Me and Oprah's Book Club List
Remember when Oprah ran her book club? A well-known celebrity encouraged their audience to read books. Be still my heart. So, I decided to check out Oprah's Book Club reading list and see how many of her recommendations I'd read, or which of her books I might like to read for pleasure down the pike.
You can view her complete reading list here: http://tiny.cc/z0wpp
Well, I've read her two William Faulkner titles selected in 2005, Light in August and As I lay Dying. Both Faulkner titles were read in my school days. He isn't an author you read for fun.
From 2000, I see Robert Morgan's Gap Creek, a title on my to-read list. On the other hand, her pick Jewel by Brett Lott from 1999 was a DNF for me. (I've read other books by Mr. Lott and liked them.)
1997 was a banner year for Oprah and me. Reading Ernest J. Gaine's A Lesson Before Dying was a treat. Moreover, I've always had a desire to read Kate Gibbon's Ellen Foster, so I'll move her near the top of my list.
1996, it looks, was the first year Oprah began her book club readings, and I'm not going into the Jonathan Franzen fiasco. Who knows? Perhaps Oprah will do another book club on whatever new shows she decides to do.
By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"Definitely recommend you take a fictional journey to Lake Charles."
Elizabeth A. White's Musings of an All Purpose Monkey
You can view her complete reading list here: http://tiny.cc/z0wpp
Well, I've read her two William Faulkner titles selected in 2005, Light in August and As I lay Dying. Both Faulkner titles were read in my school days. He isn't an author you read for fun.
From 2000, I see Robert Morgan's Gap Creek, a title on my to-read list. On the other hand, her pick Jewel by Brett Lott from 1999 was a DNF for me. (I've read other books by Mr. Lott and liked them.)
1997 was a banner year for Oprah and me. Reading Ernest J. Gaine's A Lesson Before Dying was a treat. Moreover, I've always had a desire to read Kate Gibbon's Ellen Foster, so I'll move her near the top of my list.
1996, it looks, was the first year Oprah began her book club readings, and I'm not going into the Jonathan Franzen fiasco. Who knows? Perhaps Oprah will do another book club on whatever new shows she decides to do.
By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"Definitely recommend you take a fictional journey to Lake Charles."
Elizabeth A. White's Musings of an All Purpose Monkey
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Patti
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Jul 15, 2011 05:49AM
I have read a heck of a lot of them, but not because of her. I have only watched the show a half a dozen times in my life. She picks the same sort of books my book group reads, God love 'em.
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Patti wrote: "I have read a heck of a lot of them, but not because of her. I have only watched the show a half a dozen times in my life. She picks the same sort of books my book group reads, God love 'em."Right. My wife picks books for her reading group, but I've benefitted from all their recs, too. Happy Friday, Patti.
Some of the best books I have read are on her list but I read them before she put them on the list. Now I would almost not read them because they are on her list but then I think about the good ones I have read so I go ahead and read them, I just pretend I don't know they were on her list. Silly I know!
Kind of a strange list, isn't it. Including authors like Dickens (apparently the only one in 2010) isn't exactly introducing new talent to the world. OTOH, reminding people of the existence of those authors can't be bad. Say, maybe Heather will have an online list of her own one day, to replace Oprah's. (Think she'd like to consider my title for her group?)
Stephen wrote: "Kind of a strange list, isn't it. Including authors like Dickens (apparently the only one in 2010) isn't exactly introducing new talent to the world. OTOH, reminding people of the existence of thos..."I also wondered how Oprah came up with her picks, but I never watched her show that much to know how it worked.
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