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?
91裸聊视频淲hen I don91裸聊视频檛 move on, that91裸聊视频檚 always a sign to me there91裸聊视频檚 something powerful and moving,91裸聊视频� Winfrey told The Associated Press in a recent telephone interview.
On Tuesday, she announced that she had chosen Ann Napolitano91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淗ello Beautiful,91裸聊视频� a modern-day homage to 91裸聊视频淟ittle Women91裸聊视频� from the author of the bestselling 91裸聊视频淒ear Edward.91裸聊视频� The novel was published Tuesday by Dial Press, a Penguin Random House imprint, and Winfrey believes its themes of family, resilience and perspective give 91裸聊视频淗ello Beautiful91裸聊视频� a 91裸聊视频渦niversal appeal91裸聊视频� 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 they91裸聊视频檝e won an Oscar. Winfrey told AP that she is in 91裸聊视频渁we91裸聊视频� of the club and its history, 91裸聊视频渢he very notion91裸聊视频� that someone might go and buy a copy of 91裸聊视频淎nna Karenina91裸聊视频� or a little known book simply because she suggested it.
91裸聊视频淪he is the queen,91裸聊视频� says Jenna Bush Hager, who hosts the popular 91裸聊视频淩ead With Jenna91裸聊视频� club on NBC91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淭oday91裸聊视频� show. 91裸聊视频淚 remember being a high school senior, in AP English, and reading (David Guterson91裸聊视频檚) `Snow Falling on Cedars91裸聊视频� because I had walked into the local bookstore and seen that Oprah had recommended it.91裸聊视频�
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 91裸聊视频淒emon Copperhead,91裸聊视频� a bestseller since Winfrey picked it last fall that has far outsold her two previous works of fiction.
Since 1996, Winfrey91裸聊视频檚 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 Winfrey91裸聊视频檚 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 91裸聊视频淎nna Karenina91裸聊视频� to 91裸聊视频淎s I Lay Dying,91裸聊视频� placed high on bestseller lists. Winfrey didn91裸聊视频檛 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 91裸聊视频� James Frey91裸聊视频檚 fabricated memoir 91裸聊视频淎 Million Little Pieces,91裸聊视频� Jeanine Cummins91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淎merican Dirt,91裸聊视频� a novel criticized for stereotypical depictions of Mexicans 91裸聊视频� 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, Mitchard91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淭he Deep End of the Ocean,91裸聊视频� has sold more than 2 million copies. Other books also became major bestsellers, whether by established authors like Joyce Carol Oates (91裸聊视频淲e Were the Mulvaneys91裸聊视频�) and Toni Morrison (91裸聊视频淭he Bluest Eye91裸聊视频�) or then-emerging writers like Janet Fitch and Tawni O91裸聊视频橠ell.
The club was so successful that some suspected a catch. Winfrey remembers Quincy Jones asking her: 91裸聊视频淗ow much money are they paying you for that book club, baby?91裸聊视频� The process was so informal that Winfrey at first didn91裸聊视频檛 even bother going through intermediaries.
91裸聊视频淚 would just call Wally Lamb,91裸聊视频� she says of the author of 91裸聊视频淪he91裸聊视频檚 Come Undone,91裸聊视频� her fourth pick. 91裸聊视频淚n the early stages, I would finish the book and then find the author. When you91裸聊视频檇 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 author91裸聊视频檚 phone number because the author was listed.91裸聊视频�
Winfrey91裸聊视频檚 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 91裸聊视频渟urprise call91裸聊视频� with the author and Oprah. Winfrey91裸聊视频檚 staff will research the author91裸聊视频檚 background to make sure nothing problematic turns up 91裸聊视频� whether criminal charges or allegations of plagiarism. The vetting began, Winfrey says, after 91裸聊视频淎 Million Little Pieces91裸聊视频� 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).
91裸聊视频淚 took it so personally,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淚 probably should haven91裸聊视频檛 taken it so personally but I felt like he had let me down and I let the audience down. 91裸聊视频� I was the one saying, `Can you believe this is a true story?91裸聊视频� and shouting that from the rooftops. I felt foolish for doing that, embarrassed for doing that.91裸聊视频�
Winfrey91裸聊视频檚 book choices are still in-house and intimate 91裸聊视频� mostly just determined by herself and Newman 91裸聊视频� although Winfrey says she made a rare exception for 91裸聊视频淗ello Beautiful,91裸聊视频� recommended to her by the president of Creative Arts Agency, Richard Lovett. Otherwise, Newman will seek out books she thinks Winfrey might respond to 91裸聊视频� fiction or nonfiction, as long as the story is 91裸聊视频渃ompelling,91裸聊视频� 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 Oprah91裸聊视频檚 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 91裸聊视频淎merican Dirt,91裸聊视频� selected early in 2020, she had vowed to open herself up 91裸聊视频渢o more Latinx books.91裸聊视频� But she has not since picked any for her club and is not committing herself for the future.
91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檇 never choose a book because the author is Hispanic, or Black, or Indian. I91裸聊视频檓 not going to be put in that box,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淭he book has to live on many different levels to me. It doesn91裸聊视频檛 mean there are not fantastic books by authors of every race and creed. It means I haven91裸聊视频檛 seen one yet (for the club). But we91裸聊视频檙e mindful of it and I91裸聊视频檝e come close a couple of times.91裸聊视频�
Winfrey91裸聊视频檚 choices are influenced at times by a relatively recent trend 91裸聊视频� 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 Witherspoon91裸聊视频檚 early promotion of Delia Owens91裸聊视频� blockbuster 91裸聊视频淲here the Crawdads Sing91裸聊视频� or Hager championing such debut works as Katy Hays91裸聊视频� novel 91裸聊视频淭he Cloisters.91裸聊视频� The exuberance of young people on TikTok helped make Colleen Hoover the country91裸聊视频檚 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.
91裸聊视频淲e started this conversation,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淎nd I91裸聊视频檓 very, very proud of that.91裸聊视频�
By Hillel Italie
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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