Oprah's Book Club: Franzen, Mandela, Rumors, And Legacy (PHOTOS)

After 25 years on the air, Oprah's farewell season began this week and on Friday, September 17, the media mogul will announce her final Book Club selection.

Rumors are of course circulating everywhere: Will she pick Nelson Mandela's 'Conversations With Myself'?

Will she forgive Jonathan Franzen's snub when he expressed discomfort at her invitation over 'The Corrections' nine years ago and make his new bestseller, 'Freedom,' the final book club choice? The New York Post thinks so.

We're on pins and needles awaiting word.

Oprah's Book Club, a venerable institution itself, has catapulted authors to stardom and brought attention to horrifying scandals. From Jonathan Franzen to James Frey, from Toni Morrison to Leo Tolstoy, the club has included authors across eras, genres and of many different stripes.

In 2008, Time Magazine wrote:

"The all-powerful Oprah Book Club is not so much a club as a ruthlessly influential marketing vehicle, with the power to fundamentally alter best-seller lists, Amazon rankings and royalty payments."

Overall, there have been 65 books admitted to the club, and the book club has had an interesting history. In preparation for Friday's episode, we've gathered and analyzed information to present the "7 Things You Need To Know Before Friday's Pick":

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Frey's Lies

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James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces" was a fantastic fictional story about addiction and redemption. Too bad Frey pretended it was real. Oprah made millions for Frey, selecting his book in September of 2005. Four months later, following The Smoking Gun's report that the book was a hoax, Frey was back on Oprah's show -- but not as a guest. Instead, she interrogated him, making him admit that he lied and forcing him to reveal which parts of the book were untrue -- including the detail that his girlfriend didn't actually kill herself. "I feel that you betrayed millions of readers," Winfrey said to Frey. Read a transcript of the interview here.

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James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces" was a fantastic fictional story about addiction and redemption. Too bad Frey pretended it was real. Oprah made millions for Frey, selecting his book in September of 2005. Four months later, following The Smoking Gun's report that the book was a hoax, Frey was back on Oprah's show -- but not as a guest. Instead, she interrogated him, making him admit that he lied and forcing him to reveal which parts of the book were untrue -- including the detail that his girlfriend didn't actually kill herself. "I feel that you betrayed millions of readers," Winfrey said to Frey. Read a transcript of the interview here.

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Comments

[Leviathan21]

10:59 PM on 09/16/2010

What a waste of a pick! Don't get me wrong: Freedom is an amazing book. Possibly the best novel to come out in the last 10 years. But, it does not need Oprah's seal of approval to get readers. People will hear about it otherwise. Oprah should choose something that people would not have heard about otherwise.

Sadly, I think this is all about Oprah's ego and the whole it's-the-final-season-so-it-has-to-be-the-best. Having been rebuffed by Franzen once before, she just wants him on the show, so she can prove how generous and magnanimous she is. And, of course, it will generates great ratings. 

[Tom Sutpen]

08:53 AM on 09/17/2010

I'm not a fan of Oprah Winfrey, but what you're talking about here doesn't make her that different from any other broadcaster who's achieved that degree of success. They're all egomaniacs to one degree or another.

[Dharmakitri]

12:47 PM on 09/16/2010

I think it would be AWESOME if Oprah challenged the audience with something a little different for the final book club selection.
How 'bout Mark Z. Danielewski's HOUSE OF LEAVES, China Mieville's THE CITY & THE CITY, Roberto Bolaño's 2666 (one of my favorite books of the past decade), Umberto Eco's FOUCAULT'S PENDULUM or Salman Rushdie's MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN?

[Gabe Habash]

01:24 PM on 09/16/2010

Oh man, House of Leaves is at the top of my to-read list.

[Dharmakitri]

02:00 PM on 09/16/2010

I am not sure if I have ever read a book quite like House of Leaves...it was one of the best reading experiences I think I have had in ages.

[Daws]

11:11 AM on 09/16/2010

This has peaked my interest in "The Corrections". Haven't read any of Frazen's books yet.

[MisteRational]

09:44 AM on 09/16/2010

Really? Pending approval? Come on!!!

[MisteRational]

09:43 AM on 09/16/2010

Franzen is an overhyped hack. I fail to see what the appeal is. I thought "the Corrections" was terrible. A bad book about nasty people who I could not care less about.
i wouldn't waste any more of my life reading him. I would be better off reading Stephen King!
He too may be a hack but at least he is entertaining.

[ex-pat]

10:21 AM on 09/16/2010

Your opinion only... I think he is one of the best contemporary American writers...

[MisteRational]

10:33 AM on 09/16/2010

Your opinion only. I think he is an overrated, unduly hyped , self indulgent hack.

[MisteRational]

10:40 AM on 09/16/2010

Your opinion only. I stand by my statement!

[The Iron Cage]

09:31 AM on 09/16/2010

I think that the headline writer meant "Franzen," not "Franen."

[trweste144]

09:08 AM on 09/16/2010

Cormac McCarthy Stinker? I enjoyed the interview. He's an articulate guy. If the secret of good TV is pretending like you want to be there, that he failed in, too much an introvert. But he had good things to say and Oprah asked fine questions.

[LinAus]

02:16 PM on 09/16/2010

Yes, I thought it was a great interview; I don't know why the reviewer was knocking it.

[Tom Sutpen]

08:57 AM on 09/17/2010

I don't either. I mean, that was the first television interview McCarthy had done in his life. The chances of his being media savvy to the degree the author of this article would approve were nil.

I'd also like to see this clown try to write a sentence the equal of any sentence in 'Blood Meridian' . . . but why humiliate them?

[Norm]

08:46 AM on 09/16/2010

I think it's sad that any writer has to become a media personality to sell books. And if you have crossed Oprah, she can be a bulldog and darned unforgiving. Good luck, Mr. Franzen!

[Dharmakitri]

12:56 PM on 09/16/2010

" And if you have crossed Oprah..."

I have not seen a single episode of Oprah since the episode where she confronted Mr. Frey. I thought she acted like a child (a spoiled, angry child).

Side note: I thought picking Frey's book was pretty ridiculous to begin with...I had picked it up in the book store and was skimming through it and didn't think it was anything that deserved much attention to begin with.

[Hypomaniac]

08:22 AM on 09/16/2010

Haven't read the new one, and admire his non-fiction, but can we all be honest here and acknowledge that Franzen's "The Corrections" was one of the most God-awful, detail-laden, trying-desperately-to-be-relevant books out there?

[kauthon]

08:54 AM on 09/16/2010

I think it was a good meaty book, not a quick read by any means. Sometimes I'm in the mood for that sort of thing. I rather enjoy looking back at it but I can see where your coming. I don't think its a book you reread over and over.

[justanotherbushhater]

10:06 AM on 09/16/2010

It's really question of taste. There's a lot of humor simply because it IS detail-laden and those details reveal an impressive intellect mated with a powerful writing style. "The Corrections" is consistently rated as the top novel of the past ten years by myriad literary critics [see themillions.com ]. Simply put, it's very smart and very funny.