Dua Lipa plans to open her own library, and rather than being a passing celebrity hobby, it’s the culmination of years spent building one of the most genuinely respected book communities in pop culture. If you’ve been following her Service95 Book Club, this announcement probably doesn’t feel like a stretch. It feels like the natural next chapter.
Here’s everything worth knowing about the new library.
What Is the Manifesto Library?
The library, named the Manifesto Library, is opening inside the historic Livraria Lello bookshop in Porto, Portugal, as part of a new international book festival called BABELL – City of Books. It marks the first permanent physical version of Lipa’s long-running Service95 Book Club, which she launched in 2021 as a space dedicated to championing writers and readers around the world.
Unlike a typical curated bookshelf, the Manifesto Library is built around a clear and pointed theme — books that have been challenged, censored, or banned for their content, including works addressing race, sexuality, and LGBTQ+ identity.
Why This Library Has a Bigger Purpose
This isn’t just a collection of popular titles assembled for aesthetic appeal. The library centers on roughly one hundred books organized around four core themes: power, control, voice, and memory. Each title was chosen specifically because it has, at some point, been questioned, restricted, or removed from shelves elsewhere.
Lipa has described the project as a space for readers who refuse to be told what they’re allowed to read, framing the act of reading and discussing these books as a quiet but meaningful form of resistance.
A few reasons this concept resonates so strongly right now:
– Book bans and challenges have become an increasingly prominent topic in cultural and political conversations
– The library gives censored and challenged works a permanent, dignified home rather than letting them quietly disappear
– It transforms a celebrity platform into a genuine advocacy effort rather than just a branding exercise
– It invites public participation and debate instead of presenting books as a static, untouchable archive
