Zoe Saldaña Says She’s ‘An Avid Reader’—Here Are Some of Her Favorite Titles
The ‘Lioness’ star shares the audiobooks and reads that keep her sane on set
Key Takeaways
- Zoe Saldaña says audiobooks help her keep up with reading during her busy schedule.
- The 'Lioness' actress has read ‘Hello Beautiful’ and ‘The Love We Found.’
- Saldaña reads two books at once, a trick her girlfriend recommended to her.
Lioness: Special Ops star Zoe Saldaña is opening up about what’s on her bookshelf, and book lovers are taking notes. Over the past couple of years, the Marvel actress has shared a few of her favorite books, and they are everything you would expect from the award winning star. From powerful memoirs to gripping fiction, her reading list is as impressive as her career. To learn what Saldaña is reading, keep scrolling!
Zoe Saldaña reveals her favorite ways to read
When it comes to reading, Saldaña says that she mainly prefers to listen to audiobooks or read on her Kindle, which makes perfect sense given her incredibly busy schedule. After all, she’s either going on secret government missions with the Lioness team or stopping villains in space with her fellow Guardians of the Galaxy. Between filming action-packed scenes and promoting her projects, audiobooks offer the perfect way to enjoy stories on the go.’
“I always have a Kindle with me and that always helps me catch up with my reading. I just got into audiobooks because when I’m not doing something physically, I’m sort of falling asleep and reading has become a challenge. But I’m an avid reader, so at least listening to audiobooks, I get to read as many books as I can,” the actress told The Hollywood Reporter in May of last year. “Throughout the whole Emilia Pérez tour, I read books and that kept me sane. And then a girlfriend just made it permissible for me to read two books at a time. She goes, ‘Why do you only have one at a time? Just double bang it, like two books at a time and you’re going to be fine.’ I started keeping up with both stories.”
Saldaña also finds time to read while doing work around the house or when she’s on set between takes. Those quiet moments waiting for the next scene provide the perfect opportunity to dive into a good audiobook.
“I love listening. That’s what gets me by. Whether I’m home and I’m getting ready and I’m taking the kids to school on my way back from full drop off, I’m starting that audiobook,” she told the outlet, “If I’m driving more than an hour, it’s just audiobook. If I’m working out, it’s an audiobook. When I’m in hair and makeup, whenever I’m not talking to my team—because I’m very chatty. It’s the way I exercise, channeling my characters and things like that. But I will listen to an audiobook. I’ll make everybody listen to it.”
Then, in a separate interview with Conde Nast’s Traveler in August 2025, the actress opened up even more about her love for the written word, revealing that it’s actually the one thing she loves on vacations now.
“For me, relaxation comes from checking every item on my list. Now that I’m a family person and a mom, I usually travel with a lot of relatives of different ages, ranging from eight to 75. I just want to make sure that everybody is taken care of and have all their needs met. I find great comfort in that. For many, many years, that meant putting my self-care last,” the actress said, “Now it’s definitely about a good book—but not just traveling with the book, actually reading at least half of it.”
Zoe Saldaña’s favorite books
As for what Saldaña is actually reading, she recently opened up to The Hollywood Reporter about her current and former reads, all of which range from romance to contemporary fiction and even celebrity memoirs!
“One is called Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano, and the other one is The Love We Found by Jill Santopolo,” the actress says. “And before that it was Think You’ll Be Happy by Nicole Avant, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. I read the Britney Spears book, the Barbra Streisand memoir. … Because she did her own audiobook of her book.”
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