Bringing back Oprah's book club

Even though Oprah is no longer doing her show, we wanted to reflect upon her book club, where she would pick a book and encourage everyone to read it. Usually these books were of a more serious or meaningful nature. In honor of her book club, we decided to talk about five books we like that we could have seen her choose and three chick lit novels that are also "book club worthy."

Melissa P:

Books Oprah might have chosen:


"To Have Not" by Frances Lefkowitz: I thought this was a very entertaining, but real story about a woman forced to grow up too soon, and to learn to care for herself at a very young age. Frances tells her story with humor and honesty.


"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows: This was a really easy read for me. I loved that it was written using letters back and forth to one another. The story takes place during the war, but it still leaves you feeling good after you finish it.


"The Senator's Wife" by Sue Miller: This book was interesting because I didn't LOVE it, but I was so intrigued by it. I thought the story was a bit too unrealistic at times, but it was a good book nonetheless.


"Scarlet Feather" by Maeve Binchy: I love Maeve Binchy. I like that her female characters are always funny and they always learn something about themselves and grow.


"The Pilot's Wife" by Anita Shreve This was such a great book. I think I read it in one day. The story is off the wall but I know that stuff like this happens more often than we know. (This one actually was chosen by Oprah in 1999.)

Chick Lit novels Oprah should have chosen:

"Winter Garden" by Kristin Hannah

"Then Came You" by Jennifer Weiner

"Silver Girl" by Elin Hilderbrand

Melissa A:

Books Oprah might have chosen:

"She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb: This book actually was also chosen by Oprah, back in 1997. And for a good reason. It's an amazing novel that has stuck with me ever since I read it in 1998. It was so beautifully told from a woman's perspective that I kept forgetting it was written by a man! It's one of my all-time favorite novels!

"A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini: I also forgot this book was written by a man, as the voices of the two women were so poignant and realistic. This story kept flowing and was impossible to put down. The subject matter was heavy, but it put things into perspective, as well.

"Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden: Another book written about a woman so realistically by a man that I had to keep checking the cover to see who wrote it. I loved this story and got so lost in the world of Sayuri that I would forget to come up for air while reading it. There was a movie made and it was done pretty well, but still not as amazing as the book itself.

"Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert: Ms. Gilbert took me into places I have never been with her descriptions of the locations she visited and the people she met. I couldn’t stop thinking about it after I was done and even had a dream about it! I did not like the movie even half as much as the book though.

"Sarah’s Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay: I am usually hesitant to read novels about the Holocaust and this one is not pretty. However, it makes the horrors feel so accessible that it would be impossible for anyone to deny that the Holocaust really happened. It was both haunting and gripping and the parts that took place in the present day had some chick lit elements too.


Chick Lit novels Oprah should have chosen:

"The Violets of March" by Sarah Jio

"What Alice Forgot" by Liane Moriarty


"Skipping a Beat" by Sarah Pekkanen

Now that you've seen our choices, please share with us which books you think are worthy of Oprah's book club.