In 1996 Oprah Winfrey introduced a new book club segment to her popular talk show. The conceit of the segment was to publicise a novel that Oprah enjoyed and encourage people to read more. At the end of the month, when the participating audience had read the book, Oprah invited the author to discuss the novel with a few of the book club members. Oprah's Book Club was to have phenomenal repercussions for the publishing industry with an Oprah endorsement guaranteeing success for the chosen book. The first selection was Jacquelyn Mitchard's Deep End of the Ocean, which went on to become an international bestseller and was consequently made into a movie starring Michelle Pfeiffer.
However, the most important aspect of the club is that it encourages people to read books they would not ordinarily have considered without the Oprah seal of approval (literally! Reprints often carried the club's seal on the cover). From the controversial (e.g. James Frey's supposed memoir A Million Little Pieces), to the loved (e.g. Billie Letts's Where the Heart Is), and even extending to children's books (e.g. Bill Cosby's The Meanest Thing to Say) Oprah's choices have been varied and, in turn, have inspired varied reactions from their readers and will no doubt continue to do so until its end.
If you're looking for Oprah books eBay is a great place to start as both old and newer selections can usually be found here or on the US eBay site. A comprehensive list of Oprah's Book Club selections is provided below in order of appearance:
Jacquelyn Mitchard's Deep End of the OceanToni Morrison's Song of SolomonJane Hamilton's The Book of RuthWally Lamb's She's Come UndoneUrsula Hegi's Stones from the RiverSheri Reynold's The Rapture of CanaanMaya Angelou's The Heart of a WomanMary McGarry Morris's Songs in Ordinary TimeBill Cosby's The Meanest Thing to SayErnest J. Gaines's A Lesson Before DyingKaye Gibbons's A Virtuous Woman and Ellen FosterBill Cosby's The Treasure Hunt and The Best Way to PlayToni Morrison's ParadiseAlice Hoffman's Here on EarthAnna Quindlen's Black and BlueEdwidge Danticat's Breath, Eyes, MemoryPearl Cleage's What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary DayChris Bohjalian's MidwivesBilie Letts's Where the Heart IsBreat Lott's JewelBernard Schlink's The ReaderAnita Shreve's The Pilot's WifeWally Lamb's I Know This Much Is TrueJanet Finch's White OleanderMelinda Haynes's Mother of PearlMaeve Binchy's Tara RoadBarbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood BibleA. Manette Ansay's Vinegar HillJane Hamilton's A Map of the WorldRobert Morgan's Gap CreekIsabel Allende's Daughter of FortuneTawni O'Dell's Back RoadsToni Morrison's The Bluest EyeSue Miller's While I Was GoneBreena Clarke's River, Cross My HeartElizabeth Berg's Open HouseChristina Schwartz's Drowning RuthAndre Dubus's House of Sand and FogJoyce Carol Oates's We Were the Mulvaneys Gwyn Hyman Rubio's Icy SparksMalika Oufkir's Stolen LivesLalita Tademy's Cane RiverJonathan Franzen's The CorrectionsRohinton Mistry's A Fine BalanceAnn-Marie MacDonald's Fall on Your KneesToni Morrison's SulaJohn Steinbeck's East of EdenAlan Paton's Cry, The Beloved CountryGabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of SolitudeCarson McCullers's The Heart is a Lonely HunterLeo Tolstoy's Anna KareninaPearl S. Buck's The Good EarthWilliam Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying and Light in AugustJames Frey's A Million Little PiecesElie Wiesel's Night
Edited to add recents picks:
2007: Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera, Ken Follet's The Pillars of the Earth, Sidney Poitier's The Measure of a Man, Cormac McCarthy's The Road, Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex.
2008: Eckhart Tole's A New Earth.
Oprah Book Club
Orignal From: Oprah's Book Club
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