Oprah Winfrey is a media mogul, actress, producer, and philanthropist, widely respected as one of the most influential women in the world. Born into poverty in rural Mississippi in 1954 and later raised in an inner-city Milwaukee neighborhood, Oprah faced numerous hardships early in life. Yet, she turned these challenges into motivators, eventually becoming the host of "The Oprah Winfrey Show." The show, which aired for 25 years, broke records and became the highest-rated television program of its kind in history, reshaping the landscape of talk show entertainment with its focus on literature, self-improvement, and spirituality.
❝Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi.❞ — Oprah Winfrey
Oprah's love for reading is profound and well-documented; she has been an ardent advocate for books throughout her career, believing deeply in their power to educate, inspire, and transform lives. In 1996, she launched Oprah's Book Club, which quickly grew to become a hugely influential force in the publishing world. Her selections often catapulted authors to bestseller status and introduced readers to a diverse range of stories and perspectives. Oprah's personal reading list spans across genres, including works of fiction, memoirs, and spiritual guides, reflecting her broad interests and commitment to personal growth and understanding.
Oprah Winfrey's Favorite Books
Last Updated: May 2024
Song of Solomon
Author: Toni Morrison
Publisher: Vintage
Date: Jul 24th, 2007
Toni Morrison's richly symbolic novel explores themes of identity and heritage, as its protagonist embarks on a journey to understand his family's roots.
Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience
Author: Brené Brown
Publisher: Random House
Date: Nov 30th, 2021
Brené Brown guides readers through 87 emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human, encouraging deeper self-understanding and connection with others.
The Invention of Wings
Author: Sue Monk Kidd
Publisher: Penguin Books
Date: Jan 7th, 2014
Sue Monk Kidd's historical novel is inspired by the real-life abolitionist sisters Sarah and Angelina Grimké, following the intertwined stories of Sarah and Handful, an enslaved girl in her household, as they strive for freedom and equality.
Night
Author: unknown author
Publisher:
Elie Wiesel's profound memoir of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust, exploring the depths of human cruelty and his struggle with faith in the face of unimaginable horror.
The Rapture of Canaan
Author: Sheri Reynolds
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Date: Jan 3rd, 1996
Sheri Reynolds's novel is set in a strict religious community, where a teenage girl's pregnancy tests her faith and leads to dramatic changes in her understanding of life, love, and forgiveness.
As I Lay Dying
Author: William Faulkner
Publisher: Modern Library
Date: Nov 28th, 2000
In this novel by William Faulkner, the Bundren family embarks on a mission to honor a dying wish to be buried in her hometown, detailing the journey through the perspectives of family members in a profound exploration of their motives and interrelationships.
A Virtuous Woman
Author: Kaye Gibbons
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Date: Jun 1st, 2001
Kaye Gibbons's novel alternates between the perspectives of a married couple, Ruby and Blinking Jack, exploring their deep and complex love that spans the divides of their social class and personal histories in the American South.
Say You're One of Them
Author: Uwem Akpan
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Date: Jun 9th, 2008
Uwem Akpan's collection of stories offers a heart-wrenching look into the lives of children across Africa, dealing with harrowing circumstances like poverty, conflict, and child trafficking.
The Underground Railroad
Author: Colson Whitehead
Publisher: Doubleday
Date: Aug 2nd, 2016
Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel reimagines the historical Underground Railroad as a literal train beneath the soil, following escaped slave Cora's perilous journey toward freedom from the antebellum South.
Ruby: A Novel
Author: Cynthia Bond
Publisher: Hogarth
Date: Apr 29th, 2014
Cynthia Bond's novel delves into the tragic and haunting story of Ruby Bell, a woman who returns to her small Texas hometown and confronts the impact of racial and sexual violence, exploring themes of love, redemption, and resilience.
Daughter of Fortune: A Novel
Author: Isabel Allende
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers
Date: Oct 6th, 1999
Isabel Allende's historical novel follows Eliza Sommers from her upbringing in Valparaíso, Chile, to her adventures in California during the Gold Rush, as she searches for love and her own identity.
The Road
Author: Cormac McCarthy
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Date: Sep 26th, 2006
Cormac McCarthy's stark and haunting novel follows a father and his young son as they journey through a post-apocalyptic landscape, struggling for survival in a world devoid of civilization.
A Lesson Before Dying
Author: Ernest J. Gaines
Publisher: Vintage
Date: Sep 1st, 1994
Ernest J. Gaines' novel is set in a small Louisiana Cajun community in the late 1940s and tells the story of a young Black man sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit and the teacher who helps him regain his dignity.
Songs in Ordinary Time
Author: Mary McGarry Morris
Publisher: Viking
Date: Jun 1st, 1997
Mary McGarry Morris's novel set in a small Vermont town in 1960, where a struggling single mother and her children become entangled with a charismatic but dangerous stranger, explores the complexities of family and the human capacity for self-deception and hope.
Sula
Author: Toni Morrison
Publisher: Knopf
Date: Apr 5th, 2002
Toni Morrison's novel explores the complex friendship between two women, Nel and Sula, from childhood through their diverging paths as adults in a small, tightly-knit African American community, dealing with themes of betrayal, race, and identity.
Breath, Eyes, Memory
Author: Edwidge Danticat
Publisher: Soho Press
Date: Apr 2nd, 1994
Edwidge Danticat's novel tells the story of a young Haitian girl who moves to New York to live with her mother, uncovering painful family secrets while grappling with her heritage and identity.
Paradise
Author: Toni Morrison
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Date: Apr 2nd, 1998
Toni Morrison's novel set in an all-Black town in Oklahoma explores the tensions that arise when a nearby convent shelters women who challenge the town's rigid ideals, culminating in violence and a profound examination of identity and faith.
House of Sand and Fog
Author: Andre Dubus III
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Date: Feb 1st, 1999
Andre Dubus III's novel features a gripping battle over a house in California between a former Iranian colonel who buys it at auction and the evicted woman who will stop at nothing to get it back, leading to a tragic conflict.
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie
Author: Ayana Mathis
Publisher: Knopf
Date: Dec 6th, 2012
Ayana Mathis's novel spans decades in the life of Hattie Shepherd and her twelve children, capturing the profound struggles and resilience of a family starting during the Great Migration.
The Seat of the Soul
Author: Gary Zukav
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date: Mar 17th, 1999
Gary Zukav's spiritual book delves into the connection between the soul and the universe, proposing that developing the soul can lead to emotional and spiritual growth, aligning one's actions with their deeper intentions.
I Know This Much Is True: A Novel
Author: Wally Lamb
Publisher: Regan Books
Date: Jun 3rd, 1998
Wally Lamb's intense narrative follows Dominick Birdsey as he grapples with the challenges of his schizophrenic twin brother, Thomas, and their family's dark secrets, in a story about identity and redemption.
East of Eden
Author: John Steinbeck
Publisher: Viking
Date: Jun 1st, 2003
John Steinbeck's sweeping saga of the Trask and Hamilton families in the Salinas Valley of California, exploring themes of sin and redemption with biblical parallels, particularly the rivalry of brothers, mirroring the story of Cain and Abel.
Anna Karenina
Author: Leo Tolstoy
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Date: May 1st, 2004
Leo Tolstoy's masterpiece traces the tragic love affair between Anna Karenina and Count Vronsky, set against the backdrop of nineteenth-century Russian society, exploring themes of passion, loyalty, and societal norms.
Freedom: A Novel
Author: Jonathan Franzen
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Date: Aug 31st, 2010
Jonathan Franzen explores the story of the Berglund family, capturing the struggles and paradoxes of American life as they navigate personal freedoms, responsibilities, and the environmental and political issues shaping their times.
