Read by Jacob Elordi
What books does Jacob Elordi recommend?
An unlikely literary tastemaker who carries paperbacks on the red carpet, Jacob Elordi, the Australian star of Euphoria, Saltburn, and Priscilla, turns his book recommendations into viral moments. His 12 picks come mainly from a 2020 Bustle interview and a 2025 conversation with Jack Edwards, plus GQ features and airport sightings. Fiction and literature dominates, with a distinct existentialist streak. He calls himself "a huge Sartre fan" and picks Nausea for a narrator who "thinks way too much about everything." Donna Tartt's The Secret History clearly holds his heart: "I believe it to be her best work... I would die to see that as a movie." His range extends to Homer's Odyssey, Joan Didion, and Ethan Hawke's A Bright Ray of Darkness, which he calls "one of my new favorites."
Last updated March 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.
byJean-Paul Sartre
2013192 Pages(140,918)
“I'm also a huge Sartre fan... It seems to be about a dude who thinks way too much about everything. So it's incredibly relatable.”
— Jacob Elordi
Source: Bustle interview, July 2020
Read by Stephen King, Ryan Tubridy, Reese Witherspoon and 2 others
byDonna Tartt
1992559 Pages(1,040,000)
“Donna Tartt definitely has my heart... I believe it to be her best work. It's so good. And I would die to see that as a movie.”
— Jacob Elordi
Source: Bustle interview, July 2020
Read by Jacob Elordi
byHomer
1996541 Pages(1,084,200)
“I also read Homer's The Odyssey while I was here, because I felt like going on some kind of adventure. I loved it... So that was a massive joy, reading that.”
— Jacob Elordi
Source: Bustle interview, July 2020
Read by Jacob Elordi
South and West: From a Notebook
From a Notebook
byJoan Didion
2017160 Pages“I bought a Joan Didion book... She's so beautiful. It's a tiny little book. She had a recent anthology about the American West.”
— Jacob Elordi
Source: Bustle interview, July 2020
Read by Jacob Elordi
byMartyna Majok
2018128 Pages“And then the other was a play called the Cost of Living, which is a beautiful play.”
— Jacob Elordi
Source: Bustle interview, July 2020
Read by Jacob Elordi
A Bright Ray of Darkness
A Novel
byEthan Hawke
2021256 Pages“I read Ethan Hawke's Bright Ray of Darkness... Isn't it fantastic? It's one of my new favorites... you'll fucking love it.”
— Jacob Elordi
Source: Jack Edwards YouTube interview, November 2025
Read by Jacob Elordi
byJames Elkins
2023607 Pages“I think everyone should read that book. It's unbelievable... I don't know where it came from, I got it in Toronto.”
— Jacob Elordi
Source: Jack Edwards YouTube interview, November 2025
Read by Jacob Elordi
byMarshall McLuhan
1994400 Pages“I read another book while I was making this called Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhan... and that's a really really interesting read.”
— Jacob Elordi
Source: Jack Edwards YouTube interview, November 2025
Read by Jacob Elordi
Elvis and Me
The True Story of the Love Between Priscilla Presley and the King of Rock N' Roll
byPriscilla Presley, Sandra Harmon
1985320 Pages(32,205)
“It was just my job to sort of respect Priscilla's book. It's all there on paper.”
— Jacob Elordi
Source: Popstar! Magazine, November 2023
Read by Jacob Elordi
Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley
The Rise of Elvis Presley
byPeter Guralnick
1994576 Pages“After watching Luhrmann's Elvis movie trailer, the 25-year-old said he bought Elvis biography Last Train to Memphis.”
— Jacob Elordi
Source: GQ interview, September 2022
Read by Jacob Elordi
Prima Facie
A Novel
bySuzie Miller
2023352 PagesSource: Spotted in hand at Sydney Airport / Tatler Asia, September 2025
Read by Jacob Elordi
byBenvenuto Cellini
1999496 Pages“I read this book... it was illustrated by Dali... I bought this immediately.”
— Jacob Elordi
Source: GQ 10 Essentials, August 2022
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Frequently asked questions
What books does Jacob Elordi recommend?
His 12 recommendations include Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, The Odyssey by Homer, South and West by Joan Didion, and A Bright Ray of Darkness by Ethan Hawke.
What is Jacob Elordi's favorite book?
He is devoted to Donna Tartt's The Secret History, saying, "Donna Tartt definitely has my heart... I believe it to be her best work. It's so good. And I would die to see that as a movie."
Why does Jacob Elordi like Sartre?
He calls himself "a huge Sartre fan" and recommends Nausea, describing it as being "about a dude who thinks way too much about everything. So it's incredibly relatable."
Which Elvis books did Jacob Elordi read for Priscilla?
For his role as Elvis, he read Priscilla Presley's memoir Elvis and Me, saying it was "my job to sort of respect Priscilla's book," and bought the biography Last Train to Memphis by Peter Guralnick.
Where do Jacob Elordi's book recommendations come from?
They come mainly from a 2020 Bustle interview and a 2025 Jack Edwards YouTube interview, plus GQ features, a Popstar! Magazine piece, and books he's been spotted holding in public.
All 12 Books Jacob Elordi Has Recommended
- Nausea · Jean-Paul Sartre
- The Secret History · Donna Tartt
- The Odyssey · Homer
- South and West: From a Notebook · Joan Didion
- Cost of Living · Martyna Majok
- A Bright Ray of Darkness · Ethan Hawke
- Weak in Comparison to Dreams · James Elkins
- Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man · Marshall McLuhan
- Elvis and Me · Priscilla Presley
- Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley · Peter Guralnick
- Prima Facie · Suzie Miller
- The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini · Benvenuto Cellini