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September 23, 2005
Oprah Brings Back Relevant Reading
Not that I have anything against the classics. Some are great, once you get past the first twenty or hundred pages. But it sure is easier to read a recently published book. Which is what Oprah is realizing. Although she's a bit snippy about one of my favorite authors (Franzen, with whom she had a tiff right before cancelling the first incarnation of her book club), she's coming back to new books and expanding her genre criteria: "Ms. Winfrey said she intended to widen her choices to an array of genres, including history, biography and historical fiction, to give herself more room to follow her instincts about what makes a positive reading experience."
First up: "A Million Little Pieces," by James Frey, a memoir about addiction treatment. Interesting - I was attracted to that book at Barnes & Noble by its intriguing cover art, but ultimately decided that with all the unread books on my shelf, I wasn't going to give my time to another addict recovery story.
More info: "Oprah's Book Club Reopening to Writers Who'll Sit and Chat,"by Edward Wyatt
Posted by cj at September 23, 2005 07:59 AM