The Victoria's Secret Supermodel Book Club
By Jeffrey Slonim
I’ve been reporting on supermodels for Allure almost from day one, and I learned early on that they do, in fact, read. For years, before everyone lived on their cell phones, plenty of models would have a heady book at hand while stylists worked on their hair. And possibly to wow writers like myself, Carmen Kass read books about chess theory backstage at the shows. So on Wednesday, when Donna Karan celebrated Angels, Russell James’s new coffee table book of artful nude photographs of Victoria’s Secret models, I asked a number of the models who turned up about the books that have meant a lot to them.
Adriana Lima: ”I love Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho. He has a way of writing so there is always a message that you can apply in your daily life.”
Kelly Gale: ”The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. He’s Spanish. It was a very, very different book. It was great. It’s about a little boy who finds a really interesting book in an old book store. And it really makes you think a lot.”
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Maryna Linchuk: ”Listen, I come from Russia, so you can’t name the book that I haven’t read. But my favorite of all time would be Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita. I read it, like, seven times. It’s such a classic, but in a very twisted way. Even though I love War and Peace, it’s much better than War and Peace.You have to read it.”
Keir Alexa: “My favorite book is Man’s Search for Meaning. It’s about a man who endured the Holocaust, and he still found meaning in life, despite the hardships. That was a beautiful book. And I’m reading The Power of Now, which I think is very beautiful, about living in the moment.”
Sara Sampaio: ”One of my favorite books is by Jodi Picoult, called My Sister’s Keeper. It’s just so powerful. It’s a really sad but beautiful story. It makes me cry. I love any book that makes me cry from the beginning to the end.”
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Elsa Hosk: ”I love Patti Smith’s Just Kids. It’s so good. I’ve always loved her music. I was a big fan, and the book came out, and I had to read it and all of her other books. I love her. She’s very smart, and she’s a really strong woman. She’s cool.”
Erin Heatherton: ”I really love The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, and my favorite author is Kurt Vonnegut. I like Cat’s Cradle a lot. But it’s really about his voice.”
Emanuela de Paula: ”The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. That was one book I read that stayed on my mind, and I later saw the movie.”
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