Celebrity inspired book clubs have generally had a positive
effect on readers' involvement and the promotion of books and no one has been
more successful than Oprah and her book club. From its inception in 1996 to its
conclusion in 2002, Oprah's book club has been responsible for making reading a
social event. Oprah's popularity ensured
mass appeal of any book she would publicly recommend. Her fan base was mostly female and she had
the ability to find topics to tug at her audiences heart strings by delving
deep into the emotional aspect of the story and the journey the author was
compelled to take when writing the book. No more sitting at home and enjoying a
book alone and savoring every tidbit, now a reader could join a discussion
group and share ideas and thoughts about the author and book that they might
have missed without the connection to other like-minded readers.
According to the article
From Obscurity to Bestseller:
Examining the Impact of Oprah's Book Club Selections the 48 books she chose
to feature became bestsellers almost immediately and "just eleven of the
forty-eight books had been part of the top 150 at some time before Oprah
featured them on her show." Her
popularity was a vehicle to authors to become noticed and widely read. Part of
the appeal is the social connection associated with en masse reading followed
by a group discussion. Oprah's magnetism
as a facilitator ensured prolonged popularity.
Suddenly it became the discussion at the water cooler or whenever women
came together. Book sales increased dramatically once it was endorsed by Oprah. This was a win-win situation where the author
gained recognition along with increased monetary gains. In order to appeal to a
wide ranging audience, Oprah would include a selection of diverse books that
tended to oscillate from easier material to more complex.
The downside to Oprah's book club was that her directed
audience was mostly female. Tapping into the emotional elements of a book tended
to alienate the male population. I
cannot ever remember a man discussing, let alone reading, one of the books on
Oprah's Book Club list even though most of the authors were male. The running
joke was, if it was chosen by Oprah, than it was a "chick" book.
Oprah's book club is still popular and I still receive
requests for her list. The duration and
continued popularity is a credit to her intuition of the needs and desires of
her audience. I give her credit for opening a dialog for many reluctant readers
or readers hard pressed to find time to sit down with a book. It is a good
thing anytime people are excited and are willing openly discuss books and
authors.
Resources:
Butler, R. J., Cowan, B. W., & Nilsson, S. (2005). From
Obscurity to Bestseller: Examining the Impact of Oprah's Book Club Selections. Publishing
Research Quarterly, 20(4), 23-34.
