When you look at Dakota Johnson, it’s hard not to be drawn in by her magnetism. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but her low-key confidence and classic sensuality are awe inspiring. And while she’s had her book club, Tea Time Book Club, for quite some time, she’s recently been vocal about a few new books she recommends reading. So naturally, we sit down, grab a pen and paper, and add them to our reading list.

Given her dry humour and deadpan delivery, we’re not surprised by some of her recommendations. And honestly, some of these could be a lie given her past history with limes... (IYKYK). It’s that exact personality that makes us so intrigued by what she’s reading – and what she thinks everyone else should read.

So, without further ado, we’ve curated a list of Dakota Johnson’s book recommendations.

1. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Recently in an interviewing where Johnson was promoting her film Verity, she mentioned A Little life despite it's extremely sad story, is a book she always recommends. The story follows four friends in New York, centring on Jude St Francis, a lawyer whose traumatic childhood shapes his relationships and sense of self. Across decades, the novel explores friendship, love and the limits of care in the face of profound, enduring suffering.

2. Things I don't wan't to know by Deborah Levy

In the same interview she mentioned A Little Life, she mentioned how she just finished reading Things I Don't Want to Know. This story is Levy's memoir about becoming a writer, moving between her childhood in apartheid South Africa, adolescence in England and a retreat to Mallorca. Through these memories, she explores how politics, motherhood and expectations of women shape her voice and her need to write.

3. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

In a Twitter Q&A years ago when promoting 50 Shades of Grey, Johnson mentioned Lolita was one of her favourite books. The story follows Humbert – an unreliable narrator who becomes obsessed with 12-year-old Dolores Haze and sexually abuses her while framing his actions as love. Through his seductive prose the novel explores obsession, manipulation and the power of language to conceal cruelty.

4. Early Work by Patti Smith

Like us, Johnson is a fan of Patti Smith's writing, particularly her poetry. And this collection of poetry by Smith was gathered from 1970-79, from the years she emerged as a writer, performer and punk icon in New York.

5. The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler

This book is  a collection of theatrical monologues drawn from interviews with women about their bodies, sexuality and experiences of pleasure and violence. Moving between humour and heartbreak, it celebrates women’s voices and bodily autonomy.

6. The Waves by Virginia Woolf

This classic story follows six characters from childhood to old age through inner monologues, tracing their friendships, desires and experiences of loss.

7. Hello, Limerence by Momo Yamaguchi

This story Mika, a young Tokyo office worker whose frustrations with work and romance spiral into lust and obsession. Funny and sharp, the book explores the messy space between longing to be desired and losing yourself in the pursuit.

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