The White Lotus Resort is a place where guests can relax and indulge in their wildest fantasies. Many vacationers on the hit HBO show take this suggestion too far, over partaking in drug and alcohol use, affairs, murder, and more. But in their quiet moments, they’re just like us–pulling out a poolside vacation read.

Throughout the series, characters are seen leafing through novels and nonfiction, but considering the darkly satirical angle of the show, these books are more than just props. The characters’ reading choices reveal a lot about them, their relationships, and are the show itself. So we thought we’d pick out some of our favorite book cameos from each season.

Season 1

Season one is set in Hawaii and sets up the formula for the rest of the series as it opens with a dead body being loaded on to a plane and we’re left to unfurl the mystery. With a tension-filled family, an eccentric and single wealthy woman, not to mention a staff behaving badly behind the scenes, it’s the perfect mix of drama and comedy we’ve come to know and love. But what were those season one characters reading?

The Portable Nietzsche by Friedrich Nietzsche

Olivia (played by Sydney Sweeney) is the wealthy college student and daughter of–the often cringe– Mark and Nicole Mossbacher. She can be spotted poolside reading The Portable Nietzsche by Friedrich Nietzsche, a hefty philosophical text that screams intellectual prestige. While Olivia flaunts her progressive views and moral high ground, she unwittingly mirrors the very flaws Nietzsche critiques in his book. Her choice of reading is a clever nod to the season’s larger themes of hypocrisy, privilege, and imbalanced power dynamics.

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The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud

Paula (played Brittany O’Grady) can be seen reading The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud while lounging with her bestie Olivia. This text analyzes what dreams reveal about an individual’s subconscious, which is often linked to internal conflict. This reading choice reflects the conflict Paula feels throughout the season. She seems more aware of the privilege she experiences simply by knowing the Mossbachers, but she feels she must keep this to herself to protect her and Olivia’s friendship.

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My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Rachel the newlywed wife (played by Alexandra Daddario) can also be found with her nose in a book, her choice being My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. In Ferrante’s novel, Lila represents a less wealthy, lower-class individual, who is constantly at odds with her friend Elena, who is comfortable in the upper-class lifestyle. These characters exist within Rachel, as she is at odds with her new and unfamiliar upper-class lifestyle, but is aware of her dependence on her husband’s wealth to pursue her dreams of being a writer.

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Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Shane (played by Jake Lacy) thumbs through Blink by Malcolm Gladwell during his fraught honeymoon stay at the resort. Blink is about the human ability to make snap decisions with little reflection. Shane never questions his own choices or considers them from other perspectives, which is displayed when he causes a scene about their room. Blink reinforces themes of entitlement and the presumptive nature of Shane and other wealthy vacationers.

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Écrits by Jacques Lacan

Oliva can be seen reading Écrits by Jacques Lacan while she and Paula await their flight home. This book focuses on the idea of otherness, how some people are deemed as not fitting in simply because they do not align with the established norm. Olivia is trying to find a place in otherness, to distance herself from the privilege of her family’s wealth. While she sees herself rejecting these ideas and considers herself an other, she reaps the benefits of being in an in-group.

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Season 2

In season two, a new cast of characters arrives at a Sicily location of the resort. The new guests are just as dysfunctional as the patrons in season one and, fortunately, just as bookish.

Lost Child Archive by Valeria Luiselli

Harper (played by Aubrey Plaza) is at breakfast reading Lost Child Archive by Valeria Luiselli. It seems like an obvious choice for her, as it is a story about a family road trip that deals with an immigration crisis, something she is familiar with as a lawyer with experience in discrimination and harassment suits. But this novel also tells the story of a marriage about to collapse. It seems like Harper knows her marriage is doomed, even before the cracks start to show. The novel could be foreshadowing this.

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Everything is F*cked: A Book About Hope by Mark Manson

Harper’s husband, Ethan, (played by Will Sharpe) is seen reading Everything is F*cked by Mark Manson. This book explores themes of disillusionment in a growingly hedonistic and disconnected world, which is reflected in every season of White Lotus. Wealthy people trying to escape their problems, using luxuries as distractions from the issues they must face. Ethan is no exception to this and uses his money to escape his fears of confronting the problems in his marriage.

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The Architecture of Closed Worlds: Or, What Is the Power of Shit? by Lydia Kallipoliti

Albie (played by Adam DiMarco), a wealthy Hollywood producer’s son, is seen reading The Architecture of Closed Worlds by Lydia Kallipoliti. This book describes living in a closed system like a submarine–or the White Lotus. The resort’s remoteness combined with its large price tag creates an echo chamber of entitlement in this closed system. While everyone at the resort has money, they cannot leave the closed system because their wealth has already given them the means to survive.

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Gone Bamboo by Anthony Bourdain

Cameron (played by Theo James) is Ethan’s cocky, fun-loving college friend vacationing with them. He is seen holding a copy of Gone Bamboo by Anthony Bourdain. While this book is also set in a remote and relaxing resort, it reflects more about Cameron’s experiences than that. This book features characters seeking escape as expatriates on the run from their dark past. Cameron does the same thing at the resort, relishing the glitz and glam of the resort to avoid confronting the problems in his marriage and his deeper existential issues.

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Season 3

The most recent season of The White Lotus is set in serene Thailand, where guests hope to escape their everyday troubles. This quickly goes from calm to chaos as another body is found near the resort. And in true White Lotus fashion, guests always seem to have more rocky and strained relationships than the season before. They also have a TBR list we are dying to make our way through.

My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand

Jaclyn (played by Michelle Monaghan) is reading My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand. While Jaclyn could be reading this simply out of interest for another actress, she likely deeply relates to Barbra’s story. In this memoir, Streisand struggles to find herself under the spotlight and grapples with her self-image. This could be said for Jaclyn, another famous actress whose fast-paced career leaves her feeling empty and in need of control over her life.

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The Essential Rumi by Jalal al-Din Rumi

Chelsea (played by Aimee Lou Wood) can be seen with a copy of The Essential Rumi while poolside with Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) and Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon). This book of poems explores themes of love, spirituality, inner peace, and the meaning of life. It is no surprise Chelsea is reaching for a book that may help her untangle some of the confusing knots in her relationship with her boyfriend Rick (Walton Goggins). She is on a journey to find out what love and inner peace look like to her, but it is unlikely she will find it at the resort.

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Modern Lovers by Emma Straub

Laurie (played by Carrie Coon) is one of three women on a girl’s trip, and she brought a copy of Modern Lovers by Emma Straub. This story has many similarities to her best friend trio. It follows three college friends as they navigate adult lives and maturity, something Laurie and her friends are facing. She may be reading this as an instruction manual of sorts, on how to move on from your free days as a twenty-something and into a new life stage with kids, families, and responsibilities you can’t outrun.

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Surrounded by Narcissists: How to Effectively Recognize, Avoid, and Defend Yourself Against Toxic People (and Not Lose Your Mind) by Thomas Erikson

Series returner Belinda (played by Natasha Rothwell) can be found reading Surrounded by Narcissists by Thomas Erikson. While this may be an Easter egg for fans, as Belinda’s entire job is dealing with the spoiled resort guests, it may be more complex. By recognizing and educating herself on the guest’s behavior, she is protecting herself from them and acting as a stand-in for the audience. After three seasons of the guests’ insanity, audience members need someone to relate to, and we can all feel for Belinda and her book choice.

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Hunger by Knut Hamsun

Lochlan (played by Sam Nivola) is the youngest of the Ratliff siblings and is reading Hunger by Knut Hamsun. This book is about the psychological decay of a man who suffers from hunger in a physical, emotional, and intellectual way. This could foreshadow a similar psychological break in Lochan, as he struggles to find out who he is under the influence of his siblings. Considering this messed up family dynamic, a break in his psyche would expose a new, dark, and fragile side of his character.

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The Beautiful and The Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Victoria Ratliff (played by Parker Posey) is the mother to the Ratliff siblings. She is reading The Damned and The Beautiful by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This book mirrors her life, as the couple in the novel navigate trials of marriage, partying, self-destruction, and intimate feelings they hold for one another. Victoria struggles with self-destruction which led her to use Lorazepam to distract from her feelings of aimlessness and dissatisfaction from a life that should be fulfilling. She refuses to acknowledge the damage money has done to her and her marriage, as this would likely bring about the end of the marriage and privilege that serves her so well.

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