Oprah’s Book Club: Keeping Literature Relevant

Oprah Winfrey is truly a magician. She's a billionaire and yet she makes us feel like we are her best friend. And friends like to recommend each other books, right? So it's really no surprise that when Oprah tells us about her latest pick for Oprah's Book Club or when we see her seal on a book at a bookstore or library, we feel an undeniable urge to get a hold of the book and see what all the fuss is about.

There is no doubt that her book club, which started in 1996, has been a resounding success. Publishers and the guardian of the weekly bestseller lists, The New York Times will tell you about "The Oprah Effect" and how it causes a surge of book sales. The authors benefit as well, with perennial pick Toni Morrison becoming a household name with fans and with obscure titles like The Reader and White Oleander becoming adapted into films. From classics like East of Eden to translated works like Gabriel García Márquez's Love in the Time of Cholera, Oprah's magic touch has influenced readers worldwide.

That is not to say that everybody was always thrilled to be involved with Oprah. Jonathan Franzen was one of the first authors to express his distaste about Oprah's Book Club back in 2001, when his novel, The Corrections, was picked. He made a few remarks to the media, stating that he thought Oprah's stamp on the book cover might turn off male readers and almost overnight, he had commentators calling him an elitist and misogynist. The Corrections went on to win several honors including the National Book Award, but the backlash he received after spurning Oprah was never quite forgotten.

But last week, 15 years since the start of the book club, Oprah made one of her most controversial picks yet — Jonathan Franzen's latest novel, Freedom. Freedom is certainly a worthy book to have received Oprah's praise. As she describes it herself, "This book is a masterpiece spanning three decades. … It is an epic family saga. It has everything. It has sex and love, even rock and roll and everything you should want in a book." But that's not what her audience will take away from this. In this battle of pride, Oprah has triumphed again and this time, she has taken out one of her former detractors. Already the book cover has been revised on Barnes & Noble and Amazon's websites to include her seal.

In many ways, Oprah's success is a win for the average reader. Too often, it seems that only the critics get to decide whether a book is "good." Fan comments are ignored — lost in online discussion boards. But if Publishers Weekly can get their quotes onto a book cover, why can't Oprah leave her mark of approval? In an age when it seems that only literary highbrows and bloggers talk about books, Oprah's handpicked titles encourage international discussion and keep the joys of literature alive and well.

Oprah's Book Club has come full circle with her latest selection. At best, Oprah is trying to put the bad blood between her and Franzen aside. She even asked for permission from Franzen himself before publicly announcing her choice. More likely though, she used this opportunity to have the final word about the controversy. Regardless of Oprah's intentions, it is clear that in her own heavy-handed way, Oprah has been successful in keeping literature relevant among her audience.