Jessica Tovey is in a book club for one

Jess Tovey never read many books as a teenager. Which, as the daughter of children's author Libby Gleeson, was a bigger deal than it would be for most. 

"I think it was a rebellious thing that I was like, 'I'm not gonna read books! Books aren't cool!'" she told 9Honey on the set of Nine's new show, Bad Mothers.

But one look at the 31-year-old's Instagram and you can see she's changed her stance.

"In my 20s, I've become really into reading," she said, explaining the slew of book-heavy posts that have populated her feed over the past few months.

"There's a whole catalogue of classics I haven't read. So I've been trying to do one classic novel with something new that's just come out," she said.

"I just read Sally Rooney's Normal People which was just the most beautiful book, but then after that I read [Helen Garner's] Monkeygrip – I'm trying to do a classic for a modern book."

Her posts on Instagram, that she's dubbed solo book club/book chat/book club for one, contain pictures of her with the books and small reviews in the captions.

It's an endearing insight into Tovey, a woman who has graced Australian TV screens for over a decade. Something enjoyable – and non-smoothie bowl-based – to fill your feed with.

But in her newest role, as Danielle in Nine's Bad Mothers, the Home and Away alum didn't have to read a book to prepare.

"Getting ready for this show for me was really about trying to nail that character," she explained.

"For shows like this where it's really based on the chemistry of the ensemble, it's really important to kind of work out who you are but also how you fit in that story and what role you play in that group of friends."

The show follows a group of four females, played by Tovey, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Mandy McElhinney and Tess Haubrich, rocked by the murder of their friend, played by Melissa George.

Together, they form a club of 'bad mothers' to console and support one another through the tragedy, all while trying to piece together the answers.

Out of the five female leads in the show, Tovey is the only one to play a stepmother as well as a mother role in Danielle, and this caring instinct reflects in the relationship she has with the other ladies.

"Danielle certainly takes on a very maternal kind of caring role in the group of friends," the actor explained. 

It also made her take stock of the huge responsibility that caring for a kid really is.

"I think the thing for me… is just how motherhood probably changes the centre of your universe. Which as someone who is not a mother yet, I haven't experienced yet.

"I'm still very much the centre of my universe," she joked.

But, with her attention to reading, at least Tovey's making a concerted effort to expand it.

The first 'book club for one' pick of 2019 was Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado. The show Bad Mothers will premiere on Nine on February 4.