I have a love/hate relationship with the idea of celebrity
inspired book clubs. I am a GoodReads friend
of actor Wil Wheaton. He is best known
for his role as Wesley Crusher on Star Trek
the Next Generation and playing himself on the Big Bang Theory. I noticed
that we have similar taste in graphic novels, so I watch for his reviews. However, for me he is just another reviewer
with similar taste in books. I do not
base my reading selection only on his reviews, because he is a celebrity.
My love part of the love/hate relationship is based on my
role as an educator and soon to be master degree librarian. I do not care what you read, as long as you
read. It can be the National Enquirer magazine or War
and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I will not judge you. Celebrities like Oprah Winfrey has created a
book club to encourage people to read.
Here is the URL for her book club http://www.oprah.com/app/books.html.
David Kipen, former director of literature for the National Endowment for the
Arts, states: "Oprah gave America
an excuse to talk about books every couple of months" (Minzesheime, 2011).
Oprah has introduced books to the American public that have soared
in book sales. For example, “Oprah’s
Book Club began in 1996, when Winfrey recommended The Deep End of the
Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard, a novel recounting a child’s kidnapping.
Audiences were immediately captured: In June of that year, only 68,000 copies
of the novel had been printed. By mid-October, when Winfrey discussed the novel
on her show, that number had skyrocketed to 750,000” (Berg, 2016). Did the publisher make money from Oprah’s recommendation? Yes.
Did the author Jacquelyn Mitchard’s popularity soar? Yes. Has Oprah put her name on the cover of books
as an Oprah Book Club selection and in return raised her own popularity? Yes. However, in the end it comes down to two
important factors: Oprah got people who are not readers to read more
books. She also encouraged people to
discuss books.
The hate part of my love/hate relationship of celebrity book
clubs comes down to the realization that some people will read something only
because a celebrity tells them too. They
do not take into consideration if they would like the book or not. I like that Oprah choices different kinds of
books for her book club. However,
because Oprah likes it does not mean that everyone will like it.
I came across a situation recently at work concerning a
celebrity book recommendation. I was
asked by a couple of patrons to order Oprah’s new cook book: Food, Health, and
Happiness: 115 On-Point Recipes for Great Meals and a Better Life (2017). Before the patron requests I checked into the
book. The county already has 9 copies
plus a digital download copy. The book
retails for $35.00. The reviews of the
book are average with many users commenting that the recipes are too involved
with too many ingredients. So, with the
numbers of copies available through the county, the cost, and the just average
reviews I was going to pass on ordering this cook book. However, one day a
patron came to the reference desk complaining that the library still does not
have Oprah’s new cookbook. (The book had only been out for two weeks). I offered to help her find other cookbooks in
the library or recipes online. The patron’s response was “you don’t understand.
I do not want a cook book. I want the
cook book that Oprah recommends”. With
this I realized the power of a celebrity book club, especially with the
celebrity as author. The patron was not
looking for recipes; she was looking for recipes and anecdotes by Oprah. I ordered the book. This patron and many more patrons will
checkout this book only because Oprah's name is
associated with it.
Cited Sources
Berg, M. (2016). With new book club pick, Oprah's still got
the golden touch. Forbes. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2016/08/03/with-new-book-club-pick-oprah-has-still-got-the-golden-touch/#591066b26647
Minzesheimer, B. (2011).
How the ‘Oprah effect’ changed publishing. USA Today.
Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2011-05-22-Oprah-Winfrey-Book-Club_n.htm
Winfrey, O. (2017). Oprah’s book club. Harpo Productions.
Retrieved from http://www.oprah.com/app/books.html
I have similar qualms with Oprah’s Book Club because her influence on today’s society is very prominent on both readers and non-readers. Not everyone that enjoys Oprah will enjoy the books that she recommends with her book club, but I do like that she encourages people to read with the platform that she has for her fans. She does a lot of good with the audience that she has as a celebrity, and I do enjoy the variety of titles so that she can provide books for those who enjoy different genres. I would be intentional to be aware of Oprah’s specific appeal with her audience so that her book club could be a good resource to recommend titles that could be enjoyed by patrons looking for books to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of Oprah's Book Club in that way before. That definitely puts it in a better light. It is a good thing that she encourages people to read. Everyone can benefit from reading. It is a worthwhile and important area to promote.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that she has such a huge following, though, means that she/her administration has a larger responsibility to promote quality books. From reading The Smoking Gun's article on A Million Little Lies, we see that Oprah promoted a memoir that was later found to have many fabrications. She then went on to promote Frey's next book as well, despite this. With that much influence, I think that it is their responsibility to ensure that the nonfiction books they promote are indeed nonfiction.
While it is wonderful that she promotes reading, I think that it should be equally important that she promotes books that are of good quality regardless of what monetary value she will see from them. I am not saying that all of her books are bad picks, but they aren't all good ones either.
I am definitely starting to feel your love/hate relationship with celebrity book clubs.
Rob, I like your love/hate analogy of Oprah's Book Club. Her popularity still astounds me. My branch received two copies of her new cookbook. I laughed and said I should time to see how fast these fly off the shelves. I was rather surprised that we kept one for a couple of days. She definitely got many people across the country reading and sharing her book selections.
ReplyDeleteI was only being negative in my post about Oprah but I guess it's true that it's better people are reading anything than nothing at all. I just hate the fact that people put so much emphasis on what she thinks just because she's a celebrity. Being famous does not make her an expert on many of the books she is promoting.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely have a love/hate relationship with celebrity book clubs as well. Great response! Full points!
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