Oprah Winfrey读书俱乐部

卜布 · 19-11-09 Thu 9:01 am

在《书海泛舟》若不提及Oprah Winfrey和她的读书俱乐部以及所推荐的书，似乎少了点什么似的。

歐普拉如何改變了美國人的閱讀方式

歐普拉‧溫芙蕾（Oprah Winfrey）於1954年出生在美國種族歧視很嚴重的密西西比州，母親是一個黑人未婚少女。歐普拉的童年很艱難，六歲以前，由祖母在鄉下撫養。六歲起，跟母親一起生活在密爾瓦基（Milwaukee）。這期間，歐普拉受到不少虐待和性騷擾，十三歲離家出走，被送到少年收容所；收容所客滿，就被送到在田納西納許維爾（Nashville）的父親身邊。儘管有了父愛，她的生活依然很坎坷：吸毒、叛逆，以及自己早產嬰兒的死亡。父親很嚴格，對歐普拉期望也很高，要求她每周讀一本書，並寫一篇讀書報告。

歐普拉十七歲開始播音生涯，靠獎學金，進入田納西州立大學學習，並獲演說和表演藝術學士學位。

讓美國人重新開始讀書

如今，歐普拉是美國最紅的脫口秀主持人，有世界各地的觀眾幾百萬，被《時代》雜誌選為二十世紀最有影響的百人之一。按富比士（Forbes）雜誌的資料，歐普拉是第一黑人億萬富婆，有私有資產十二億美金。

從一個黑人窮學生到當紅的脫口秀女皇和億萬富婆，是一個很典型的成功了的美國夢。成功人士用自己的智慧和財富回饋社會是美國的傳統。當年卡內基捐出大筆錢，在美國各地建造公共圖書館，讓窮人、富人都有讀書的機會。歐普拉做過很多其他慈善事業，這裡要講的是她在自己的節目裡建立的讀書俱樂部，讓數以百萬計的人拿起書，閱讀、欣賞、思考。毫不誇張地說，歐普拉的讀書俱樂部改變了美國人的閱讀方式，並引起了美國的一場閱讀革命。

歐普拉的讀書俱樂部成立於1996年，當時美國有大大小小的讀書俱樂部二十五萬個。三年以後，美國有五十萬個讀書俱樂部。歐普拉讀書俱樂部推薦的圖書，無一例外地都在一夜之間成為全美暢銷書。成千上萬高中畢業後沒有再讀過小說的人，又開始閱讀了。

歐普拉成立讀書俱樂部的動機很簡單：她自己喜歡讀書，每個周末平均都要讀三本書。有這樣的讀書背景，歐普拉有見識、有能力，在觀眾面前表現出的非凡才能和回答問題時的自然風格，也就不足為奇了。但歐普拉並沒有停留在這裡，她想做的是把自己讀書的喜悅與觀眾分享。從1996年九月開始，她每個月選擇一本書向觀眾介紹，她和大家一同閱讀討論，並請作者親自來節目中與讀者交流。她提出的口號是「讓美國人重新開始讀書」（to get America reading again）。

沒有說讓美國人讀書，而是說「重新」讀書，因為從美國早期到上世紀初，美國人本來就有讀小說的傳統。每月讀書俱樂部（The Book-of-the-Mouth Club）成立於1926年，本來是面向受過良好教育的人的，剛開始只有4750個訂戶，到了第二年年底，訂戶達到六萬，1928年，訂戶接近十萬。通過讀小說，大量的民眾成為比較有教養的人，這也是美國二十世紀初出現大量中產階級的一大特徵。

歐普拉在印第安納家裡有大量書籍，童妮‧摩里森（Toni Morrison）說，「除了作家家裡，我很少看到有那麼多書的家。她是個真讀書人，書不是她的裝飾品。」歐普拉想用她的脫口秀節目談許多社會問題，以及幫助別人自我完善，「盡我所能改變人們的生活」，這些，自然就跟她喜歡的書聯繫起來了，因為書有同樣的功能。

男人自己悶著頭讀，女人喜歡討論

歐普拉的節目都是在白天播出的，大部分觀眾都是家庭婦女。研究顯示，婦女很愛讀小說，男人們喜歡自己悶著頭讀書，女人則喜歡跟別人討論。她的讀書俱樂部把眾多的人聯繫起來，一起談論她們讀的書。大概這也是歐普拉的讀書俱樂部如此成功的原因吧。

從一開始歐普拉讀書俱樂部就有兩個目標：娛樂與教育。歐普拉要求自己的觀眾不僅僅要讀書，而且要用評論家的眼光去讀、去欣賞。她認為，這樣讀書，可以提高讀者的水平，改善讀者的生活品質。

由於歐普拉的觀眾大都是女性，所以她選的大部分小說，作者都是女性。小說的主題，絕大多數是關於女性的，或者家庭的。她自己是黑人，沒有忘記自己的根，所以，黑人作家也占了很多。

歐普拉讀書俱樂部選的書都是她自己讀過並真正喜歡的。被她選中的書，無一沒上《紐約時報》的暢銷書榜。平均說來，歐普拉選的書在《紐約時報》暢銷書榜上十五周之久。童妮‧摩里森的《索羅門之歌》出版以來，每年賣掉五萬本左右，1996年十一月被歐普拉選為讀書俱樂部的閱讀小說，僅一個多月，《索羅門之歌》就賣出五十萬本，而且這本小說一直在暢銷書榜上十六周。人們稱這為「歐普拉效應」。這種效應，給出版業帶來巨大的商業價值，但歐普拉並沒有從出版商那裡要一分錢，她的唯一要求是，出版商捐一萬本被選中的書到各地公共圖書館。

說起「歐普拉效應」，有人曾開玩笑說，「她就是推薦電話號碼簿，人們也會去讀。」每本書，經過她的推薦，平均會賣出一百萬本，如果一半的買書人讀完了的話，也有五十萬人讀過。世界上沒有第二個人會有這麼大的影響力。

也推薦嚴肅文學作品

許多學究認為真正嚴肅的文學作品是不能被大多數人欣賞的，但歐普拉持相反觀點。她推薦的書，有比較通俗的，也有很嚴肅的文學作品，因為她希望觀眾會喜歡她自己喜歡的作品。喬納森‧弗倫岑（Jonathan Franzen）是美國著名的小說家和文學評論家，1996年發表評論，說美國如今越來越少的人讀嚴肅的文學作品了。這期間，他正在寫後來獲獎的小說《修正》（The Corrections）。小說2001年出版，馬上就被歐普拉選中。由於被歐普拉選中，他的這本小說多賣了近百萬冊。弗倫岑很吃驚，並覺得很受羞辱，因為他不能接受他的小說跟歐普拉讀書俱樂部的其他不是很嚴肅的小說放在一起相提並論這個事實。因此，他拒絕上歐普拉的節目去與一般讀者討論他的小說。正如其他嚴肅文化評論人一樣，他不相信中下階級的閱讀習慣有了根本性的改變。歐普拉比這些評論家高明之處，在於她了解多數美國人如何閱讀和評價文學作品。

歐普拉邀請作家、觀眾討論小說以前，往往先吃一頓高檔次的晚餐，然後進入專門為這個節目設計的書房，大家坐在很高級的皮沙發上討論。階級的概念消失了，歐普拉常對觀眾說，任何人都可以過這樣的生活，不需要等到有了很多錢。拿起書閱讀，就在這裡、在現在。閱讀摩里森的小說就像一次豐盛的晚餐，而不是麥當勞快餐。

2002年四月，歐普拉宣布將結束原有的讀書俱樂部，因為她認為讀書俱樂部成了她的一個負擔，她不能再專心享受讀書的樂趣。（有人說是前面提到的弗倫岑傷了她的心。）這讓讀上癮的讀者和賺足了錢的出版商都很驚慌。同年夏天，她又讀了不少書，有一些她想跟觀眾分享，於是決定把讀書俱樂部重新辦起來，一年推薦五本左右偉大的小說，不再局限於活著的作家。後來推薦過的有《百年孤寂》、《大地》等獲得過諾貝爾文學獎的小說。

美國有的，不僅是股票市場、麥當勞、咖啡連鎖店、脫衣舞廳、賭場等等。看得到摸得著的，還有令人嫉妒的公共圖書館系統、四通八達的高速公路、價值連城的博物館、藝術館、世界一流的大學研究院，以及出版世界上大部分書籍的出版業。難以看到的，是大大小小不計其數的讀書俱樂部。如果留點心，也會看到大多數美國人都在讀文學。

http://www.udn.com/2009/9/5/NEWS/READIN ... 8176.shtml

卜布 · 19-11-09 Thu 9:03 am

Oprah’s Book Club
http://www.oprah.com/entity/oprahsbookclub

卜布 · 19-11-09 Thu 9:06 am

List of Oprah’s Book Club Books

2009
Say You’re One of Them by Owem Akpan
http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsbook ... ne-of-them

2008
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsbook ... edgar_book

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
http://www.oprah.com/package/oprahsbook ... _anewearth

卜布 · 19-11-09 Thu 9:08 am

2007
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsbook ... _excerpt_b

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsbook ... excerpt_b1

Middlesex by Jefferey Eugenides
http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsbook ... k_synopsis

The Road by Comac McCarthy
http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsbook ... k_synopsis

The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier
http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsbook ... am_man_bio

2006
Night by Elie Wiesel
http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsbook ... excerpt_01

卜布 · 19-11-09 Thu 9:11 am

卜布 · 19-11-09 Thu 9:14 am

卜布 · 19-11-09 Thu 9:16 am

卜布 · 21-11-09 Sat 2:13 am

Winfrey: Prayer, careful thought influenced exit

By CARYN ROUSSEAU, Associated Press Writer Caryn Rousseau, Associated Press Writer – 21-11-2009

CHICAGO – Holding back tears, Oprah Winfrey told her studio audience Friday that she would end her show in 2011 after a quarter-century on the air, saying prayer and careful thought led her to her decision.

Winfrey told the audience that she loved "The Oprah Winfrey Show," that it had been her life and that she knew when it was time to say goodbye. "Twenty-five years feels right in my bones and feels right in my spirit," she said.

Winfrey talked about being nervous when the program began in 1986 and thanked audiences who had invited her into their homes and lives over the past two decades.

"I certainly never could have imagined the yellow brick road of blessings that have led me to this moment," she said.
The powerhouse show became the foundation for her multibillion-dollar media empire, but in the last year, has seen its ratings slip 7 percent. Winfrey, 55, is widely expected to start up a new talk show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a much-delayed joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc. that is projected to debut in 2011. OWN is to replace the Discovery Health Channel and will debut in some 74 million homes.

Winfrey offered no specifics about her plans for the future, except to say that she intended to produce the best possible shows during her last 18 months on the air.

"Over this holiday break, my team and I will be brainstorming new ways that we can entertain you and inform you and uplift you when we return here in January," she said. "And then, season 25 — we are going to knock your socks off."

CBS Television Distribution, which distributes the show to more than 200 U.S. markets, held out hope it could continue doing business with Winfrey, perhaps producing a new show out of its studios in Los Angeles.

"We know that anything she turns her hand to will be a great success," the CBS Corp. unit said in a statement. "We look forward to working with her for the next several years, and hopefully afterwards as well."

Many fans heading into Harpo Studios on Friday morning seemed to support Winfrey's decision.

"It's time to elevate to something new," said Sandra Donaldson, 59, of Indianapolis. "Whatever she does is going to be a blessing. It's going to be rewarding and eye-opening. Her name alone opens doors."

Once a local Chicago morning program, the production evolved into television's top-rated talk show for more than two decades, airing in 145 countries worldwide and watched by an estimated 42 million viewers a week in the U.S. alone.
Audience members described the atmosphere inside the studio Friday as tense and emotional, with some reaching for tissues as Winfrey announced her decision. "The whole audience was very quiet and she kept saying, `You can breathe,'" said Jennifer Aguilera, 32, of Joliet, Ill.

Fans expressed hope that Winfrey would soon announce another project.

"Oprah, she impacts everybody, her life, the way she gives," said Shawana Fletcher, 29, of Chicago. "I hope she's not totally done. That's what we're praying."

Winfrey's 24th season opened this year with a bang, as she drew more than 20,000 fans to Chicago's Magnificent Mile for a block party with the Black Eyed Peas. She followed with a series of blockbuster interviews — Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, Whitney Houston and ESPN's Erin Andrews, and just this week, former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

As a newcomer, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" chipped away at talk-show king Phil Donahue's dominance. Later, it turned to inspiration. The show's coverage ranged from interviews with the world's celebrities to an honest discussion about Winfrey's weight struggles.

In 1986, pianist-showman Liberace gave his final TV interview to Winfrey, just six weeks before he died. In a 1993 prime-time special, Michael Jackson revealed he suffered from a skin condition that produces depigmentation. Tom Cruise enthusiastically declared his affection for the much-younger Katie Holmes on the program in 2005 — and jumped on the couch to prove it.

In 2004, Winfrey unveiled her most famous giveaway, when nearly 300 members of the studio audience opened a gift box to find the keys to a new car inside. The stunt became a classic show moment as much for Winfrey's reaction — "You get a car! You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!" — as its $7 million price tag.

The show also became a launching pad for Oprah's Book Club, which then launched best-sellers. The titles ranged from "Song of Solomon" and "Paradise" by Toni Morrison to Wally Lamb's "She's Come Undone" and Elie Wiesel's "Night."

For others, the selection backfired. "A Million Little Pieces" exploded in sales after Winfrey chose the James Frey memoir in fall 2005. Soon after, it was revealed as a fabricated tale of addiction and recovery, and Winfrey later chewed out Frey on her show.

The loss of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" would be a blow to CBS Corp., which earns a percentage of hefty licensing fees from TV stations that use it — largely ABC affiliates. CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves told analysts two weeks ago that the contract with the show runs through most of 2011 and "if there's a negative impact, it wouldn't hit us until '12."

"Oprah's been a force of media and there's really no person you can look to out there who you could say, `That's the heir apparent,'" said Larry Gerbrandt, an analyst for Media Valuation Partners in Los Angeles. Gerbrandt noted many stations build their schedules around Winfrey's show.

"It's a big loss, but not as huge as it would have been 10 years ago," he said. "However, it still commands the biggest audience and ABC station competitors are licking their chops."
Talk of the show's end often has accompanied Winfrey's contract negotiations. Before signing her current contract in 2004, she talked about quitting after the 2005-2006 season. As far back as 1995, she called continuing "a difficult and important decision."

Winfrey started her broadcasting career in Nashville, Tenn., and Baltimore, Md., before relocating to Chicago in 1984 to host WLS-TV's morning talk show "A.M. Chicago" — which became "The Oprah Winfrey Show" one year later. She set up Harpo the following year and her talk show went into syndication.

Powered by the show's staggering success, Winfrey built a media empire. Harpo Studios produces shows hosted by Dr. Phil McGraw and celebrity chef Rachael Ray. O, The Oprah Magazine was the nation's 7th most popular magazine in the first half of 2009.

Earlier this year, Forbes scored Winfrey's net worth at $2.7 billion.
___
AP Business Writer Ryan Nakashima in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091120/ap_ ... how_ending

Oprah Winfrey读书俱乐部

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