Art Appreciation: How come there are super start artists on Cruise Ships now?

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Oprah's Legends and youngin Shown on ABC

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After buying a California mansion, Oprah spent beaucoup money renovating it. She hired the best landscape designers that money could facilitate. They designed a bridge for her. Then, with her best friend Gayle, the editor of O, she set out to have a houseful of divas, artists and young women to a grand ball. It was Oprah's style of doing things. None of the guests knew who was coming. Everything was planned. It was truly made for TV. When shown on ABC, the public had a peak at what type of show Oprah put on for her guests. It was one of the best shows that we have ever seen. From the seating to the type of foods served and gifts given, everything was top-notch. Oprah gave diamond presents to her guests.

The Da Vinci Code in Hardback is the Charm, Now Have it in Paperback!

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The Da Vinci Code is now released in paperback. As a marketing ploy to announce the release of the movie by the same name, the publisher of the book decides to release the book in paperback formats. you can get your own copy for $10 or $14.00. It all depends on how much you want to read. The thin copy costs less. The more voluminous one costs more.

Should You Take "The Da Vinci Code" book and movie Seriously?

The Da Vinci Code Book Is a Bestseller. Now The Da Vinci Movie is Coming Out

Here is an interview between apologist Mark Shea and Zenit, a religious publication organization. Apologist Mark Shea and theology professor Ted Sri try to dissect "The Da Vinci Code" in their new book titled, "The Da Vinci Deception." They state that the book has some inaccuracies that purport to threaten the faith of many Christians. The authors' message is not to take the Da Vinci Code book and movie seriously.

"Q: What compelled the writing of this book?

Shea: The short answer is that tens of millions of people have read "The Da Vinci Code" and many have had their faith in Christ and the Catholic Church shaken. This blasphemous book has become a major cultural phenomenon, largely by attacking the very person and mission of Jesus Christ. It must be addressed.

The longer answer is that "The Da Vinci Code" has become the source for what I call "pseudo-knowledge" about the Christian faith.

Pseudo-knowledge is that stuff "everybody knows," such as the "fact" that Humphrey Bogart said "Play it again, Sam" -- except he didn't. Pseudo-knowledge doesn't matter much when the issue is the script of "Casablanca."

It matters greatly when it adversely affects the most sacred beliefs of a billion people, and when it levels the charge that the Catholic Church is essentially a vast "Murder Incorporated" network founded on maintaining the lie of Jesus' divinity and resurrection.

When that happens, very nasty genies get let out of bottles, as when the lies recorded by 19th-century czarist secret police forgers in the "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion" became the basis for what "everybody knew" about the Jews in the terrible anti-Semitic persecutions of the 20th century.

"The Da Vinci Code" has sold close to 30 million copies. In May, it will appear as a major film and will acquire even more unquestioned authority among millions of historically and theologically illiterate viewers -- unless Christians state the facts and help viewers recognize just how badly they've been had.

Please read the rest of this interview at Word Press by Oprahbookclubfans










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Oprah said she was duped by author of "A Million Little Pieces" and Brought Him to Answer

Oprah saved her brand. She confessed she was duped by James Frey who sprinkled his bestseller with lies and untruths. Thanks to the smokinggun.com investigative report, the buying public found the truth about this author's book category. It is supposed to be a work of fiction instead of a memoir. Oprah was supporting him until she found out that the guy lied to her and her producers. She called him back to the show to can him. She wanted him to fix the broken trust readers such as her had placed in him. Now people are wondering whether James Frey has a new book in him. He may want to confess in this one and relate his rise to the bestseller list.





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XM Radio Signs New Programming Contract with Oprah:

Oprah is lending a hand to XM Satellite Radio. she will start "Oprah & Friends," a satellite radio channel on XM soon. The program will come from a brand new XM studio based at Harpo

Harpo Radio, Inc. and XM Satellite Radio, the nation's leading satellite radio company with more than 6 million subscribers, today announced an exclusive, three-year agreement to launch "Oprah & Friends," a satellite radio channel on XM. "Oprah & Friends" will debut in September 2006 and will feature a broad range of original programming from Harpo Radio, Inc., including regular segments hosted by popular personalities from "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and O, The Oprah Magazine and an exclusive original weekly reality radio show with Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King. The channel will be broadcast from a new state-of-the-art XM studio at Harpo Studios in Chicago.

The "Oprah & Friends" channel will feature original daily programming on a variety of topics including nutrition, fitness, health, self improvement, home, and current events from popular "Oprah" personalities, including Bob Greene, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Robin Smith, Marianne Williamson, Nate Berkus, and Gayle King.

"Together with my friends, we look forward to creating programming that will entertain, inform and inspire our listening audience on XM," said Oprah Winfrey.

"Oprah Winfrey is a prolific force in our culture whose unprecedented achievements in television, film, publishing and philanthropy will bring an amazing radio experience to the XM nation of subscribers. We are proud to welcome Oprah and her talented team to the XM family," said Hugh Panero, President and Chief Executive Officer, XM Satellite Radio. "'Oprah & Friends' is a testament to XM's unwavering commitment to provide our diverse subscriber base with the kind of smart, high-quality programming that makes a difference in their lives."


XM and Sirius are locked in a fierce competition to sign up programming and new subscribers as they both strive to reach profitability. Each service costs about $13 a month and offers dozens of channels of commercial-free music as well as other channels of talk and news.

XM, which is based in Washington, D.C., is the larger of the two, with more than 6 million subscribers, while the New York-based Sirius has more than 3 million.




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Oprah Spoke on Larry King Live, and the James Frey's A Million Little Pieces Controversy Dies Down

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We have just published a new article on the statements made by Oprah who called the Larry King Live Show last night. More than anybody in the book industry, publishers, writers and readers, Oprah's statements had some weight. From now on, the Smoking Gun story may die out.

One Million Little Pieces to Pick Up: The Boiling Controversy over Fact

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It seems that all the pieces do not add up for the book selected by Oprah Book Club. Now James Frey has to defend his protector. He is appearing on shows and news media to tell his readers that the truth unveiled in his book is what it is. Critics are asking whether he embellished his story or whether they are reading a work of fiction instead of fact. No matter what, by selecting the book as her book club book of the month, Oprah has made it possible for him to sell millions of this book.

Now will there be a backlash from the readers who may think they are duped by the author? He may become a-one-book author. Now we have to see what Oprah's reactions are going to be. Will she make a statement on the burgeoning controversy? When ABC, NBC, CBS and various news cable outlets are broadcasting the same thing, there may be something there. Then, the blogs will run wild with the revelations.

Only time will tell! To read more articles, go to Podshoppingblog or Promquinceneradresses

Top 2005 Books You Must Read, Can Give as Gifts

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Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie is published by Random House.

Saturday by Ian McEwan is published by Nan A. Talese.

The Cartier Project by Miha Mzini is published by Scala House

A Feast for Crows by Greorge R.R. Martin is published by Bantam.

The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch is published by Bloomsburry.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is published by Knopf.

Puff by Bob Flaherty is published by Harper Perennial

A Slight Trick of the Mind by Mitch Cullin is published by Nan A. Talese.

Everying She Thought She Wanted by Elizabeth Buchan is published by Viking.

Articles of War by Nick Arvin is published by Doubleday

Other books you want to read are the Da Vinci Code, Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince.

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Who wants to play Winners and Losers? Based on the complete list of nominees for the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, which will be presented Feb. 8
in Los Angeles, we can predict some winners:

1. Record of the Year:

"We Belong Together," Mariah Carey

"Feel Good Inc.," Gorillaz featuring De La Soul

"Boulevard of Broken Dreams," Green Day

"Hollaback Girl," Gwen Stefani

"Gold Digger," Kanye West

Predicted Winner: Mariah Carey for We Belong Together

2. Album of the Year:

The Emancipation of Mimi, Mariah Carey
Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Paul McCartney
Love. Angel. Music. Baby., Gwen Stefani
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2
Late Registration, Kanye West

Predicted Winner: Mariah Carey for the Emanciapation of Mimi

3. Song of the Year:

"Bless the Broken Road," Bobby Boyd, Jeff Hanna and
Marcus Hummon (Rascal Flatts)
"Devils & Dust," Bruce Springsteen (Bruce Springsteen)
"Ordinary People," W. Adams and J. Stephens (John
Legend)
"Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," U2 (U2)
"We Belong Together," J. Austin, M. Carey, J. Dupri
and M. Seal (Mariah Carey)

Predicted Winner: U2 for Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own

4. New Artist:

Ciara
Fall Out Boy
Keane
John Legend
Sugarland

Predicted Winner: Fall Out Boy

5. Female Pop Vocal Performance: "It's Like That,"
Mariah Carey
"Since U Been Gone," Kelly Clarkson
"Good is Good," Sheryl Crow
"I Will Not Be Broken," Bonnie Raitt
"Hollaback Girl," Gwen Stefani

Predicted Winner: Kelly Clarkson for Since U Been Gone

6. Male Pop Vocal Performance

"Sitting, Waiting, Wishing," Jack Johnson
"Fine Line," Paul McCartney
"Walk on By," Seal
"Lonely No More," Rob Thomas
"From the Bottom of My Heart," Stevie Wonder

Predicted Winner: Paul McCartney for Fine Line

7. Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal:

"Don't Lie," Black Eyed Peas
"Mr. Brightside," The Killers
"More than Love," Los Lonely Boys
"This Love," Maroon 5
"My Doorbell," The White Stripes

Predicted Winner: The Killers for Mr Brightside

8. Pop Collaboration with Vocals

"Gone Going," Black Eyed Peas and Jack Johnson
"Virginia Moon," Foo Fighters featuring Norah Jones
"Feel Good Inc.," Gorillaz featuring De La Soul
"A Song for You," Herbie Hancock featuring Christina
Aguilera
"A Time to Love," Stevie Wonder featuring India.Arie

Predicted Winner: Gorillaz for Feel Good Inc

9. Pop Instrumental Performance:

"In Our Time," Burt Bacharach and Chris Botti
"T-Jam," George Duke
"Gelo Na Montanha," Herbie Hancock featuring Trey
Anastasio
"Agave," Daniel Lanois
"Caravan," Les Paul

Predicted Winner: Burt Bacharach for In Our Time

10. Pop Instrumental Album:

At This Time, Burt Bacharach
Bloom, Eric Johnson
Naked Guitar, Earl Klugh
Belladonna, Daniel Lanois
Flipside, Jeff Lorber

Predicted Winner: Burt Bacharach for At This Time

11. Pop Vocal Album

Extraordinary Machine, Fiona Apple
Breakaway, Kelly Clarkson
Wildflower, Sheryl Crow
Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Paul McCartney
Love. Angel. Music. Baby., Gwen Stefani

Predicted Winner: Sheryl Crow for Wildflower

12. Dance Recording

"Galvanize," The Chemical Brothers
"Say Hello," Deep Dish
"Wonderful Night," Fatboy Slim and Lateef
"Daft Punk is Playing at My House," LCD Soundsystem
"I Believe in You," Kylie Minogue
"Guilt is a Useless Emotion," New Order

Predicted Winner: The Chemical Brothers for Galvanize

13. Electronic/Dance Album:

Push the Button, The Chemical Brothers
Human After All, Daft Punk
Palookaville, Fatboy Slim
Minimum-Maximum, Kraftwerk
LCD Soundsystem, LCD Soundsystem

Predicted Winner: The Chemical Brothers for Push the Button

14. Traditional Pop Vocal Album

The Art of Romance, Tony Bennett
It's Time, Michael Bublé
Isn't It Romantic, Johnny Mathis
Moonlight Serenade, Carly Simon
Thanks for the Memory...The Great American Songbook
Volume IV, Rod Stewart

Predicted Winner: Rod Stewart for Volume IV

15. Solo Rock Vocal Performance:

"Revolution," Eric Clapton
"Shine It All Around," Robert Plant
"Devils & Dust," Bruce Springsteen
"This is How a Heart Breaks," Rob Thomas
"The Painter," Neil Young

Predicted Winner: Bruce Springsteen for Devils & Dust

16. Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals

"Speed of Sound," Coldplay
"Best of You," Foo Fighters
"Do You Want To," Franz Ferdinand
"All These Things That I've Done," The Killers
"Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," U2

Predicted Winner: Coldplay for Speed of Sound

17. Hard Rock Performance:

"Doesn't Remind Me," Audioslave
"The Hand That Feeds," Nine Inch Nails
"Tin Pan Valley," Robert Plant
"Little Sister," Queens of the Stone Age
"B.Y.O.B.," System of a Down

Predicted Winner: Nine Inch Nails for The Hand That Feeds

18. Metal Performance

"The Great Satan," Ministry
"Determined," Mudvayne
"Mein Teil," Rammstein
"What Drives the Weak," Shadows Fall
"Before I Forget," Slipknot

Predicted Winner: Slipknot for Before I Forget

19. Rock Instrumental Performance

"Beat Box Guitar," Adrian Belew
"Birds of Prey," Stewart Copeland
"69 Freedom Special," Les Paul & Friends
"Mercy," Joe Perry
"Lotus Feet," Steve Vai

Predicted Winner: Les Paul & Friends for Birds of Prey

20. Rock Song

"Best of You," Foo Fighters (Foo Fighters)
"Beverly Hills," Rivers Cuomo (Weezer)
"City of Blinding Lights," U2 (U2)
"Devils & Dust," Bruce Springsteen (Bruce Springsteen)
"Speed of Sound," Guy Berryman, Jon Buckland, Will
Champion and Chris Martin (Coldplay)

Predicted Winner: U2 for City of Blinding Lights

21. Rock Album

X&Y, Coldplay
In Your Honor, Foo Fighters
A Bigger Bang, The Rolling Stones
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2
Prairie Wind, Neil Young

Predicted Winner: A Bigger Bang

22. Alternative Music Album

Funeral, The Arcade Fire
Guero, Beck
Plans, Death Cab for Cutie
You Could Have It So Much Better, Franz Ferdinand
Get Behind Me Satan, The White Stripes

Predicted Winner: The White Stripes for Get Behind Me Satan

23. Female R&B Vocal Performance

"1 Thing," Amerie
"Wishing on a Star," Beyoncé
"We Belong Together," Mariah Carey
"Free Yourself," Fantasia
"Unbreakable," Alicia Keys

Predicted Winner: Fantasia for Free Yourself

24. Male R&B Vocal Performance

"Creepin'," Jamie Foxx
"Ordinary People," John Legend
"Let Me Love You," Mario
"Superstar," Usher
"So What the Fuss," Stevie Wonder

Predicted Winner: John Legend for Ordinary People

25. R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals

"So Amazing," Beyoncé and Stevie Wonder
"Cater 2 U," Destiny's Child
"If This World Were Mine," Alicia Keys Featuring
Jermaine Paul
"So High," John Legend Featuring Lauryn Hill
"How Will I Know," Stevie Wonder Featuring Aisha
Morris

Predicted Winner: Beyonce and Stevie Wonder for So Amazing

26. Traditional R&B Vocal Performance

"Mine Again," Mariah Carey
"Summertime," Fantasia
"A House Is Not a Home," Aretha Franklin
"If I Was Your Woman," Alicia Keys
"Stay with You," John Legend

Predicted Winner: Alicia Keys for If I was Your Woman

27. Urban/Alternative Performance

"SupaStar," Floetry
"Dirty Harry," Gorillaz
"Dust," Van Hunt
"Welcome to Jamrock," Damian Marley
"Ghetto Rock," Mos Def

Predicted Winner: Gorillas for Dirty Harry

28. R&B Song

"Cater 2 U," Rodney Jerkins, Beyonc‚ Knowles, Ricky
Lewis, Kelly Rowland, Robert Waller and Michelle
Williams (Destiny's Child)
"Free Yourself," Craig Brockman, Missy Elliott and
Nisan Stewart (Fantasia)
"Ordinary People," W. Adams and J. Stephens (John
Legend)
"Unbreakable," Garry Glenn, Alicia Keys, Harold Lily
and Kanye West (Alicia Keys)
"We Belong Together," J. Austin, M. Carey, J. Dupri
and M. Seal (Mariah Carey)

Predicted Winner: mariah Carey for We Belong Together

29. R&B Album

Illumination, Earth, Wind and Fire
Free Yourself, Fantasia
Unplugged, Alicia Keys
Get Lifted, John Legend
A Time to Love, Stevie Wonder

Predicted Winner: Earth, Wind and Fire for Illumination

30. Contemporary R&B Album

Touch, Amerie
The Emancipation of Mimi, Mariah Carey
Destiny Fulfilled, Destiny's Child
Turning Point, Mario
O, Omarion

Predicted Winner: Mario for Turning Point

31. Rap Solo Performance. Get the rest of the list at PodSpaceNow Presents OurSpaceMusic: Elegant Prom & Quincenera Dresses

When will David Letterman Appear on Oprah? Can He Do It without Crying, Sobbing?

Now that Oprah has appeared on the David Letterman show, the ball is in his hand. It remains to be seen whether he will show up. For a few months, he has been making fun about what will happen to him if he goes. He jokes that Oprah will make her cry like a baby.

Talking about Oprah, she announced that she will go to Africa for the holidays. She wants to reconnect with the people she has been helping on the African continent. Before she goes away on vacation, she has work to do for the Color Purple, the musical. She does not waste any opportunity to talk about the musical. If it does not succeed, it's not her fault. Talking about the show, Julia Roberts sent her the biggest bouquet of flowers for the opening of the musical. Julia who is the mother of twins has her own gig too. She was recently found to be the highest paid actress commanding easily $20 million. Not bad for a new mom! The two women are good friends. It's all about love.

Oprah is Presenting The Color Purple; She Made Up with David Letterman

Once again, Oprah's magic brought a golden audience to the David Letterman show the other night. For a long time, David Letterman has been joking about a 'so-called' feud between him and Oprah. He finally got his wish when Oprah agreed to appear on his show. It was quite a coincidence that the night she appeared on the show, Oprah Presents The Color Purple, a musical, was scheduled to open on Broadway. Well, as you might guess, it was a win-win situation for everybody involved. Oprah had asked the producer of the musical how she could help him. That's one way that Oprah can capitalize on her popularity and leadership to get people to do things.

Was there truly a feud between the two entertainment giants? Please read the rest of this article here.

A Million Little Pieces, Oprah's Book Club Selection

Ah! The difference of Oprah's seal on the book. It's the difference of before her selection and after it was picked and marketed to millions of fans and readers. James Frey, author of "A Million Little Pieces" must be a happy guy. So must his mother and wife be! This book is an autobiography. It's about his addiction to alcohol and crack that almost killed him. He wrote the book from the inside out. He said that he had never seen a book or a movie that got the problems of addiction to alcohol and crack right. "I hadn't ever read a book or seen movies or television that got addiction right. A lot of times people try to blame other people for their problems or try to romanticize addiction. I don't believe most addicts are victims of anything but themselves."

The magic of Oprah works this way. If you have a bestseller, she can make it into a supper bestseller! I hope she can make my husband's books into a bestseller too.

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William Bennett's Books and Black Babies: Crime Reduction

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Do abortions contribute to the lowering of the crime rate in this country? This question was being debated in Slate Magazine six yers ago by Dr. Steven D. Levitt, author of "Freakonomics" that became a bestseller. But now we may have an answer from a well-known source. Let's say it's a troubling one. It makes us ask the questions of whether these talk show formats are conducive to the discussion of such hardcore issues as race, abortions etc.

Author of many books including the 1993 best seller "The Book of Virtues," former education secretary in the Reagan administration, former director of drug policy during George H.W. Bush's administration, and current talk show host, William Bennett, is a well-known public figure. He talked about the potential of reducing crime by aborting all black children.

"I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down," radio talk show host Bennett said in his broadcast.
"That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do but your crime rate wuld go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky."

William Bennett tried to defend his position. "I was pointing out that abortion should not be opposed for economic reasons, any more than racism or, for that matter, slavery or segregation should be supported or opposed for economic reasons." He went on to say that "immoral policies are wrong because they are wrong, not because of an economic calculation. One could just as easily have said you could abort all children and prevent all crime to show the absurdity of the proposition."

When somebody like Bennett says things like that even in an attempt to make a point, people tend to get surprised by some type of revelations. Does this go back to the old plan repatriating all Black people to Africa. Already, as a country, we are dealing with issues of mistrust and people who think others have hidden agenda. When the common, ordinary, uncultured man hears such statements, he'll start being panicked and worried that his offsprings may be exterminated in some type of modern-day apartheid. Even South Africa did not get to that point. Little by little, these types of public statements erode the foundation of respect for the person of color or Black man and woman. In a case of emergency as revealed by Katrina, the slow, sleeping indifference may manifest itself into inactions by those who are called to provide services to everybody regardless of skin color, staggering statistics of crime, birth rate, past history.

Now, maybe the format was not appropriate to get into these kinds of issues. Will Bennett lose his talk show? We doubt it. We are sure people will pay closer attention now. The worst thing about it is that he may end up getting more listeners as a result of this brouhaha.

List of books Selected by Oprah Book Club

The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck (2004)
Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy (2004)
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers (2004)
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez (2004)
Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton (2003)
East of Eden, John Steinbeck (2003)
Sula, Toni Morrison (April 2002)
Fall on Your Knees, Ann-Marie MacDonald (January 2002)
A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry (November 2001)
The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (September 2001)(Selected and de-selected)
Cane River, Lalita Tademy (June 2001)
Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail, Malika Oufkir (May 2001)
Icy Sparks, Gwyn Hyman Rubio (March 2001)
We Were the Mulvaneys, Joyce Carol Oates (January 2001)
House of Sand and Fog, Andre Dubus III (November 2000)
Drowning Ruth, Christina Schwarz (September 2000)
The Deep End of the Ocean, Jacquelyn Mitchard (September 2000)
Open House, Elizabeth Berg (August 2000)
The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (June 2000)
While I Was Gone, Sue Miller (May 2000)
The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison (April 2000)
Back Roads, Tawni O'Dell (March 2000)
Daughter of Fortune, Isabel Allende (February, 2000)
Gap Creek, Robert Morgan (January 2000)
A Map of the World, Jane Hamilton (December 1999)
Vinegar Hill, A. Manette Ansay (November 1999)
River, Cross My Heart, Breena Clarke (October 1999)

===============================================

Tara Road, Maeve Binchy (September 1999)
Mother of Pearl, Melinda Haynes (June 1999)
White Oleander, Janet Fitch (May 1999)
The Pilot's Wife, Anita Shreve (March 1999)
The Reader, Bernhard Schlink (February 1999)
Jewel, Bret Lott (January 1999)
Where the Heart Is, Billie Letts (December 1998)
Midwives, Chris Bohjalian (October 1998)
What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day, Pearl Cleage (September 1998)
Breath, Eyes, Memory, Edwidge Danticat (June 1998)
I Know This Much is True, Wally Lamb (June 1998)
Black and Blue, Anna Quindlen (April 1998)
Here on Earth, Alice Hoffman (March 1998)
Paradise, Toni Morrison (January 1998)
The Treasure Hunt, Bill Cosby (December 1997)
The Best Way to Play, Bill Cosby (December 1997)
The Meanest Thing to Say, Bill Cosby (December 1997)
A Virtuous Woman, Kaye Gibbons (October 1997)
Ellen Foster, Kaye Gibbons (October 1997)
A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines (September 1997)
Songs in Ordinary Time, Mary McGarry Morris (June 1997)
The Heart of a Woman, Maya Angelou (May 1997)
The Rapture of Canaan, Sheri Reynolds (April 1997)
Stones From the River, Ursula Hegi (February 1997)
She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb (January 1997)
The Book of Ruth, Jane Hamilton (November 1996)
Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison (October 1996)

The Book That Almost Broke The Book Club: It Stopped The Dinner Party

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen.

The story is essentially a year in the life of the Lambert family: Enid, Alfred, and their grown children Gary, Chip, and Denise. The live in the Midwest, in the city of St. Jude -- that’s right, the patron saint of lost causes. The family seems normal, almost bland. Alfred was an engineer, Chip was a professor, Denise was a chef. Did you notice I said “was”? Each one has slipped the bonds of their career, some not by choice.
"Jonathan Franzen will not be on the Oprah Winfrey show because he is seemingly uncomfortable and conflicted about being chosen as a book club selection," Ms. Winfrey said in a recent statement.

"I'm a Midwesterner, and I'm eager to please," Franzen, 42, told the Chicago Tribune in a telephone interview from his New York apartment. "To find myself identified with an arrogant New York literary contingent makes me feel very misunderstood," he said.
Ms. Winfrey's choice of The Corrections for her club was announced Sept. 24 and Franzen had been expected to appear on her show in the next few weeks.
Franzen said he had considered turning down the pick, which virtually guarantees hundreds of thousands of sales. He said he was concerned about having the Oprah logo on the cover
Here’s what a reviewer wrote about The Corrections when it was selected by Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club. It seems that Jonathan has lost his chance. One may wonder why Oprah does not let her book club idea die out. Maybe she wants to show her critics that she still has the power to sell books. She can rely on her community to buy the books she recommends.

“(But note: chances have improved considerably with the 24 September 2001 selection of this title for Oprah’s book club, apparently a huge sales-booster which means the book will likely reach at least some of the audience it should. Good for Oprah ! Good for America !)
(Please note: chances have now evaporated, after Jonathan Franzen made a number of clearly ill-advised remarks about Oprah ! and her book club, leaving the public with the impression that he is an arrogant, smug "literary" type who looks down upon the (common) reader. Thin-skinned Oprah promptly uninvited and de-selected him and his book on 22 October 2001, announcing that "Jonathan Franzen will not be on The Oprah Winfrey Show because he is seemingly uncomfortable and conflicted about being chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection" -- rather than having him on and taking him to task for (or at least exploring) his remarks and discussing the roots of the conflicts she perceives.
It is a ridiculous situation, and it has been handled badly by all involved -- with Franzen and all semi-serious literature getting the brunt of the often unfair criticism. Curiously, practically no one thinks Oprah has done anything wrong, though of course she has: the only thing that counts is the book, and the quality and the significance of book has nothing to do with its author, no matter how rude and obnoxious and arrogant he might be. Oprah can, of course, do anything she wants on her show, but she seemed to sincerely believe that The Corrections was worthy of the attention of her audience -- and she was right. Her act now seems to imply that she doesn't care about writing and reading at all, that she is only interested, like so many others, in the cult of the author. It is the personality behind the book, not the words between the covers that she apparently wanted to share with her audience (as is perhaps appropriate for a TV personality). Too bad: great literature is often written by really obnoxious, unpleasant people (who are often not particularly media-savvy). The photogenic and docile Franzen was an unlikely candidate to provoke Oprah's ire -- someone who looks the part for the publicity tour and is plugging what is actually a decent book -- but he did, with a venegeance.
Franzen may be embarrassed, but he is certainly making enough with the book (benefiting from even this relatively bad publicity). And Oprah is -- as we see by the reactions to this affair -- essentially untouchable. The real losers ? The reading public -- especially the broader public which usually wouldn't come across such a title (but which is the audience that should be reading the book), generously made aware of it by Oprah. But now Oprah has set them against it -- and tarred all serious fiction (and all books written by snobby authors) with one broad brush. Too bad for America !)”


What does it mean to be selected by Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club in terms of sales?

“Oprah's Book Club is -- make that: was -- one of the rare instances of any significant time on any popular television programme in the United States being devoted to literature in any form. Oprah's selection is also the single most anticipated event in American publishing. Being selected for Oprah's Book Club is an instant and absolute guarantee of an increase in sales in the hundreds of thousands. Any book that previously had not sold exceptionally well is instantly lifted to bestsellerdom. (In the United States, for works of fiction, no prize can claim to be anywhere near as influential in boosting sales -- sales of The Corrections barely budged after it won the supposedly prestigious National Book Award, for example. As prime movers of works of fiction the French have the Goncourt, the Brits have the Booker, the Americans have Oprah. Draw your own conclusion.)
Franzen was well aware of what it meant for his book to be chosen by Oprah.”

What other reviewers are saying:

"The best American novel published to date this year." --St. LouisPost-Dispatch
"More engaging and readable than other chilly magnum opuses in the same league . . . Unlike his Big Book peers, [Franzen] wants things tidy -- not in the middle, maybe, but at the end. The chaos-theory math wizards of antimatter fiction don't often show such good manners, such politeness, and it's touching to find it here. Not just dazzle --warmth." --GQ Magazine
"Agreeably accessible, . . . poised halfway between postmodern chic and plain old-fashioned storytelling. It sucks you into the vortex of family life, the whirling blend of happy and unhappy; it lands you in the sticky goo of mingled love and hate. What Mr. Franzen does -- brilliantly -- is to risk sentimentality to get at emotional truth." --Adam Begley, New York Observer
"[The Corrections is] Franzen's most autobiographical novel, his most engrossing (do not be surprised to find yourself trying to read it all in one sitting), and, stylistically, his most lyrical. In its gorgeous, sweeping scope and the sympathy of its tone, it owes more to Tolstoy than to Pynchon, but ultimately the novel offers up pleasures that are utterly Franzenian; a sense of exhilaration permeates The Corrections, which is, in part, the exhilaration of a writer who has broken free of his masters." --Poets and Writers
"Funny and deeply sad, large-hearted and merciless, The Corrections is a testament to the range and depth of pleasures great fiction affords." --David Foster Wallace
"Jonathan Franzen has built a powerful novel out of the swarming consciousness of a marriage, a family, a whole culture -- our culture. And he has done it with sympathy and expansiveness that bend the edgy modern temper to a generous breadth of vision." --Don DeLillo
"In its complexity, its scrutinizing and utterly unsentimental humanity, and its grasp of the subtle relationships between domestic drama and global events, The Corrections stands in the company of Mann's Buddenbrooks and DeLillo's White Noise. It is a major accomplishment." --Michael Cunningham
"Jonathan Franzen's novel The Corrections is the brightest, boldest, and most ambitious novel I've read in many years. With this dazzling work, Franzen gives notice that from now on, he is only going to hunt with the big cats." --Pat Conroy
To get more information on The Corrections, go to bookreporter.com and complete-review.com.

Thanks, Oprah, for bringing back the Book Club!

Books Selected by Oprah Winfrey's Book Club

The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck (2004)
Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy (2004)
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers (2004)
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez (2004)
Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton (2003)
East of Eden, John Steinbeck (2003)
Sula, Toni Morrison (April 2002)
Fall on Your Knees, Ann-Marie MacDonald (January 2002)
A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry (November 2001)
The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (September 2001)
Cane River, Lalita Tademy (June 2001)
Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail, Malika Oufkir (May 2001)
Icy Sparks, Gwyn Hyman Rubio (March 2001)
We Were the Mulvaneys, Joyce Carol Oates (January 2001)
House of Sand and Fog, Andre Dubus III (November 2000)
Drowning Ruth, Christina Schwarz (September 2000)
The Deep End of the Ocean, Jacquelyn Mitchard (September 2000)
Open House, Elizabeth Berg (August 2000)
The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (June 2000)
While I Was Gone, Sue Miller (May 2000)
The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison (April 2000)
Back Roads, Tawni O'Dell (March 2000)
Daughter of Fortune, Isabel Allende (February, 2000)
Gap Creek, Robert Morgan (January 2000)
A Map of the World, Jane Hamilton (December 1999)
Vinegar Hill, A. Manette Ansay (November 1999)
River, Cross My Heart, Breena Clarke (October 1999)

Welcome to Oprah book club fan: The True Oprah Fan Club

Let's celebrate the return of Oprah's book club list!


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