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How Jenna Bush Hager's April Book Club Pick Is a "Captivating" Twist on Modern Dating
The TODAY host made an insightful pick about human connection in modern society.
Jenna Bush Hager just announced her April 2024 pick for her book club!
On April 2, the TODAY host revealed her official recommendation for the month for Read With Jenna. The title in question? The Husbands by Holly Gramazio.
All about Read With Jenna's April 2024 book club pick
According to TODAY.com, The Husbands is a commentary on modern dating in the online world, and Hager describes it as "equal parts humor and love story."
"I love the concept. I think it's a commentary on swiping and dating in the modern world," Hager told TODAY.com of why she made the selection. "It makes you think about what we need in order to feel our best. Who we need that makes us more powerful, more brave."
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Hager also wrote in her Instagram, "THE HUSBANDS is such a captivating novel that dances between reality and whimsy. Get your copy TODAY and dive into this brilliantly hilarious, surprising, and wise tale where love, choices, and infinite possibilities collide."
The novel marks Gramazio's debut, and is currently available for purchase wherever books are sold. Penguin's synopsis reads:
"When Lauren returns home to her flat in London late one night, she is greeted at the door by her husband, Michael. There’s only one problem—she’s not married. She’s never seen this man before in her life. But according to her friends, her much-improved decor, and the photos on her phone, they’ve been together for years.
As Lauren tries to puzzle out how she could be married to someone she can’t remember meeting, Michael goes to the attic to change a lightbulb and abruptly disappears. In his place, a new man emerges, and a new, slightly altered life re-forms around her. Realizing that her attic is creating an infinite supply of husbands, Lauren confronts the question: If swapping lives is as easy as changing a lightbulb, how do you know you’ve taken the right path? When do you stop trying to do better and start actually living?"
Gramazio told TODAY she was inspired in part by seeing her friends navigate dating apps "and the sense of weariness they're feeling at swiping through this endless spell of faces, again and again."
She further explained that her novel challenges convention ideals of finding love. "I don't believe there's a single right person for for everyone. I don't believe in the concept of 'the one.' But believe in the concept of 'several possibles.' There are people that it's just feels really great to be in a relationship with and you end up being better versions of yourself than you would have been otherwise."
What to know about Jenna Bush Hager's book club, Read with Jenna
Read With Jenna was started in 2019, and features a wide selection of titles from a variety of genres. In March 2023, to celebrate the four year anniversary of the club, Hager expressed gratitude to the authors who made everything possible.
"You've made my life as a reader more full. You've made my job at the TODAY Show more impactful. You've opened the door to so many different lives, so many different worlds that our readers get to learn about and read about. We get to hang out with you on our couches, on our beds before we go to sleep, on the subways and the bus rides to work. You're changing minds and opening hearts," she said.
She also opened up to TODAY.com about what inspired her to start the book club in the first place, and reflected on how the solidarity with the members has impacted her life. “When we started Read With Jenna, we hoped to build a community of people who wanted to read here and there. I don’t think we ever could have imagined that we’d have...a community that’s so engaged and compassionate. It's the community of readers who are so engaged, and the community of authors who I have gotten to know," she added.
Hager also discussed her fondness for books in a January 2023 interview with TODAY.com. “I love reading for so many reasons. It really is my escape from everyday life. It’s how I calm down. It’s how I detach. It’s how I fall in love with other places that I will never go to. It’s how I empathize with characters who are nothing like me. There’s nothing like falling in love with a book,” she told the outlet.
