Emma Roberts reads like someone perpetually planning her next escape. Her bookshelf is filled with glamorous drifters, complicated women, literary thrillers, artistic dreamers, expatriates, romantics, and people searching for reinvention in faraway places. Whether set in Paris, Rome, Barcelona, the Hamptons, or along the Italian coast, these books share a restless energy—a desire to step outside ordinary life and discover something unexpected.
Looking at the books recommended by Emma Roberts, it’s clear that she gravitates toward stories that balance intelligence with pleasure. These are books that are literary without being intimidating, emotionally rich without becoming heavy, and often infused with a sense of adventure. Many feature women navigating desire, identity, ambition, or uncertainty, while others explore the irresistible allure of travel, art, and self-invention.
What makes Emma’s reading taste especially appealing is that she doesn’t separate “serious” books from enjoyable ones. A Joan Didion memoir sits comfortably alongside a page-turning thriller. Historical fiction shares shelf space with contemporary literary sensations. The result is a reading list that feels both sophisticated and approachable—a collection of novels and memoirs perfect for readers who want books that transport them somewhere else, whether physically, emotionally, or imaginatively.
If there is a common thread running through this bookshelf, it is the belief that the best stories leave you changed. They introduce you to unforgettable characters, immerse you in fascinating worlds, and linger in your thoughts long after you’ve returned home. Much like Emma Roberts herself, these books are stylish, curious, romantic, and just a little bit unpredictable.
A Moveable Feast— Ernest Hemingway
In A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway looks back on his years as a young writer in 1920s Paris, when the city was overflowing with artists, intellectuals, and aspiring creatives searching for inspiration. Through a series of vivid sketches and recollections, he captures a world of cheap cafés, long conversations, literary rivalries, and ambitious dreams. The memoir is as much about Paris itself as it is about Hemingway, preserving a moment when creativity felt inseparable from place.
Why You Should Read It
This is a book for anyone who has ever romanticized the idea of starting over in a new city. A Moveable Feast offers a glimpse into a legendary cultural moment while reminding readers that artistic lives are often built through persistence, friendship, and curiosity rather than glamour alone. If you love books about travel, creativity, and the communities that shape great art, this memoir remains endlessly charming.
Emma Roberts’s Take
For Emma, the appeal of A Moveable Feast lies in its ability to transport. She calls it “one of our favorite non-fiction books ever” and describes it as a must-read for anyone who dreams of being “young and creative in Paris in the early 20th century.”
What she responds to is not just Hemingway’s story, but the atmosphere he creates — a world of eccentric expatriates, artistic ambition, and endless possibility. In typical Emma Roberts fashion, it’s also tied to travel, making it the perfect companion for a journey between London and Paris, or for anyone longing to be somewhere else for a while.
Read Book: A Moveable Feast!Beautiful Ruins — Jess Walter
Beautiful Ruins begins on a quiet stretch of the Italian coast in the 1960s and gradually unfolds across decades, continents, and lives. At its heart is a love story, but Jess Walter uses that romance as a starting point for a much larger meditation on ambition, regret, reinvention, and the stories people tell themselves about the lives they might have lived. The novel moves effortlessly between Italy, Hollywood, and the American Northwest, combining sweeping scope with intimate emotional detail.
Why You Should Read It
This is the kind of book that feels tailor-made for travel. Beautiful Ruins is intelligent without being demanding, romantic without being sentimental, and expansive without losing its emotional core. If you enjoy novels that blend literary depth with irresistible storytelling—and leave you wanting to book a flight somewhere beautiful—this one delivers on every front.
Emma Roberts’s Take
he strongest endorsement Emma can give a book is often what she did after finishing it, and in this case she says she,
“literally handed it to every person who would take it.”
That enthusiasm speaks volumes. What she loves is the combination of elegance and escapism—the way the novel sweeps readers from an Italian coastal village to California and beyond while never losing sight of its central love story. Calling it the “perfect vacation read,” Emma captures exactly why the novel endures: it feels both glamorous and deeply human, the sort of book you devour on holiday and then recommend to everyone when you get home.
Get Book: Beautiful Ruins!Blue Nights — Joan Didion
In Blue Nights, Joan Didion reflects on the death of her daughter, Quintana Roo, while confronting her own aging, memory, and vulnerability. Written with the precision and restraint that made Didion one of the most admired literary voices of her generation, the memoir explores grief not as a single event but as a state of continual reckoning. It is deeply personal, yet universal in its examination of love, loss, and the passage of time.
Why You Should Read It
This is a book for readers who appreciate writing at its most distilled and emotionally honest. Blue Nights doesn’t offer easy comfort or neat conclusions. Instead, it captures the way grief lingers and transforms, revealing how memory can be both a refuge and a source of pain. If you’re drawn to memoirs that are thoughtful, elegant, and profoundly moving, this is an extraordinary read.
Emma Roberts’s Take
Emma’s description of Blue Nights is strikingly simple: it is the “most beautiful book.” Coming from a reader who gravitates toward stylish literary fiction, thrillers, and escapist adventures, that praise feels especially meaningful. What makes the book beautiful is not its subject matter, but the grace with which Didion approaches it. Even while writing about loss, she creates something luminous—a reminder that great literature can find beauty not despite life’s hardest moments, but through them.
Get Book: Blue Nights!Cassandra at the Wedding — Dorothy Baker
Cassandra at the Wedding follows Cassandra Edwards as she returns home for her twin sister’s wedding, only to find herself struggling with jealousy, uncertainty, and a deep fear of being left behind. Dorothy Baker’s novel is sharp, funny, and psychologically astute, capturing the messy emotions that can exist beneath even the closest relationships. Cassandra is a brilliantly complicated narrator—witty, self-aware, and often at war with herself.
Why You Should Read It
This is a book for readers who love character-driven fiction. Cassandra at the Wedding excels at exploring the contradictions of family, identity, and adulthood, creating a protagonist who is as frustrating as she is fascinating. If you’re drawn to novels about brilliant women navigating emotional chaos with equal parts humour and heartbreak, this one is a hidden gem.
Emma Roberts’s Take
Emma’s recommendation is wonderfully specific: she calls it “such a perfect summer Hamptons read.” That description captures the novel’s unique appeal. It has the breezy accessibility of a beach read, but beneath the surface lies a surprisingly rich psychological portrait. Much like the best summer books, it feels effortless to read while quietly delivering something much deeper—making it exactly the kind of novel Emma loves to slip into a suitcase.
Get Book: Cassandra at the Wedding!The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing — Melissa Bank
The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing follows Jane Rosenal through a series of interconnected stories that chart her journey from adolescence into adulthood. Along the way, she navigates friendships, family expectations, career ambitions, and a succession of romantic relationships, all rendered with Melissa Bank’s signature wit and emotional intelligence. The result is a novel that feels remarkably true to life, finding meaning in the small triumphs, disappointments, and awkward moments that shape a person over time.
Why You Should Read It
This is a book that understands the complexities of growing up without ever becoming heavy-handed. The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing is funny, perceptive, and endlessly relatable, making it perfect for readers who enjoy character-driven fiction with sharp observations about love and modern life. If you’re looking for a novel that feels both effortless and insightful, this one is a pleasure from beginning to end.
Emma Roberts’s Take
Emma describes the book as “such a good one for summer,” praising its lightness, sharpness, and overall sense of satisfaction. That combination feels very much in line with her reading taste. She tends to gravitate toward books that are easy to sink into but still offer something substantial beneath the surface. The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing delivers exactly that balance—a smart, entertaining novel that feels equally suited to a beach chair, a plane ride, or a lazy afternoon with nowhere else to be.
Get Book: The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing!Girl, Woman, Other — Bernardine Evaristo
Girl, Woman, Other weaves together the lives of twelve interconnected characters, most of them Black British women, across different generations, backgrounds, and experiences. Moving fluidly between perspectives, Bernardine Evaristo explores identity, family, race, sexuality, ambition, and belonging in contemporary Britain. The novel is expansive in scope yet deeply intimate, showing how individual lives intersect in ways both obvious and unexpected.
Why You Should Read It
This is a book that rewards empathy. Girl, Woman, Other offers a rich mosaic of voices, each bringing a unique perspective while contributing to a larger portrait of modern life. If you’re drawn to literary fiction that combines emotional depth with social insight, this Booker Prize-winning novel is both thought-provoking and deeply engaging.
Emma Roberts’s Take
Emma describes the novel as a “serious, but electrifying portrait” of diverse women in London, and that balance feels exactly right.
While the book tackles significant themes, it never loses its vitality or emotional immediacy. What seems to resonate with her is Evaristo’s ability to create twelve distinct lives that feel fully realized while still contributing to a larger conversation about identity and experience. Emma also positions it as the ideal choice for readers looking for something more substantial during their travels—a novel that not only transports you to another place, but also invites you to see the world through entirely new perspectives.
Get Book: Girl, Woman, Other!Lush — Rochelle Dowden-Lord
Lush is set in the world of wine, following a group of sommeliers, writers, and industry insiders whose lives intertwine through ambition, taste, identity, and desire. Rochelle Dowden-Lord uses the culture surrounding wine as a lens through which to explore class, race, belonging, and the complicated relationship between passion and profession. The novel is stylish, contemporary, and full of sensory detail, immersing readers in a world where every choice carries meaning.
Why You Should Read It
This is a book for readers who enjoy contemporary fiction with both substance and style. Lush offers an insider’s look at a fascinating world while asking larger questions about expertise, privilege, and who gets to belong in elite spaces. If you like character-driven novels that feel current, intelligent, and culturally sharp, this is an excellent pick.
Emma Roberts’s Take
Sometimes the strongest recommendation is the simplest one. Emma says she’s been “recommending it to everyone,” which speaks volumes about the impression the novel made on her.
That kind of enthusiasm tends to be reserved for books that are both highly readable and memorable—stories you finish and immediately want to discuss with someone else. Given Emma’s taste for smart, sophisticated fiction with compelling characters, it’s easy to see why Lush became one of those books she couldn’t stop talking about.
Get Book: Lush!My Husband — Maud Ventura
My Husband follows a seemingly ordinary French housewife whose devotion to her husband has evolved into something far more consuming. Over the course of a week, readers are drawn into her intensely private world, where every glance, conversation, and routine interaction is scrutinized for signs of affection—or its absence. Maud Ventura transforms a familiar premise into a sharp psychological study of love, obsession, marriage, and the stories people tell themselves in order to sustain desire.
Why You Should Read It
This is a book for readers who enjoy unreliable narrators and relationships that are just slightly off-kilter. My Husband is witty, unsettling, and surprisingly funny, balancing romantic intrigue with psychological suspense. If you like novels that explore the darker corners of love while remaining intelligent and entertaining, this one is impossible to put down.
Emma Roberts’s Take
Emma’s description perfectly captures the novel’s appeal. She highlights its premise—a woman who remains intensely obsessed with her husband despite years of marriage—but what really attracts her is the combination of “romantic intrigue and smart, witty prose.”
That balance feels quintessentially Emma Roberts: a book that is glamorous and compulsively readable, yet sophisticated enough to spark conversation afterward.
Her recommendation of it as a travel companion for a European getaway also makes perfect sense. Like many of her favorite books, My Husband blends elegance, escapism, and emotional complexity into a package that feels effortlessly chic.
Get Book: My Husband!Philistines at the Hedgerow — Steven Gaines
Philistines at the Hedgerow chronicles the transformation of the Hamptons from a quiet seaside retreat into one of America’s most famous enclaves of wealth, power, and celebrity. Steven Gaines populates the book with artists, socialites, writers, financiers, and larger-than-life personalities, creating a vivid portrait of a community shaped as much by ambition and status as by beauty and culture. The result is part social history, part gossip-filled page-turner, and part study of American privilege.
Why You Should Read It
This is a book for readers who enjoy peeking behind the curtain of glamorous worlds. Philistines at the Hedgerow delivers colorful anecdotes and fascinating characters, but it also offers genuine insight into how wealth, influence, and culture intersect. If you love books that teach you something while entertaining you at the same time, this is an especially satisfying read.
Emma Roberts’s Take
Emma’s comparison says everything:
the book “feels like Truman Capote could have written it.”
What she seems to admire is the way Gaines combines sharp social observation with irresistible storytelling. She describes it as both “a fun read” and one where “you learn a lot,” highlighting a quality that appears throughout her bookshelf recommendations.
Emma gravitates toward books that don’t force readers to choose between entertainment and substance. Philistines at the Hedgerow offers both, making it the kind of book you pick up for the gossip and finish with a deeper understanding of the world it portrays.
Get Book: Philistines at the Hedgerow!The Dud Avocado — Elaine Dundy
The Dud Avocado follows Sally Jay Gorce, a witty, impulsive young American living in Paris and pursuing adventure wherever it leads. Set in the 1950s, the novel captures the exhilaration of youth abroad—the parties, romances, misadventures, and endless possibilities that come with being untethered from expectations. Elaine Dundy writes with sparkling humor and effortless charm, creating a heroine whose mistakes are often as entertaining as her successes.
Why You Should Read It
This is a book for readers who love literary escapism. The Dud Avocado combines romance, glamour, and comedy without sacrificing intelligence, making it one of those rare novels that feels both sophisticated and delightfully fun. If you’re drawn to stories about young women reinventing themselves in beautiful cities, this classic remains irresistible.
Emma Roberts’s Take
Emma’s enthusiasm for the novel is impossible to miss. She describes it as
“literary romance and high-flying glamour,”
and clearly delights in Sally Jay’s carefree journey through Paris. Her comparison to Holly Golightly is especially revealing, highlighting the novel’s blend of charm, independence, and stylish mischief.
Like many of Emma’s favorite books, The Dud Avocado offers a fantasy of freedom—an opportunity to wander through an iconic city, make questionable decisions, and collect unforgettable experiences along the way. It’s easy to see why she considers it such a joyful read.
Get Book: The Dud Avocado!The Imperfectionists — Tom Rachman
The Imperfectionists revolves around the staff of a struggling English-language newspaper in Rome, weaving together the lives of editors, reporters, correspondents, and dreamers whose personal dramas often overshadow the stories they are meant to cover. Through a series of interconnected chapters, Tom Rachman creates a portrait of people who are flawed, ambitious, lonely, funny, and deeply human. Set against the backdrop of one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, the novel explores work, identity, love, and the communities people build around shared passions.
Why You Should Read It
This is a book for readers who love ensemble casts and richly developed characters. The Imperfectionists is witty, observant, and emotionally satisfying, balancing humor with moments of genuine poignancy. If you’re drawn to stories about expatriates, creative people, and the messy lives hidden behind glamorous settings, this novel is enormously rewarding.
Emma Roberts’s Take
What makes this recommendation especially charming is the story behind it. Emma recalls being urged to read the novel by her friend Karah after a train trip through Italy, and the book clearly taps into a shared obsession: stories about Americans living abroad.
She loves the idea of a Roman newspaper where “the headlines are less dramatic than the people writing them,” a description that perfectly captures the novel’s appeal. For Emma, the joy comes from the characters themselves—their quirks, ambitions, relationships, and mistakes. Like many books on her shelf, The Imperfectionists offers travel, intrigue, and a cast of people you’d happily spend a few hundred pages with.
Get Book: The Imperfectionists!The Midnight Library — Matt Haig
The Midnight Library begins with a simple but irresistible premise: between life and death exists a library containing countless books, each representing a different version of the protagonist Nora Seed’s life. By opening these volumes, Nora is able to experience the paths she never took, exploring alternate futures shaped by different choices. Matt Haig uses this imaginative framework to examine regret, possibility, happiness, and the stories people tell themselves about the lives they could have lived.
Why You Should Read It
This is a book that taps into a question nearly everyone has asked at some point: What if? The Midnight Library combines philosophical reflection with an engaging, accessible story, making it both thought-provoking and entertaining. If you’re drawn to novels that blend emotional depth with a touch of magical realism, this one offers a satisfying and uplifting reading experience.
Emma Roberts’s Take
Emma’s enthusiasm begins with the premise itself. “How can anyone resist a book about a library filled with endless shelves?” she asks, capturing exactly why so many readers are drawn to the novel.
What makes the recommendation especially fitting is that she read it while traveling, describing how it satisfied that uniquely readerly desire “to be transported while being literally transported.”
That observation feels perfectly aligned with her bookshelf as a whole. Again and again, Emma gravitates toward books that offer escape—not just into another place, but into another perspective, another life, or another possibility. The Midnight Library does all three.
Get Book: The Midnight Library!The Shadow of the Wind — Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Set in post-war Barcelona, The Shadow of the Wind follows Daniel Sempere, a young boy who discovers a forgotten novel by a mysterious author named Julián Carax. Determined to learn more, Daniel embarks on a quest that gradually pulls him into a labyrinth of secrets, forbidden love, betrayal, and long-buried tragedies. Carlos Ruiz Zafón combines historical fiction, literary mystery, romance, and gothic suspense into a story that feels both epic and deeply personal.
Why You Should Read It
This is a book for readers who love books about books. The Shadow of the Wind celebrates storytelling itself, weaving together mystery and history while creating one of the most atmospheric literary worlds in contemporary fiction. If you enjoy novels that are immersive, emotionally rich, and impossible to stop thinking about, this is a masterpiece of literary escapism.
Emma Roberts’s Take
What Emma seems to love most is the novel’s ability to combine travel, history, and bookish intrigue into one irresistible package. She recommends it especially for anyone visiting Spain, but her admiration goes beyond the setting.
The idea of an antiquarian bookseller’s son becoming obsessed with a mysterious novel—and uncovering a trail of secrets as copies are systematically destroyed—is exactly the kind of premise that appeals to devoted readers.
Emma describes it as an “epic tale” with antiquarian books at its heart, and that feels like the perfect summary. For anyone who has ever wandered through a bookstore hoping to discover something magical, The Shadow of the Wind delivers that feeling on every page.
Get Book: The Shadow of the Wind!The Sleeper — Emily Barr
The Sleeper begins with an irresistible premise: a woman stuck in the routines of her everyday life makes a spontaneous decision aboard a sleeper train that changes everything. What starts as a passionate escape soon turns into a mystery when Lara suddenly disappears, leaving her friend to piece together what happened. As the investigation unfolds, long-hidden secrets emerge, blurring the line between reinvention and deception.
Why You Should Read It
This is a book for readers who love thrillers driven as much by character as by plot. The Sleeper combines suspense, romance, and psychological intrigue, creating a story that constantly pushes readers to question what they think they know. If you’re looking for a novel that moves quickly, keeps you guessing, and delivers plenty of twists along the way, this is an excellent choice.
Emma Roberts’s Take
Emma is clearly drawn to the novel’s central fantasy: the idea of stepping off the path you’ve been following and into an entirely different life.
She highlights how Lara acts on something “we all wonder about,” turning a chance encounter on a train into an unexpected adventure. But what makes the story truly compelling, in Emma’s eyes, is what follows—the disappearance, the secrets, and the unraveling mystery.
Calling it a “must-read” and a “fulfilling page turner,” she positions The Sleeper as the perfect contemporary thriller for readers who want suspense without sacrificing emotional investment.
Get Book: The Sleeper!The Talented Mr. Ripley — Patricia Highsmith
The Talented Mr. Ripley follows Tom Ripley, a young man whose talent lies not in any conventional skill, but in his extraordinary ability to reinvent himself. When he is sent to Italy to persuade the wealthy Dickie Greenleaf to return home, fascination gradually turns into obsession. Patricia Highsmith constructs a masterful psychological thriller in which deception, envy, and ambition intertwine, creating one of literature’s most unforgettable antiheroes.
Why You Should Read It
This is a book that proves suspense doesn’t require constant action. The Talented Mr. Ripley is gripping because it places readers inside the mind of someone both charismatic and deeply unsettling. If you enjoy literary thrillers that blend psychological complexity with gorgeous settings and escalating tension, this novel remains a benchmark of the genre.
Emma Roberts’s Take
Emma calls this one of her favorite literary thrillers of all time, and it’s easy to understand why. She and her friend Karah are particularly drawn to the novel’s lush European settings, especially its evocative descriptions of the Italian coast. But the real attraction is Tom Ripley himself—a “charming sociopath” whose increasingly elaborate web of lies keeps readers both fascinated and horrified. What Emma appreciates is the combination of glamour and danger. Like many books on her shelf, The Talented Mr. Ripley offers beautiful destinations, sophisticated settings, and a thrilling reminder that beneath every polished surface, something far darker may be lurking.
Get Book: The Talented Mr. Ripley!Closing
Taken together, the books on Emma Roberts’ bookshelf reveal a reader who is endlessly drawn to reinvention. Her favorite characters are often travelers, dreamers, outsiders, romantics, artists, and women standing at crossroads—people who leave home, start over, chase impossible desires, or discover that the life they imagined isn’t quite the one they’re living.
There is a distinct sense of place running through this list. Paris, Rome, Barcelona, the Hamptons, the Italian coast, London—these books are filled with destinations that feel almost like characters themselves. Yet what makes them memorable isn’t simply where they take place, but what happens to the people who pass through them. Again and again, Emma gravitates toward stories that use travel as a catalyst for transformation.
What also stands out is her refusal to choose between literary prestige and pure enjoyment. On one shelf sits Joan Didion’s luminous meditation on grief. On another, a Patricia Highsmith thriller, a Matt Haig thought experiment, and a glamorous Parisian romp from the 1950s. For Emma, a great book doesn’t need to fit neatly into a category. It simply needs to transport.
And perhaps that’s the defining quality of this entire reading list: transport. Whether through romance, mystery, history, humor, or heartbreak, every book here offers an escape into another life. Some take readers across continents. Others take them deep into the minds of unforgettable characters. The best do both.
In the end, Emma Roberts’ bookshelf feels a lot like the perfect vacation itself—stylish, surprising, emotionally satisfying, and full of stories you’ll want to carry home with you long after the journey is over.
