For her 100th book club pick, Oprah Winfrey relied on the same instincts she has drawn upon from the start: Does the story move her? Does she think about it for days after? In a work of fiction, do the characters seem real to her?
香蕉视频直播淲hen I don香蕉视频直播檛 move on, that香蕉视频直播檚 always a sign to me there香蕉视频直播檚 something powerful and moving,香蕉视频直播� Winfrey told The Associated Press in a recent telephone interview.
On Tuesday, she announced that she had chosen Ann Napolitano香蕉视频直播檚 香蕉视频直播淗ello Beautiful,香蕉视频直播� a modern-day homage to 香蕉视频直播淟ittle Women香蕉视频直播� from the author of the bestselling 香蕉视频直播淒ear Edward.香蕉视频直播� The novel was published Tuesday by Dial Press, a Penguin Random House imprint, and Winfrey believes its themes of family, resilience and perspective give 香蕉视频直播淗ello Beautiful香蕉视频直播� a 香蕉视频直播渦niversal appeal香蕉视频直播� that makes it a proper milestone.
A Winfrey pick no longer ensures blockbuster sales, but it retains a special status within the industry for authors, a call from Winfrey still feels like being told they香蕉视频直播檝e won an Oscar. Winfrey told AP that she is in 香蕉视频直播渁we香蕉视频直播� of the club and its history, 香蕉视频直播渢he very notion香蕉视频直播� that someone might go and buy a copy of 香蕉视频直播淎nna Karenina香蕉视频直播� or a little known book simply because she suggested it.
香蕉视频直播淪he is the queen,香蕉视频直播� says Jenna Bush Hager, who hosts the popular 香蕉视频直播淩ead With Jenna香蕉视频直播� club on NBC香蕉视频直播檚 香蕉视频直播淭oday香蕉视频直播� show. 香蕉视频直播淚 remember being a high school senior, in AP English, and reading (David Guterson香蕉视频直播檚) `Snow Falling on Cedars香蕉视频直播� because I had walked into the local bookstore and seen that Oprah had recommended it.香蕉视频直播�
Kristen McLean, an analyst for NPD Books, which tracks industry sales, says that Winfrey is especially effective these days when promoting a known author such as Barbara Kingsolver and her novel 香蕉视频直播淒emon Copperhead,香蕉视频直播� a bestseller since Winfrey picked it last fall that has far outsold her two previous works of fiction.
Since 1996, Winfrey香蕉视频直播檚 book choices have set her on a journey of extraordinary influence and success, frequent reinvention and the occasional controversy. It has endured through changes for both Winfrey and the publishing industry, through the rise of the internet and the end of Winfrey香蕉视频直播檚 syndicated talk show, through immersions in the classics and unexpected lessons in the reliability of memoirs and the lack of diversity of book publishing.
Thanks to Winfrey, contemporary authors such as Jacquelyn Mitchard and Jane Hamilton found audiences they never imagined, while picks published decades or even centuries earlier, from 香蕉视频直播淎nna Karenina香蕉视频直播� to 香蕉视频直播淎s I Lay Dying,香蕉视频直播� placed high on bestseller lists. Winfrey didn香蕉视频直播檛 invent the mass market book club, but she demonstrated that spontaneous passion can inspire people in ways that elude the most sophisticated marketing campaigns.
Her most troubled choices 香蕉视频直播� James Frey香蕉视频直播檚 fabricated memoir 香蕉视频直播淎 Million Little Pieces,香蕉视频直播� Jeanine Cummins香蕉视频直播� 香蕉视频直播淎merican Dirt,香蕉视频直播� a novel criticized for stereotypical depictions of Mexicans 香蕉视频直播� made so much news in part because of the spotlight of a Winfrey endorsement.
The club began as the extension of conversations between herself and her producer at the time, Alice McGee. They would talk about the books they liked until McGee finally suggested, in 1996, that Winfrey share the experience with her viewers. The first pick, Mitchard香蕉视频直播檚 香蕉视频直播淭he Deep End of the Ocean,香蕉视频直播� has sold more than 2 million copies. Other books also became major bestsellers, whether by established authors like Joyce Carol Oates (香蕉视频直播淲e Were the Mulvaneys香蕉视频直播�) and Toni Morrison (香蕉视频直播淭he Bluest Eye香蕉视频直播�) or then-emerging writers like Janet Fitch and Tawni O香蕉视频直播橠ell.
The club was so successful that some suspected a catch. Winfrey remembers Quincy Jones asking her: 香蕉视频直播淗ow much money are they paying you for that book club, baby?香蕉视频直播� The process was so informal that Winfrey at first didn香蕉视频直播檛 even bother going through intermediaries.
香蕉视频直播淚 would just call Wally Lamb,香蕉视频直播� she says of the author of 香蕉视频直播淪he香蕉视频直播檚 Come Undone,香蕉视频直播� her fourth pick. 香蕉视频直播淚n the early stages, I would finish the book and then find the author. When you香蕉视频直播檇 go to the back of the book, it gives you the bio of the author and it would tell you what city the author lives. And, this is when we had phone books, in every instance I was able to get the author香蕉视频直播檚 phone number because the author was listed.香蕉视频直播�
Winfrey香蕉视频直播檚 system is now only slightly more structured. Leigh Newman, books director of the online/print publication Oprah Daily, will call the publisher first and arrange a 香蕉视频直播渟urprise call香蕉视频直播� with the author and Oprah. Winfrey香蕉视频直播檚 staff will research the author香蕉视频直播檚 background to make sure nothing problematic turns up 香蕉视频直播� whether criminal charges or allegations of plagiarism. The vetting began, Winfrey says, after 香蕉视频直播淎 Million Little Pieces香蕉视频直播� turned out to have substantial falsehoods, leading to an extraordinary public scolding by Winfrey when she brought Frey back on her show to explain himself. (They have since reconciled).
香蕉视频直播淚 took it so personally,香蕉视频直播� she says. 香蕉视频直播淚 probably should haven香蕉视频直播檛 taken it so personally but I felt like he had let me down and I let the audience down. 香蕉视频直播� I was the one saying, `Can you believe this is a true story?香蕉视频直播� and shouting that from the rooftops. I felt foolish for doing that, embarrassed for doing that.香蕉视频直播�
Winfrey香蕉视频直播檚 book choices are still in-house and intimate 香蕉视频直播� mostly just determined by herself and Newman 香蕉视频直播� although Winfrey says she made a rare exception for 香蕉视频直播淗ello Beautiful,香蕉视频直播� recommended to her by the president of Creative Arts Agency, Richard Lovett. Otherwise, Newman will seek out books she thinks Winfrey might respond to 香蕉视频直播� fiction or nonfiction, as long as the story is 香蕉视频直播渃ompelling,香蕉视频直播� Newman explains. Winfrey will also come upon books on her own.
The club follows no real formula. For the first few years, Winfrey averaged a selection nearly every month, a pace she came to find exhausting. She paused the club for much of 2002-2003, focused on older works in 2004-2005, and in other years only selected one or two titles. After her talk show ended in 2011, she launched Oprah香蕉视频直播檚 Book Club 2.0 the following year, with the emphasis on digital media.
She is currently aiming for a new book every eight weeks, with author interviews and interactive reader discussions showcased on OprahDaily.com. Winfrey has no plans to stop, and no specific goals for selections. In the aftermath of 香蕉视频直播淎merican Dirt,香蕉视频直播� selected early in 2020, she had vowed to open herself up 香蕉视频直播渢o more Latinx books.香蕉视频直播� But she has not since picked any for her club and is not committing herself for the future.
香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檇 never choose a book because the author is Hispanic, or Black, or Indian. I香蕉视频直播檓 not going to be put in that box,香蕉视频直播� she says. 香蕉视频直播淭he book has to live on many different levels to me. It doesn香蕉视频直播檛 mean there are not fantastic books by authors of every race and creed. It means I haven香蕉视频直播檛 seen one yet (for the club). But we香蕉视频直播檙e mindful of it and I香蕉视频直播檝e come close a couple of times.香蕉视频直播�
Winfrey香蕉视频直播檚 choices are influenced at times by a relatively recent trend 香蕉视频直播� competition.
Over the past few years, Hager and Reese Witherspoon have demonstrated that they too, can win the trust of large numbers of readers, whether Witherspoon香蕉视频直播檚 early promotion of Delia Owens香蕉视频直播� blockbuster 香蕉视频直播淲here the Crawdads Sing香蕉视频直播� or Hager championing such debut works as Katy Hays香蕉视频直播� novel 香蕉视频直播淭he Cloisters.香蕉视频直播� The exuberance of young people on TikTok helped make Colleen Hoover the country香蕉视频直播檚 most popular fiction writer.
Winfrey is respectful: If she hears a book she might choose is also being pursued by Witherspoon or Hager, she will step back and pick another. But she also claims her place. Yes, Witherspoon, Hager and the BookTok kids are all great, but no one should forget who came first.
香蕉视频直播淲e started this conversation,香蕉视频直播� she says. 香蕉视频直播淎nd I香蕉视频直播檓 very, very proud of that.香蕉视频直播�
By Hillel Italie
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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