Elizabeth Banks On Her New “Book Club” with Canned Wine Brand Archer Roose and Her Favorite Non-Fake Reads Right Now
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Celebrity bookworm Elizabeth Banks is bringing back her book club — but this time, it’s entirely fiction. The Cocaine Bear director has relaunched her reading circle as a shameless gateway to her canned wine brand, Archer Roose.
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“If you’re a female famous person and you don’t have a book club, are you actually famous? No, of course not! That’s why I’m proud to announce the Elizabeth Banks Book Club,” the Hunger Games star exclaims in a new ad. “Let’s embark on this journey together, maybe learn a little something along the way. That’s what book clubs are for, they’re certainly not to sell your wine.”
Her Archer Roose wine brand offers low-sugar, vegan-friendly varietals made with organic grapes, such as the pear- and apple-infused Bubbly, sparkling rosé made in Italy, sauvignon blanc from Casablanca Valley in Chile, and refreshing malbec (with notes of vanilla, blackberry and plum) from Mendoza, Argentina, to name a few. Cans are available in cases of 12 (the equivalent of four bottles), 24 or 48 for $64-$225 when you buy at Archer Roose’s website; the company also offers wine subscriptions.
To join the club, readers are encouraged to “simply follow us on Instagram. Each month, we’ll post books we know you won’t read. How? Because they’re not even real,” says the brand. Adds Banks, “I’ll handpick stories you simply can’t put down, from international bestsellers to captivating non-fiction, to stories that thrill the senses, as an added bonus to you, the consumer, each book pairs perfectly with an Archer Roose wine.”
Archer Roose Book Club picks include fake page-turners such as Thirty-Four Things You Shouldn’t Put in Blenders, Make Mommy’s New Boyfriend Alan Disappear, How to Play the Violin Despite Your IBS and more. “Everyone knows that book clubs are just excuses to get together with friends and drink wine,” maintains the brand. “That’s why [this one] is the first of its kind to focus on drinking without having to ‘read’ any of the ‘books.'”
Banks joined Archer Roose as chief creative officer in 2021, but her book-club leader history spans long before that. The 49-year-old filmmaker debuted the first chapter of her bookworm group more than a decade ago on her YouTube channel, WhoHaHa. Her selections then were geared towards “real readers, people who love reading books!” and included titles like The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty, In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson and All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown.
The Hunger Games actress tells The Hollywood Reporter that she first connected with Archer Roose CEO Marian Leitner-Waldman over Zoom during the pandemic. “She was a dynamo right off the bat,” says Banks. “Although she knew business and economics, what impressed me was her passion and charisma. She’s a natural leader who I knew would convince others that Archer Roose was going to succeed.”
Of the imaginary novels she’d like to see made into a film, Banks says, “Definitely Dragon Farts. Dragon farts are actually so powerful that they can take down Middle Earth. Imagine the pressure to control a dragon’s diet when it’s life or death. That’s great drama.”
In all seriousness, the Hollywood bibliophile shares three of her recent favorite reads.
“Dennis Lehane sent me his new book Small Mercies and I am hooked. I also finally read Salinger’s Nine Stories and they blew me away. And I always recommend The Witches Are Coming by Lindy West for its sharp humor,” she reveals.
See Banks’ book club “announcement” below. Archer Roose is available to order online at Drizly and at brick-and-mortar retailers and grocery stores including Bevmo!, Target, Total Wine & More, Sprouts and more.
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