(2 of 2)
As might be surmised from such numbers, the most urgent question in publishing offices these days is "How can we get Oprah to recommend one of our titles?" Answers Oprah, whose staff has been inundated with books and wheedling entreaties from publishers over the past month or so: "They may as well save their time. This is not something a publisher can influence." Translation: The lady makes the picks herself.
Oprah traces her interest in reading back to her childhood: "I've always loved books. When I was growing up in Mississippi and Nashville, that's all I had. My idea is to reintroduce reading to people who've forgotten it exists." As for the basis of her selections, "I chose these books because they are readable, poignant, thought-provoking. Our audience is predominantly female; all three books I've picked are strong stories with strong women."
Purists, that dwindling literary breed, may scoff: Don't expect Ulysses or Gravity's Rainbow to show up anytime soon on Oprah's Book Club. On the other hand, if Oprah can make books inviting and exciting to nonreaders, who are the purists to complain?
--Reported by David E. Thigpen/New York