Oprah Winfrey is a household name in America. When Oprah began to promote book selections as part of the Oprah Book Club, sales skyrocketed for books with Oprah’s seal of approval on them. Oprah’s influence in what people read cannot be underestimated.
There are some benefits for choosing a book from Oprah’s Book Club list. The average reader in America may never have thought to look for a few of the novels that Oprah has put in the spotlight. On the other hand, the recent James Frey scandal with, A Million Little Pieces, may have created some tension for readers who had trusted Oprah with her decision to include Frey’s book on her list. Oprah’s Book Club does have many books worth reading on it, and it’s never too late to pick up a copy of one of her current or past picks. The top ten picks from Oprah’s Book Club are books that deserve Oprah’s seal of approval.
1. The Poisonwood Bible
Author, Barbara Kingsolver, tells the story of a family led by an evangelical Baptist father, to the Belgian Congo. A combination of family drama, individual struggles, Congo events and history, and interesting characters, make this Oprah pick from the year 2000, a winner. The Price family gives readers a close up view of the tumultous events of the Congo, starting in 1959. The novel is rich with character details snf sdventure.
2. A Map of the World
Oprah selected, A Map of the World, by Jane Hamilton, as a 1999 Oprah’s Book Club selection. What happens when you turn your back for a few life-changing seconds? The story of Alice Goodwin boldly asks this question in Hamilton’s book. Alice Goodwin makes a single, tragic mistake that turns her world inside out and leaves her family reeling from the aftermath. The novel gives readers a roller-coaster ride of emotions, as Alice’s life is examined through the lens of a single, unfortunate mistake.
3. White Oleander
Janet Fitch’s, White Oleander was a pick for Oprah’s Book Club in 1999, later becoming a movie with the same name. The book is better than the movie, providing the vivid details of a young girl’s journey throught the foster care system after her mother is sent to jail for murder. Janet Astrid learns about relationships, as she struggles to understand her mother, as well as the many people she encounters as she moves through the foster care system. This is a solid Oprah pick, worthy of the top ten list.
4. Where the Heart Is
Novalee Nation is just another small town pregnant teenager, looking for a sense of belonging as this Oprah’s Book Club 1998 selection, begins. Author, Billie Letts, gives readers an inside peek into the life of a young woman who is left at an Oklahoma Wal-Mart by her fair weathered boyfriend. Novalee finds a home and a new chance at love and friendship with the residents of this welcoming Oklahoma town. This is another of Oprah’s book choices-turned-movie that is more rewarding to read than see on the movie screen.
5. East of Eden
In 2003, Oprah took a new direction with Oprah’s Book Club, after a few years of limiting selections to under a handful of books. Oprah placed John Steinbeck’s, East of Eden on the list. Some readers may be familiar with the television mini-series, from the 1980’s, but the book was a new experience for Oprah’s readers. East of Eden chronicles the lives of two families from the East Coast, who move and settle in the Salinas Valley of California. The story takes place from the Civil War era until the first World War. Relationships are examined closely in this novel, with a “Cain and Abel pairing” of brothers, and the seductive ways of a beautiful love interest. This is one of the lengthier books in Oprah’s Book Club, but definitely worth the extra reading time.
6. Midwives
Chris Bohjalian’s novel, Midwives is the type of book that many readers might have otherwise passed by. When Oprah selected the book for her Oprah’s Book Club list in 1998, readers everywhere began to discuss the complicated moral dilemna that the main character, Sybil Danforth, faced in this book about life and death. The story is told by Sybil’s 14-year-old daughter, Connie, as she guides readers through the aftermath of what happens when her mother, a seasoned midwife, is questioned after a patient’s death. The 1981 setting in small-town Vermont makes the perfect background for this story.
7. The Bluest Eye
Oprah chose Toni Morrison’s first novel, The Bluest Eye, as a selection for Oprah’s Book Club in 2000. Some readers may have encountered Morrison’s book in high school or college English courses, but the attention granted to the novel through Oprah’s Book Club, brought this novel back to the spotlight. Morrison features an 11-year-old girl named Picola Breedlove, as the main character in this novel about race and identity. The story takes place in Ohio around 1941. Picola Breedlove faces many changes thoughout the novel, as she struggles with life, love, family, racism, and her own identity. This is a good book for any generation of reader.
8. Back Roads
Oprah chose Back Roads, by author, Tawni O’Dell, as an Oprah’s Book Club selection about the life of a family growing up in the back woods of Pennsylvania. Harley Altmyer just nineteen when he shoulders the responsibility of taking care of his three sisters. The small coal-mining town is filled with unemployment, trailers, and young love. This Oprah selection takes readers on a ride through one of the many struggling coal mining towns of Pennsylvania, and brings it to life through the interesting characters and life challenges that they face.
9. The Deep End of the Ocean
Every parent’s worst nightmare comes true for the Cappadora family, in this 1996 Oprah’s Book Club selection, by author Jacquelyn Mitchard. This is the heartbreaking story of what happens when a mother makes the single mistake of turning her head for a moment in a hotel lobby, and her son disappears. The grief that follows the family after the tragedy is heavy and complicated, making this book an excellent choice for any book club across the country and beyond. This novel was one of Oprah’s first selections for Oprah’s Book Club in 1996.
10. A Million Little PiecesThe book officially removed from Oprah’s Book Club
Author, James Frey, was outed for embellishing and making up events in this former Oprha’s Book Club selection of 2005. Oprah pulled the book from her list, after initially supporting Frey. If readers can get past the controversy of Frey’s non-fiction/fiction book about his journey through addiction, this book still holds some readability. Before the controversy, Oprah and readers everywhere were applauding Frey’s novel. Newer versions of the book include an apology from the author.
