Oprah’s Book Club is a new TV series on recently launched streaming service Apple TV+. The aim of the show is to build a global community of book readers in order to connect with people around the world.
The series has a long history, as it was originally a regular feature on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The original started out airing on a monthly basis in 1996 before going down to between 1 and 4 times a year.
Oprah would introduce a novel she had chosen and recommended her viewers to read. It would be discussed, and sometimes the author would also be on hand to join the conversation.
The show was a success, as demand for the books was huge and publishers realised how much weight a recommendation from Oprah herself carried when it came to book sales.
Many of the books discussed on the show were turned into movies, such as Where the Heart Is, The Reader, A Map of the World and The House of Sand and Fog.
Now, as part of a partnership with Apple, Oprah will be choosing and promoting a new book every two months, and there will be a discussion on Apple TV+ with the author and a small studio audience.
The first selection was announced in September 2019 – the debut novel from journalist and non-fiction author Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Water Dancer. The first episode sees the author interviewed by Oprah in front of an audience in Washington DC.
The novel tells the story of a young man born into slavery on a Virginia plantation. Released in late September, the book quickly became a fiction bestseller.
A new episode of Oprah’s Book Club will be released on Apple TV+ every two months.
Apple TV+ launches on November 1, 2019. It is priced at $4.99 a month after a seven day free trial.
