Shelf Life: Geena Davis

Welcome to Shelf Life, ELLE.com’s books column, in which authors share their most memorable reads. Whether you’re on the hunt for a book to console you, move you profoundly, or make you laugh, consider a recommendation from the writers in our series, who, like you (since you’re here), love books. Perhaps one of their favorite titles will become one of yours, too.

The Girl Who Was Too Big For the Page might be Geena Davis’s debut children’s picture book, but it’s not the author’s first venture into publishing. (That was her 2022 memoir, Dying of Politeness.) In addition to her work as an actor, the legendary Davis—known for her work in The Accidental Tourist, Thelma & Louise, Tootsie, Beetlejuice, The Fly, and A League of Their Own, among many other Hollywood projects—is the founder of the Geena Davis Institute, which works to support equitable representation in media. She also produced the documentary This Changes Everything on gender inequality in Hollywood; co-founded the Bentonville Film Festival, which champions diverse storytellers in film and television; and will soon appear in The Boroughs, a 2026 Netflix series from Stranger Things showrunners the Duffer Brothers.

Davis is Massachusetts-born and -raised and California-based; studied theater at Boston University; was a semifinalist for the 2000 women’s Olympic archery team; has three children; and speaks Swedish.

Likes: doing numerous takes; creative tasks; staying home.

Dislikes: too much rehearsing.

Good at: carving pumpkins; not blinking for long stretches of time; learning skills for movies (including horseback riding, sword fighting, tae kwon do, pistol shooting, ice skating, and baseball); procrastinating.

Dig into her book recommendations below.

The book that…: ...I’ve re-read the most:

L’Assommoir by Émile Zola. My all-time favorite book. I adore so many 19th-century novelists, but Zola is my favorite author.

…inspired me:

It’s Up to the Women by Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor Roosevelt is the historical figure I would most like to play one day. Fortunately for me, she was making history her whole life, so I can’t age out of the opportunity to portray her.

…I’d give to a new graduate:

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams.

…broke my heart:

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover.

...has the best title:

Deaf Sentence by David Lodge. A retired professor with hearing problems misunderstands a young woman, and calamity and hilarity ensue.

…is my favorite biography:

Charles Laughton: A Difficult Actor by Simon Callow. An in-depth portrait of my absolute favorite actor—one of the greats.

…I read in a foreign language:

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie. Hugh Laurie and I played Stuart Little’s parents. Knowing I was once a foreign exchange student, Hugh gave me a copy of his hilarious book The Gun Seller in Swedish (called Skottpengar in that language).

…changed my life:

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler. I read this book aloud to Jeff Goldblum when we were shooting The Fly together to help pass the time while he was getting his extensive makeup done. I remember already hating whoever was going to get to play the part of Muriel Pritchett, if there was eventually a movie version…but then it was me. And, yes, it changed my life.

…I swear I’ll finish one day:

Moms with ADD: A Self-Help Manual by Christine A. Adamec. I bought this book as soon as I became a mother. And I blame my ADD for the fact that I never managed to crack it open. My kids are adults now…but I’m still holding out hope that I will read it someday.

…kept me up way too late:

Horse by Geraldine Brooks. A gorgeous work of historical fiction.

…I have gifted the most:

Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi.