Natalie Portman’s List of Her 'Favorite Books' Has Us Running to Our Shopping Carts Right Now
While we always adore seeing Natalie Portman starring in gorgeous Dior ads, her latest campaign gave fans an inside look into her life away from the cameras as viewers got to learn all her favorite books.
“Welcome to my Dior Book Tote Club,” Portman says at the beginning of the video. “I’m so excited to show you this beautiful Salle Labrouste, which is a library dedicated to the arts, and to show you some of my favorite books, past and present.”
In the video, she’s seen walking around the library, located in the French National Library in Paris, and browsing through books. As for her look, the May December star is wearing jeans, a white tank top and a gray cardigan on top.
“Libraries in general are so meaningful to me because the fact that you have so much access to everything when you share with everyone is just a beautiful concept in life,” she says. “It’s a great way to experience books.”
Check out all of Natalie Portman’s favorite books below!
'Chimères américaines' By Todd Haynes
“The first book is the Todd Haynes exhibition catalog,” she says as she takes the book from the shelves. “He’s one of my favorite filmmakers and I was lucky enough recently to get to work with him.”
As a reminder, Portman and Haynes worked together for the first time in the award-winning movie May December alongside Julianne Moore and Charles Melton.
From the short clip, it’s clear to see that Portman is a long-time fan of the director. “His works are some of the most important films for me,” she says. “Safe is one of my all-time favorites, which he made with Julianne Moore in the ’90s and it’s just incredible to see all his visual references.”
'On Photography' By Susan Sontag
“Susan Sontag’s On Photography is still the most compelling I’ve read about how we consume images, how we look at things, how we look at art and, particularly, about war photographs,” Portman tells the camera. “I think it’s really meaningful now in the world to think about how we are becoming desensitized to images because of the overabundance of those kinds of images.”
As for Sontag’s writing, Portman says it’s eye-opening. “Her ideas are so precise,” she says. “It all feels logical but I never would’ve thought it one my own which is the greatest gift a writer can give you.”
'When We Cease to Understand the World' By Benjamin Labatut
Portman also raved about When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut. “It’s one of the most miraculous books I’ve ever read,” she says. “It kind of weaves together science and math. It’s the biographies interwoven of people who discovered incredible things and their passion.”
“It combines with the kind of madness and obsession of the passion of pursuit,” she says. “Some of their discoveries led to the destruction of the world in many ways.”
'My Brilliant Friend' (Neapolitan Novels Book 1) By Elena Ferrante
“This is the first in the four Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante,” she says of My Brilliant Friend. “It reminded me of reading in my childhood because I just could not put them down.”
“It’s the story of a friendship between these two girls and into their womanhood and they’re just the most alive characters and it’s the truest of female friendship I’ve ever read and then also of womanhood and all its complexities and challenges,” Portman says. “She voices doubts about motherhood, about men. It allows you to feel things that you might not allow yourself to feel otherwise.”
'Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities' By Rebecca Solnit
Portman also gave her stamp of approval on Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities by Rebecca Solnit. “Rebecca Solnit is one of my favorite essayists, she writes about everything from feminist topics, to the environment, and this is a book completely dedicated to hope which I think is so inspiring,” she says, flicking through the pages.
“She argues that change is possible,” she remembers. “She does note the changes and the incredible movements that activists have brought to the forefront, like #MeToo, that have already made an impact and that there’s possibility for more.”
She then goes on to read a short extract from the book. “Hope just means another world might be possible. Not promised, not guaranteed,” she reads. “Hope calls for action. Action is impossible without hope.”
'Shirin Neshat' By Beatrice Stammer & Britta Schmitz
Lastly, Portman complemented Shirin Neshat by Beatrice Stammer & Britta Schmitz.
“Shirin is an Iranian contemporary photographer and artist,” Portman explains. “She’s been very influential to me and her commentary on what it is to be a woman is extraordinary.”
With the “Dior Book Tote Club” officially in session, we can’t wait to dive into these diverse and inspiring reads. Thank you to Portman for so many tips!
Before you go, click here to see 10 of Reese Witherspoon’s best book club picks.
