10 Best Oprah Book Club Selections

Oprah Winfrey began the "Oprah Book Club" in 1996. During the fourteen years that the book club has been in existence, it has featured many classic novels as well as novels by unheard of authors. Here is a look at the ten Oprah Book Club selections that I consider must reads.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Ken Follett published this epic novel in 1989. It appeared as an Oprah Book Club selection in 2007. Follett's epic historical novel about the building of a church is hard to put down. Follett published a sequel to the book in 2007, which may be what sparked Oprah to include the original novel in her book club. If you have not read the book already, this Oprah Book Club selection makes an excellent "beach read".

Night by Elie Wiesel

This short novel about the time Wiesel spent in a concentration camp as a child during the Holocaust is an absolute must-read. Wiesel's Pulitzer Prize winning novel was first published in 1958. It became an Oprah Book Club selection in 2006.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

I read the sweeping novel, by Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy long before Oprah included it as her book club selection. Tolstoy first published Anna Karenina in serial installments between 1873 and 1877. Oprah included the book about the tragic heroine in her book club in 2004. After being named as an Oprah Book Club, selection the book topped the New York Times bestseller list. Tolstoy creates one of the most interesting and complex literary figures with Anna. Anna Karenina remains one of my favorite books of all time.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

If you thought that all classics were difficult and boring reads, you have never read Steinbeck's East of Eden. Steinbeck published his classic "Kane and Abel" story in 1952. Oprah chose the book as one of her book club selections in 2003. This interesting read is very difficult to put down.

House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III

I will not lie to you, this book is depressing (though it is not the most depressing novel on the list). While certainly not an uplifting read, Dubus has managed to weave an interesting and complex story line about the lives of immigrants in America that is different from any offering I have seen before. The book was first published in 1999 and became an Oprah Book Club selection in 2000. The movie based on the book is also very good.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

This is my favorite book by author Barbara Kingsolver. The story of a missionary and his family and their travails in the African Congo is a fast-paced, interesting read. The Poisonwood Bible was first published in 1998 and was an Oprah Book Club selection in 2000.

The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison

If you have read anything by Toni Morrison, you know that her stories are rarely uplifting. The Bluest Eyes is Morrison at her best and most heart wrenching. This is a novel I find still haunting today, with its story of a poor African American girl, raped by her father, who longs for nothing more than to have "blue eyes". The book was published in 1970 and picked as an Oprah Book Club selection in 2000.

White Oleander by Janet Fitch

Janet Fitch's debut novel, may owe its huge success to Oprah Winfrey. The book was published in 1999 and upon publication was selected by Oprah to be part of her book club. Fitch's novel about a young girl, with a murderous mother reads like poetry. This is another novel that is difficult to put down. If you have seen the movie but never read the book, I strongly recommend reading it. The book is so much better than the movie.

The Reader by Bernard Schlink

This 1999 Oprah Book Club selection is another that has been made into a successful film. Schlink's book, which looks at the holocaust from a very different perspective, was first published in Switzerland in 1995. The book starts out slow, but picks up pace midway.

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

I have a copy of Gaines beautiful novel on my bookshelf, where it will remain until I die. In this novel, Gaines brilliantly tells the story of a young man who is sentenced to die. The book was published in 1993 and chosen as an Oprah Book Club selection in 1997. If you are pro death penalty, I urge you to read Gaines beautiful novel.

Sources

http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Complete-List-of-Oprahs-Book-Club-Books/4