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Subject: Oprah
Date Posted: 9/18/2008 12:59 PM ET
Member Since: 8/17/2008
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Oprah announces her new book club suggestion tomorrow. Any guesses?

jscrappy avatar
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Date Posted: 9/18/2008 3:23 PM ET
Member Since: 8/30/2007
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I'm guessing it will be something deeply depressing. ;-)

GrannyJill avatar
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Date Posted: 9/18/2008 3:29 PM ET
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Lol, Janelle! You are probably right on!

eclecticreader10 avatar
Date Posted: 9/18/2008 6:57 PM ET
Member Since: 6/19/2008
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I saw the woman that wrote Eat, Pray, Love on Oprah.  She and all the guests just seemed so self indulgent.  I haven't read the book, so I have no room to talk.  Nothing in the show that day made me want to read the book.  When I read a book I want to be entertained, not feel bad about what my life is missing.  My life goal is to read all the books on my TBR list before I die.



Last Edited on: 9/18/08 11:36 PM ET - Total times edited: 1
NellieBly avatar
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Date Posted: 9/18/2008 7:02 PM ET
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Last Edited on: 2/21/10 3:51 PM ET - Total times edited: 1
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Date Posted: 9/18/2008 7:27 PM ET
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Is it just me or does Oprah's endorsement of book make anyone else want to avoid that book at all costs?  Fortunately I'd read a couple of them long before she put her seal of approval on them, but now I find myself refusing to read anything she pushes. 

tashar avatar
Date Posted: 9/18/2008 9:58 PM ET
Member Since: 10/14/2007
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Sandy, I agree!  The Oprah endorsement on a book is an automatic turn-off.  I know it's unfair, but I just can't bring myself to read them anymore.

Fulltimer avatar
Date Posted: 9/18/2008 10:53 PM ET
Member Since: 5/9/2006
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I also never read anything that Oprah pushes. I can get enough sadness by reading the newspaper or watching the news. I also read to be entertained or at least learn something practical.

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Date Posted: 9/18/2008 11:52 PM ET
Member Since: 6/19/2008
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Not all of her choices turn me off.  Mostly I just don't like self-help books.  I guess I'm beyond help.  Her book club choices that I did like are:  Cane River, White Oleander, Midwives, East of Eden (I read it in high school, way before Oprah) and Where the Heart Is.  Being an Oprah pick had nothing to do with it.  I would have read them anyway. I do get tired of her getting preachy about 'being the best you can be, and making the most of you life'.  Me - I'm just glad I managed to raise my kids without killing them.  That was the best I could be. LOL



Last Edited on: 9/19/08 1:13 PM ET - Total times edited: 1
patmat avatar
Date Posted: 9/19/2008 4:45 AM ET
Member Since: 12/8/2007
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Donna, you cracked me up about raising your kids without killing them. Having just survived the teen years with my son I can commiserate. I have tried to read several of Ophrah's "chosen" ones and I have been totally turned off. Of course I am not talking about the classics. I read "Ellen Foster" and while O raved about it, I forced myself (kicking and screaming) to finish it. All I can say it that I am glad that it was a very short book.

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Date Posted: 9/19/2008 6:39 AM ET
Member Since: 11/6/2005
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I have the distinct impression, based upon her choices, that Oprah is a deeply troubled woman!  I read the first few in the original book club and decided I could choose my own depressive books all on  my own if I wished.  I'll be interested to see what she picks, also.

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Date Posted: 9/19/2008 8:30 AM ET
Member Since: 4/11/2006
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Yes, many of Oprah's first book club's suggestions were dismal; I loathed Fall on Your Knees, Gap Creek, Corrections and others.  After her public scolding by Jonathan Frazen over her endorsment of The Corrections, she took a break and seemed to reinvent her choices through classic choices. Then she veered off course with A Million Pieces.

I have to say I enjoyed all of those mentioned by Donna, except WO, which is on my TBR list.  I'd add Mother of Pearl (I think you'd like this one if you enjoyed Secret Life of Bees), A Fine Balance and anything by Wally Lamb.  But some of those I read before they were mentioned by her or after a friend read and recommended.

Although I haven't read any of her newer selections (except the first part of Eat, Pray, Love before abandoning), I am often reminded of her reading taste and wonder what she'd think of books like Me & Emma.  I am curious to see what the newest selection might be. 

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Date Posted: 9/19/2008 9:40 AM ET
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I agree, Oprah's book choices are for the most part pretty dark.  Some I have liked, but most I have not.

And Eat, Pray, Love!   OMG, I hated it.  I thought that the author was a PITA.  It amazes me to hear people say that book changed their lives!  How?  I guess that's what makes life interesting. We all have a different perspective.

harmony85 avatar
Date Posted: 9/19/2008 12:07 PM ET
Member Since: 9/16/2005
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I've been a booklover since childhood and don't need Oprah choosing my books for me-seems she'd be better off letting her fans choose her books for her. 

Sorry, NOT an Oprah fan-but that's a whole other subject!!!

If I like a book, I will choose to read it whether or not Queen Oprah touches it with her magic wand.  I have read many books that Oprah recommended-before and after she came on the scene.



Last Edited on: 9/19/08 12:07 PM ET - Total times edited: 1
mich119 avatar
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Date Posted: 9/19/2008 12:50 PM ET
Member Since: 7/21/2008
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The book is announced and posted on her website....The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski.  And it does look like another dark one!!  They're comparing it to Hamlet, which seems a bit much to me, but we'll see.  I may read it at some point, but as others have said above, I will not rush out and buy it right now because Oprah's reading it!

iluvlibros avatar
Date Posted: 9/19/2008 3:14 PM ET
Member Since: 2/16/2007
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Ooh, thanks for posting the title Michelle. I just added it to my wishlist, but now I'm number 481 on the list. Ha. Looks like it'll be a while before I get my hands on it.

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Date Posted: 9/19/2008 5:55 PM ET
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I have a copy waiting at the library to be picked up tomorrow.  I don't have to buy this one!

I read maybe half of her choices, depending on the subject and the amount of time I have.  As with the book club I belong to, the selections introduce books I never would have considered otherwise.

Generic Profile avatar
Date Posted: 9/19/2008 7:32 PM ET
Member Since: 5/4/2008
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I think this is the Barnes & Noble pick of the month for September, also.  I guess they beat her to the punch.

Generic Profile avatar
Date Posted: 9/19/2008 7:47 PM ET
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I'm # 91 on the WL.  The book does intrigue me though; it sounds like an interesting/creative story with descriptive writing.

So, I wonder what happened to her classic choices awhile back.  Must not have been big enough sellers!

comet9443 avatar
Date Posted: 9/20/2008 7:47 PM ET
Member Since: 3/3/2006
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My DH got this for me for my birthday in August, waaay before Oprah picked it. I think it sounds good, I think he got it because it says on the book something about it being similar to Hamlet and he knows I enjoy Hamlet. *shrug* I plan to read it when I have more time to sit up and read, since right now I spend most of my reading time lying down. :)

BookwormCMB avatar
Date Posted: 9/20/2008 10:12 PM ET
Member Since: 7/12/2008
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My life goal is to read all the books on my TBR list before I die.

It'll never happen. Just as I finish one book it seems I want to add another, which leads to another, and so on and so on...I will never be able to finish ALL the books on my TBR because I always want to read something ellse. Every time I order one book, I'm led to another because they all sound so good, but I just can't list/have them all. Bummer!! And every month it seems more good books are coming out.

 

Froggie avatar
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Date Posted: 9/25/2008 1:43 PM ET
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I have read several books on Oprah's list.  Probably half of them I liked and the other half I hated. I don't normally let her sway my decision to read a book though.  If I like what the back of the book has to say then I will give it a try. 

I liked:

I Know This Much is True, Gap Creek, Vinegar Hill, and a few others.

Didn't like:

White Oleander, The Reader, The Bluest Eye and a Million Pieces.  Personally, I couldn't even finish these books.  They were awful!

shukween avatar
Date Posted: 9/25/2008 2:59 PM ET
Member Since: 1/12/2008
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I've had that pick on my WL for months now...I'm 50th, I think

mimima avatar
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Date Posted: 9/25/2008 3:52 PM ET
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Actually, I have to admit, that book has been on my radar for awhile, and I do hope at some point to read it.

I have been known to get annoyed when she chooses one of my favorite books for her book club (Midwives and Poisonwood Bible come to mind)  - and I will never forgive her for the horror that was her disucssion of Anna Karenina,  which is and always will be an amazing book.

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Date Posted: 9/25/2008 4:47 PM ET
Member Since: 9/23/2006
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I've reached the point where I think I might kill myself if I find myself reading an Oprah book.  That's how much of an aversion I've developed to her picks.

When she started them, I thought it was a neat idea but her choices, OMG!  I understand they haven't been quite as dismal but there's been nothing I've wanted to tackle yet.  Would it really kill the woman to choose something lighter just once?  Once?  Of course she has no sense of humor so I suppose that's a handicap.

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