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.

Oprah's Book Club Apple TV Plus
(Picture: Apple TV+)

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.

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