Jennifer Garner loves to read—that is, when she’s not busy starring in shows like the recently released season 2 of The Last Thing He Told Me. The actress says she grew up reading with her mom, and passed on her love for stories by reading aloud to her own kids. In a recent interview for Bustle's One Nightstand, Jennifer shared some of her all-time favorite books—and they all happen to be nostalgic childhood classics. Curious? Here are Jennifer’s top book recommendations:
The actress’s favorite book is, drumroll please…Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White! Jennifer says the childhood classic is a tearjerker for her. “I read it aloud to each of my kids, and all three times they talk about it, they tease me about it because I cry at the end,” she told Bustle. “I have to put the book down and have a real cry about it.” Although it’s a book for kids, the themes of friendship, love, and loss make this story one to return to again and again, even for adults.
Her second favorite book is special to her in part because it echoes some of her own family history in Oklahoma: Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. “My grandmother was born in a covered wagon, and the house didn't have running water or electricity until my mom was much, much older—it was just this little farm,” Jennifer shared with Bustle. Her family’s story bears similarities to the semi-autobiographical tale of the Ingalls living in a one-room log house and surviving on their homestead. “I’ve probably read the whole series 15 times, 20 times, easily,” she said. (As a bonus, a new TV adaptation is coming to Netflix).
Next is Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary. This children’s book is a funny exploration of being yourself and navigating kindergarten as a bit of a natural troublemaker, perfect for reading to young ones and older kids alike. “I was obsessed with Beverly Cleary, obsessed,” Jennifer says. “I think that the thing about Ramona that I loved is that she gave me permission to draw outside the lines, to be a little bit messy.”
Jennifer’s fourth pick is Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery because of how influential it was in her family when she was growing up. The book about big-hearted, orphaned Anne learning to navigate her new life and family is a classic for all ages, and Jennifer says it’s her mother’s favorite. “My mom keeps it by her bed. She reads a little bit of it at night like the Bible, and she quotes it like the Bible,” Jennifer told Bustle. “I can't even think of how many sayings from my childhood come from Anne.”
Last but not least is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, a coming of age story of four sisters navigating growing up, love, and loss. “This was toward the end of my reading journey with my mom, and it is a perfect book,” Jennifer says. “It has love, it has intrigue. It has the country kids doing OK… It has real tragedy. Is there anything more sad?” Just like Charlotte’s Web, this book is another tearjerker but an absolute classic for both older kids and adults.
