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?
鈥淲hen I don鈥檛 move on, that鈥檚 always a sign to me there鈥檚 something powerful and moving,鈥 Winfrey told The Associated Press in a recent telephone interview.
On Tuesday, she announced that she had chosen Ann Napolitano鈥檚 鈥淗ello Beautiful,鈥 a modern-day homage to 鈥淟ittle Women鈥 from the author of the bestselling 鈥淒ear Edward.鈥 The novel was published Tuesday by Dial Press, a Penguin Random House imprint, and Winfrey believes its themes of family, resilience and perspective give 鈥淗ello Beautiful鈥 a 鈥渦niversal appeal鈥 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鈥檝e won an Oscar. Winfrey told AP that she is in 鈥渁we鈥 of the club and its history, 鈥渢he very notion鈥 that someone might go and buy a copy of 鈥淎nna Karenina鈥 or a little known book simply because she suggested it.
鈥淪he is the queen,鈥 says Jenna Bush Hager, who hosts the popular 鈥淩ead With Jenna鈥 club on NBC鈥檚 鈥淭oday鈥 show. 鈥淚 remember being a high school senior, in AP English, and reading (David Guterson鈥檚) `Snow Falling on Cedars鈥 because I had walked into the local bookstore and seen that Oprah had recommended it.鈥
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 鈥淒emon Copperhead,鈥 a bestseller since Winfrey picked it last fall that has far outsold her two previous works of fiction.
Since 1996, Winfrey鈥檚 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鈥檚 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 鈥淎nna Karenina鈥 to 鈥淎s I Lay Dying,鈥 placed high on bestseller lists. Winfrey didn鈥檛 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 鈥 James Frey鈥檚 fabricated memoir 鈥淎 Million Little Pieces,鈥 Jeanine Cummins鈥 鈥淎merican Dirt,鈥 a novel criticized for stereotypical depictions of Mexicans 鈥 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鈥檚 鈥淭he Deep End of the Ocean,鈥 has sold more than 2 million copies. Other books also became major bestsellers, whether by established authors like Joyce Carol Oates (鈥淲e Were the Mulvaneys鈥) and Toni Morrison (鈥淭he Bluest Eye鈥) or then-emerging writers like Janet Fitch and Tawni O鈥橠ell.
The club was so successful that some suspected a catch. Winfrey remembers Quincy Jones asking her: 鈥淗ow much money are they paying you for that book club, baby?鈥 The process was so informal that Winfrey at first didn鈥檛 even bother going through intermediaries.
鈥淚 would just call Wally Lamb,鈥 she says of the author of 鈥淪he鈥檚 Come Undone,鈥 her fourth pick. 鈥淚n the early stages, I would finish the book and then find the author. When you鈥檇 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鈥檚 phone number because the author was listed.鈥
Winfrey鈥檚 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 鈥渟urprise call鈥 with the author and Oprah. Winfrey鈥檚 staff will research the author鈥檚 background to make sure nothing problematic turns up 鈥 whether criminal charges or allegations of plagiarism. The vetting began, Winfrey says, after 鈥淎 Million Little Pieces鈥 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).
鈥淚 took it so personally,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 probably should haven鈥檛 taken it so personally but I felt like he had let me down and I let the audience down. 鈥 I was the one saying, `Can you believe this is a true story?鈥 and shouting that from the rooftops. I felt foolish for doing that, embarrassed for doing that.鈥
Winfrey鈥檚 book choices are still in-house and intimate 鈥 mostly just determined by herself and Newman 鈥 although Winfrey says she made a rare exception for 鈥淗ello Beautiful,鈥 recommended to her by the president of Creative Arts Agency, Richard Lovett. Otherwise, Newman will seek out books she thinks Winfrey might respond to 鈥 fiction or nonfiction, as long as the story is 鈥渃ompelling,鈥 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鈥檚 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 鈥淎merican Dirt,鈥 selected early in 2020, she had vowed to open herself up 鈥渢o more Latinx books.鈥 But she has not since picked any for her club and is not committing herself for the future.
鈥淚鈥檇 never choose a book because the author is Hispanic, or Black, or Indian. I鈥檓 not going to be put in that box,鈥 she says. 鈥淭he book has to live on many different levels to me. It doesn鈥檛 mean there are not fantastic books by authors of every race and creed. It means I haven鈥檛 seen one yet (for the club). But we鈥檙e mindful of it and I鈥檝e come close a couple of times.鈥
Winfrey鈥檚 choices are influenced at times by a relatively recent trend 鈥 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鈥檚 early promotion of Delia Owens鈥 blockbuster 鈥淲here the Crawdads Sing鈥 or Hager championing such debut works as Katy Hays鈥 novel 鈥淭he Cloisters.鈥 The exuberance of young people on TikTok helped make Colleen Hoover the country鈥檚 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.
鈥淲e started this conversation,鈥 she says. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 very, very proud of that.鈥
By Hillel Italie
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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