Priyanka Chopra Jonas | 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.
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00:00I remember I used to have a library in my house and I used to give the neighborhood kids
00:05books that I used to let them borrow my books and I had like a librarian
00:09I used to write down who borrowed my book and when I was going to get it back.
00:13Hi guys I'm Priyanka Chopra Jonas and I'm about to give Marie Claire
00:16a sneak peek into my personal library.
00:19This is Shelf Portrait.
00:24So if I was at home you would have seen my library
00:27and my books which are my prized possessions but at the moment I'm not.
00:32I'm filming a movie in London but I do have a few books in here that I did
00:36bring with me and that I have bought while I've been in London.
00:41I love books. I've been an avid reader since I was a child.
00:44There's something magical about books.
00:47Once they're printed they live on and they have their own legacy and then they get
00:52passed on from person to person and you know it always I always wonder
00:57like I love going into used bookstores and finding used books and I wonder
01:02you know how many people have gone through those pages or leaf those pages
01:08and I find the journey of books fascinating.
01:10I find the journey they take me on fascinating.
01:17One of the books that I want to talk to you guys about today on my bookshelf
01:21is Amnesty by Arvind Adiga.
01:23I have a movie coming out right now called The White Tiger
01:27which is based on a novel that Arvind Adiga wrote in 2008
01:31and I'm a huge fan of his writing.
01:34He writes with wit. He always has a social commentary
01:39and in this one Danny, the main character Dhananjay,
01:43is from Sri Lanka and he's a refugee in Australia.
01:47Basically through his eyes there's also a murder that happens
01:50and him trying to figure out the morality of whether he should you know
01:56tell the police what he knows or he shouldn't because he doesn't have papers
02:00and it's just the writing.
02:02He's so clever in his writing and he's humorous and he's sarcastic and he's dark
02:06but at the same time you know has a very fast-paced sense of storytelling.
02:11This book sort of makes you think about you know refugees and refugees around the world
02:17and their lives and their choices and the choices they have to make
02:22and the ones that are made for them.
02:24It's something that you know makes you think about that
02:26and that's what I definitely picked up from this.
02:29What's my all-time favorite book cover?
02:32I you know I've been a big fan of graphic novels and comics as well.
02:36I have to say The Watchman was one of my favorites
02:39and I remember like you know seeing it and it being seared into my memory
02:43and of course now The Watchman is a TV series and it was a movie as well.
02:47So that's something that I really remember.
02:49The world fascinated me.
02:51Who's my all-time favorite crush?
02:53This is really cheesy.
02:55Instead of it being like some heroic crush from you know one of the great novels that I've read
03:01I would like to say it's Archie Andrews from the Archie comics.
03:05I really think I had a real crush on him.
03:07Weirdo.
03:08This is one of my favorite favorite books of the year.
03:13It's called Homegoing.
03:14It's written by Yaa Gyasi.
03:17It's based in the 18th century actually and it's the story of two half-sisters in Ghana
03:23and who are born without the knowledge of each other
03:28and one gets married to an Englishman and you know lives an affluent life
03:33and the other one gets sold into slavery in the same castle that her sister is married into.
03:39It has a commentary on family.
03:41It has a commentary on the slave trade and what that did.
03:46It has a commentary on being a black woman in America today where the book ends actually
03:51and it really makes you think about life and the privileges that come along with it
03:57and you know what is destined for you
03:59and what are the what are the choices that you make that change your destiny.
04:05What book would I recommend to a book club?
04:08At the moment I would maybe recommend my book to the book club.
04:12It's called Unfinished.
04:13I would love for you guys to check it out and see if I did an okay job you know as a first-time author.
04:18What was the process like to write a book?
04:21Daunting but exhilarating at the same time.
04:24I remember being terrified at the thought of even putting words down
04:30and then now I'm terrified at the thought of everyone reading them.
04:34So I have really newfound respect for all the authors that I've loved and admired.
04:38This is no small feat.
04:40This is the next book I'm going to talk about.
04:42I'm sure a lot of you have heard of it and seen it.
04:45The storytelling is extremely vivid which I love.
04:48It's about how she becomes the woman that she is you know.
04:53From Chicago to the White House and that journey which is so fascinating to all of us
04:59and you know it feels like a Cinderella story.
05:01But she gives that perspective of the hardships,
05:04trials and tribulations that she had to go through and her family had to go through.
05:08Well the one thing about this book was when I read it a couple of months ago
05:12I was also in the process of writing my own memoir.
05:15You know I did take a few lessons from how she really talks about her evolution
05:20and how she digs in really deep to her vulnerabilities.
05:24Since I really admire her I really enjoyed it and I would recommend this to everyone.
05:27What was my favorite childhood book?
05:30I've had many but one of the ones that I really remember is Black Beauty.
05:36It's the story of this black stallion horse.
05:41She's raised by a very loving owner and then gets sold into you know a workforce.
05:48As an animal lover I remember being really really moved by this book as a kid.
05:52Do I make notes or highlights?
05:54Yes I do.
05:54I definitely highlight.
05:56I write notes.
05:57I write my name.
05:58I also look up words that you know I may or may not may not know.
06:02I have a very deep connection when I'm reading a book.
06:05Okay the next book I'm going to be talking about to you is
06:08Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
06:11Sorcerer's Stone, Philosopher's Stone.
06:13It's the British and American version.
06:15I kind of joined this train a little late.
06:19I watched the movies and everyone kept talking about the books and I was like
06:25reading is a completely different experience you know and I really wanted to
06:29pick up the book and read it and when I started doing it I understood the hysteria.
06:34Yes it's based in a fantasy land and yes you know we're talking about magic
06:39but the kind of issues that Harry deals with and the relationships and
06:44the people they're all so human and I think that's what makes this book
06:49so riveting that you know you want to follow Harry and his friend's journey
06:55and you want to see and learn from him at his young age about being adventurous
07:01but also you know being able to stand your ground and being brave and
07:06so I would recommend this to everyone who hasn't read the books.
07:09You must check out all the books.
07:14What's my favorite genre?
07:16So it depends on my mood.
07:19I think I love reading fiction sometimes I love reading non-fiction depending on
07:24who it is but most of the time I do love getting my hands on a good old murder mystery.
07:30Who gives me the best book recommendations?
07:34Well most of the time Apple does or Google does
07:38but besides that my mom, my friends you know who are avid readers or the book clubs.
07:44I love following Reese Witherspoon's book club, Sonali Bendre's book club,
07:49even Oprah's book club.
07:51Those are really interesting.
07:52One of my other favorite books and I don't have the physical copy of it
07:57is Letters from a Father to His Daughter by Jawaharlal Nehru
08:01and Jawaharlal Nehru was the first prime minister of India
08:04after our independence from the British
08:07and this was a book that he wrote when his daughter was only 10.
08:12Indira Gandhi who was the first female prime minister of India as well.
08:17It's basically 30 essays that he has written to his daughter
08:22telling her about the world and how the world was formed and
08:25you know shaping her worldview and I remember as a young kid
08:30um I was so fascinated to read all of that from a father to his daughter
08:36and I think it was a way of my my dad also sort of you know piggybacking on
08:42on Pandit Nehru's book so that I could learn about how the earth was made
08:48and all the difficult subjects he probably didn't want to talk to me about.
08:52Thank you for watching Shelf Portrait and please make sure you check out my new book
08:56called Unfinished and my new movie it's called The White Tiger on Netflix
09:01and also subscribe to Marie Claire.