinished. I would love for you guys to check it out and see if I did an okay job, you know, as a first-time author.
04:18 What was the process like to write a book? Daunting, but exhilarating at the same time.
04:24 I remember being terrified at the thought of even putting words down and then now I'm terrified at the thought of everyone reading them.
04:34 So I have really newfound respect for all the authors that I've loved and admired. This is no small feat.
04:40 This is the next book I'm going to talk about. I'm sure a lot of you have heard of it and seen it.
04:45 The storytelling is extremely vivid, which I love. It's about how she becomes the woman that she is, you know, from Chicago to the White House.
04:56 And that journey, which is so fascinating to all of us and, you know, it feels like a Cinderella story.
05:01 But she gives that perspective of the hardships, trials and tribulations that she had to go through and her family had to go through.
05:08 Well, the one thing about this book was when I read it a couple of months ago, I was also in the process of writing my own memoir.
05:15 You know, I did take a few lessons from how she really talks about her evolution and how she digs in really deep to her vulnerabilities.
05:23 Since I really admire her, I really enjoyed it and I would recommend this to everyone.
05:27 What was my favorite childhood book? I've had many, but one of the ones that I really remember is Black Beauty.
05:35 It's the story of this black stallion horse.
05:40 She's raised by a very loving owner and then gets sold into, you know, a workforce.
05:47 As an animal lover, I remember being really, really moved by this book as a kid.
05:51 Do I make notes or highlights? Yes, I do. I definitely highlight. I write notes. I write my name.
05:58 I also look up words that, you know, I may or may not may not know.
06:02 I have a very deep connection when I'm reading a book.
06:05 OK, next book I'm going to be talking about is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
06:10 Sorcerer's Stone, Philosopher's Stone. It's the British and American version.
06:15 But I kind of joined this train a little late. I had been, I watched the movies and everyone kept talking about the books.
06:23 I was like, reading is a completely different experience, you know, and I really wanted to pick up the book and read it.
06:31 And when I started doing it, I understood the hysteria.
06:34 Yes, it's based in a fantasy land. And yes, you know, we're talking about magic.
06:39 But the kind of issues that Harry deals with and the relationships and the people, they're all so human.
06:46 And I think that's what makes this book so riveting that, you know, you want to follow Harry and his friend's journey.
06:55 And you want to see and learn from him at his young age about being adventurous, but also, you know, being able to stand your ground and being brave.
07:05 So I would recommend this to everyone who hasn't read the books. You must check out all the books.
07:11 What's my favorite genre? So I, it depends on my mood.
07:19 I think I love reading fiction. Sometimes I love reading nonfiction, depending on who it is.
07:25 But most of the time, I do love getting my hands on a good old murder mystery.
07:30 Who gives me the best book recommendations? Well, most of the time Apple does or Google does.
07:37 But besides that, my mom, my friends, you know, who are avid readers or the book clubs.
07:44 I love following Reese Witherspoon's book club, Sonali Bendre's book club, even Oprah's book club.
07:51 Those are really interesting.
07:52 One of my other favorite books, and I don't have the physical copy of it, is Letters from a Father to His Daughter by Jawaharlal Nehru.
08:01 And Jawaharlal Nehru was the first prime minister of India after our independence from the British.
08:07 And this was a book that he wrote when his daughter was only 10. Indira Gandhi, 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, telling her about the world and how the world was formed and, you know, shaping her worldview.
08:27 And I remember as a young kid, I was so fascinated to read all of that from a father to his daughter.
08:36 And I think it was a way of my dad also sort of, you know, piggybacking on Pandit Nehru's book so that I could learn about how the earth was made and all the difficult subjects he probably didn't want to talk to me about.
08:52 Thank you for watching Shelf Portrait. And please make sure you check out my new book called Unfinished and my new movie.
09:03 It's called The White Tiger on Netflix. And also subscribe to Marie Claire.