Today co-host Jenna Bush Hager's book club has become a force in just three months

Entertainment Weekly

Hager's "Read with Jenna" book club launched in March, shortly after she was announced as Kathie Lee Gifford's 10 a.m. Today show replacement. Since then, "half of its four selections are debuts by women of color, and none lean commercial; all have been catapulted to instant best-seller status," reports EW's  David Canfield. "For context: On the morning of May 1, both Hager and (Reese) Witherspoon announced new picks, Etaf Rum’s A Woman Is No Man and Tembi Locke’s From Scratch, respectively. Within hours, Hager’s choice ranked among Amazon’s top five best-sellers, while Witherspoon’s hadn’t cracked the top 50. (One reason: Today averages over 4 million viewers a morning, an unrivaled platform.)" Hager points out she selects her book club picks on her own, reading six to seven books a month and focusing on new, unknown authors. “I’m not recommending to one best friend,” she says. “I’m recommending to this huge audience of people that trust us and love our show. That puts pressure on me.”