List of all the books featured in The White Lotus season 3

The White Lotus season 3 ran between February 16, 2025, to April 6, 2025, on HBO. Mike White served as the writer, director, and showrunner of the hit anthology series. The show's third outing was set in Thailand and followed a new set of guests during their weeklong stay at the White Lotus hotel.

The show's official synopsis, as per HBO, reads:

"This social satire is set at an exclusive Thai resort and follows the exploits of various guests and employees over the span of a week."

Throughout the eight episodes, the main characters were seen catching up on their reading, from memoirs to self-help books and breezy beach reads. The books are not there just as props, but add to the narrative in subtle ways. Some of the books that appear in The White Lotus season 3 include The Beautiful and the Damned by Fitzgerland and Emma Straub's Modern Lovers, among others.

Hunger, Modern Lovers, and other books feature in The White Lotus season 3

1) The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Parker Posey plays Victoria Ratliff in The White Lotus season 3 (Image via Instagram/@thewhitelotus)

Victoria Ratliff (Parker Posey) is seen reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1922 classic throughout The White Lotus season 3. The high-strung Victoria takes pride in her family's standing in society and stays blissfully unaware of her husband's financial crisis until the very end of the season.

The book begins with the wealthy couple, Anthony Patch and Gloria Gilbert, reveling in the glory days of 1920s New York before it all comes crashing down. The story parallels Ratliff's new reality, where Timothy Ratliff, like Patch, has lost his wealth and stands on the precipice of depression and personal ruin.

2) Hunger by Knut Hamsun

Sam Nivola seen as Lochlan Ratliff in The White Lotus season 3 (Image via Instagram/@thewhitelotus)

Victoria's youngest son, Lochlan (Sam Nivola), picks up the Norwegian author Knut Hamsun's 1890 novel in The White Lotus season 3 episode 4.

The book is a stark exploration of a young writer's mental state as he lives in extreme poverty and goes through extended periods of starvation. His descent into madness, while striving to physically and mentally survive, in late 19th-century Oslo, forms the crux of the story. Hunger encapsulates a young man's feeling of isolation and disconnect from his surroundings, themes that the young Ratliff may be all too familiar with.

3) My Name Is Barbra by Barbra Streisand

Jaclyn was seen reading Barbra Streisand's book in The White Lotus season 3 (Image via Instagram/@michellemonaghan)

Michelle Monaghan, who plays the television actress Jaclyn Lemon, is seen reading Barbra Streisand's memoir in episode 6. She digs into the autobiography after having a tense argument with Laurie over her fling with their health guru, Valentin.

The nearly 1000-page biography chronicles Streisand's rise to fame, from her early struggling days to her reaching the pinnacles of success as an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award winner). On March 26, 2025, Monaghan reflected on her character's book choice by telling Today.com:

"It was just such a big, thick book that it was almost kind of ridiculous that you would take it on a beach — like that is actually what she's going to read? But I just loved what it said about her, what she thought it was going to say about her, that she's reading a Barbra Streisand book."

4) Modern Lovers by Emma Straub

Carrie Coon plays Laurie Duffy in The White Lotus season 3 (Image via Instagram/@carriecoon)

While lounging alongside Jaclyn in the same scene, Laurie (Carrie Coon) pores through Emma Straub’s 2016 novel. Her pick offers a nostalgic look at the changing dynamics in long-term friendships through the lens of time. The book follows the lives of Elizabeth, Andrew, and Zoe, whose decades-long friendship begins to unravel over a summer in Brooklyn as hidden secrets and past resentments come to the surface, not unlike the three women's storylines in the series.

5) The Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks

Chelsea as seen in The White Lotus season 3 episode 6 (Image via Max)

The spiritually inclined Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) picks Rumi's collection of poems as her reading material while chilling by the pool in episode 6. Saxon and Chloe join her, and the conversation quickly changes to Saxon's sexual escapades. The book includes Coleman Barks' translation of 80 of Rumi's never-before-published poems. The 13th-century mystic poet's words offer Chelsea some solace in Rick's absence.

Also read: I couldn’t stop cringing during this one scene in The White Lotus season 3

6) Start Where You Are by Pema Chodron

Aimee Lou Wood as seen in The White Lotus season 3 (Image via Instagram/@thewhitelotus)

Chelsea begins her vacation at the White Lotus hotel by reading the Buddhist nun's teachings on how to transform one's "pains and difficulties into opportunities for genuine joy and personal growth." Saxon is seen reading the same book in the season 3 finale during the boat ride home. The self-help book is based on 59 traditional Tibetan Buddhist principles that take readers on a journey towards self-acceptance by practising compassion and mindfulness.

7) Surrounded by Narcissists by Thomas Erikson

Natasha Rothwell plays Belinda Lindsey in The White Lotus season 3 (Image via Instagram/@thewhitelotus)

In The White Lotus season 3 episode 4, Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) sits down to read Surrounded by Narcissists by the pool. She picks up the book after approaching Greg in the previous episode, where he denies knowing her from his time in Maui.

The book takes a deep dive into the complexities of narcissistic personalities and offers helpful tools to 'effectively recognize, avoid, and defend yourself against toxic people (and not lose your mind).' Given her line of profession as a spa manager, Belinda may need this book more than any other guest at the hotel.

8) When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron

Patrick Schwarzenegger plays Saxon Ratliff in The White Lotus season 3 (Image via Instagram/@thewhitelotus)

In the season 3 finale, Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) reads the book Chelsea gave him to get into spirituality. In the first half of the finale episode, he is seen reading the book at his villa before hiding it as Piper and his mother walk through the door. Another book by the Buddhist nun, When Things Fall Apart, talks about embracing the chaos in life to overcome it. After his tumultuous time with Lochlan at the full-moon party, Saxon turns to the book's valuable lessons on spirituality and personal growth to make lasting changes in his life.

All episodes of The White Lotus season 3 are available to stream on Max.

About the author

Deepti is an entertainment writer at Sportskeeda. She comes with more than 6 years of experience in the creative writing field and has written extensively for the entertainment and travel domains.

She holds a degree in Chemistry, but her true interest always lay in the creative field. A passion for reading from a young age fueled her desire to make a career change later in life and take up writing as her profession.

Apart from reading, her hobbies include watching movies, listening to music, and going to the beach. In her free time, she can be found looking up reviews of new and old films to add to her watchlist. She also enjoys watching foreign language films that help expand her knowledge base regarding different cultures around the world.

Asked to describe herself, she would promptly mention that she is a die-hard Swiftie and enjoys nothing more than listening to Taylor Swift songs on loop while writing.

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Edited by pratigya dhali