Emma Watson Promises Reading This Book Will Be a "Life-Changing" Experience

Yet another reason Emma Watson was a natural fit to play Belle in Beauty and the Beast? The fact that she and the character share a mutual love of books. I caught up with Emma in LA over the weekend to talk about the Disney film — and I wasn't about to miss the opportunity to ask the noted bookworm about her latest literary obsessions.

"My book club just announced we're reading Women Who Run With Wolves, which is such a cool book," Emma told me. "There are a million little stories and myths and fairy tales within this bigger volume, so you kind of need to pace yourself with it. But it's life-changing. It's such a great book."

The full title of the book is Women Who Run With Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype. Written by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, it became a New York Times bestseller with a devoted readership. Jada Pinkett Smith has raved about the book and Maya Angelou and Alice Walker are among the literary legends who've written glowing appraisals. While it was originally published in 1993, it seems fitting that Watson would select the book hot on the heels of retelling one of the most classic and revisited fairy tales on screen.

Watson reflected on the book's themes in a recent blog post. "Wolves and women share many qualities: playfulness, strength, curiosity, bravery, they are adaptive, and each care deeply for their young," she wrote. "But both wolves and women have suffered a similar fate of being hounded, harassed, exhausted, marginalized, accused of being devious and of little value. How does one reconnect with our deepest, most true selves when today's world demands us to conform to ridiculous expectations?"

Watson's book club, Our Shared Shelf, is open to anyone who's interested in reading and talking about books that tackle feminism and equality. As of today, it boasts more than 100,000 members.