With an empire worth $2.7 billion, a top-rated television show, and dubbed one of the world’s most influential women, there is no doubt that anything Oprah Winfrey touches turns to gold. This seemingly Midas touch has had a profound effect on the book industry. With the advent of her book club in late 1996, Oprah spread her influence with millions of American women to books. Over the years, she has selected books that meant something to her, which she discussed on her show. Millions of books have been sold with her name added to the cover. It is impossible to estimate how this has changed the lives of those writers who have been selected by Oprah for this exclusive club.
But even with teams of aides at her side and access to industry professionals, Oprah has been duped on several occasions when selecting books for her book club. Oprah’s book club as tripped several times over publishing scams and debacles and has elevated the public’s knowledge and skepticism of the book industry. In fact, the entire memoir genre is now scrutinized quite thoroughly due to some of Oprah’s less savory picks.
Oprah’s book club’s problems began in 2001 when Oprah selected Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections. This work of fiction, although a sound choice up front, turned into one of Oprah’s first book club debacles. At first, Franzen was open to Oprah’s selection. It brought fresh eyes to his work and undoubtedly provided a fresh and abundant stream of income into his wallet. However, when Franzen’s publisher reissued his book with Oprah’s book club’s emblem on the cover, he began to have misgivings about the entire process. Upset that the work was no longer his own, he turned against the book club and started to criticize it. After a year on the club list, Oprah decided to suspend her recommendation of The Corrections.
In 2005, Oprah’s most famous book club controversy surfaced. James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces, a memoir of Frey’s hard life, was discovered to be completely fabricated. Although the publisher, with Oprah’s stamp of approval, sold millions of copies, the publisher chose to offer refunds to dissatisfied customers. As a result of this fraud, Oprah’s book club took a drastic turn into selecting safer choices. Oprah’s embarrassment led to the book club’s selection of more classic works of literature.
Although not directly chosen as a book club selection, the now proven false memoir Love and Consequences by Margaret B. Jones proved to be another surprise for the giant star. In 2008, Oprah’s magazine O briefly described the book in an issue. Shortly after, the memoir about the half white, half Native American foster child who got involved with the Bloods was recalled by the publisher due to blatant fabrication.
Oprah’s book club doesn’t only choose bad books occasionally, it inspires falsification as well. Twice Oprah had the author of Angel at the Fence on her show. Although the book has yet to be published, Oprah’s fame and stamp of approval helped secure a publisher for what she deemed “the single greatest love story, in 22 years of doing this show, we’ve ever told on the air.” A touching tale of two holocaust survivors who go on to have a life together after tragedy turned out to be false. As a result, Oprah’s name and face have once again appeared in the public eye in a negative light.
Oprah’s book club has provided readers with insight and access to books they may never have read on their own. The book club has also made millions for the authors who have been lucky enough to be selected. Overall, it is up to the public to decide whether someone with so much power and influence should ultimately make such life-changing decisions. Of course, the public continues to decide with their pocketbooks.
