Oprah's Book Club — Season 1
Read. Watch. Discuss.
About this season
Get a front row seat for unguarded conversations with incredible authors. Each episode features a book handpicked by Oprah, along with an interview about issues that it brings to light. It’s a book club for today's world—a window to other worlds.
Episodes (14)
1. Ta-Nehisi Coates: The Water Dancer
Aired 1 November 2019 • 58 min
Oprah and Ta-Nehisi discuss the 10-year process of writing his #1 best-selling debut novel and the cultural conversation it has provoked. Plus, Ta-Nehisi visits Monticello, which inspired his book's setting.
2. Elizabeth Strout: Olive, Again
Aired 18 January 2020 • 43 min
Elizabeth tells Oprah how her celebrated protagonist reappeared and why she finds the everydayness of life to be extraordinary.
3. Jeanine Cummins: American Dirt (1)
Aired 6 March 2020 • 66 min
Jeanine and Oprah are joined by authors Reyna Grande, Julissa Arce, and Esther Cepeda for a raw, revealing conversation about the novel.
4. Jeanine Cummins: American Dirt (2)
Aired 6 March 2020 • 40 min
Latinx people who saw themselves reflected in the book share insights into real-life migrant experiences.
5. Robert Kolker: Hidden Valley Road
Aired 12 June 2020 • 52 min
Oprah has in-depth discussions with author Kolker and surviving members of the Galvin family about living this extraordinary true story.
6. James McBride: Deacon King Kong
Aired 30 July 2020 • 19 min
Oprah and McBride discuss how his novel speaks to the current moment, his focus on the Black experience, and the inspiration for his characters.
7. Isabel Wilkerson: Caste
Aired 2 October 2020 • 36 min
Calling the book ”a must-read for all of humanity,” Oprah asks Wilkerson what compelled her to write it and why we need a new language for race.
8. Marilynne Robinson: Gilead
Aired 23 April 2021 • 12 min
Oprah talks to Robinson about her Pulitzer Prize-winning second novel, finding the character of John Ames, and how faith shapes her writing.
9. Marilynne Robinson: Home
Aired 30 April 2021 • 8 min
Robinson explains what inspired her to revisit the story of Gilead from different points of view and why she chose to address the subject of race.
10. Marilynne Robinson: Lila
Aired 7 May 2021 • 11 min
Oprah and Robinson discuss finding new layers in established characters, what America looks like at its best, and how loneliness can be a privilege.
11. Marilynne Robinson: Jack
Aired 14 May 2021 • 15 min
Discussing the fourth Gilead novel, Robinson opens up about its interracial romance, her writing process, and the possibility of more stories.
12. Nathan Harris: The Sweetness of Water
Aired 23 July 2021 • 29 min
Oprah sits down with Harris to discuss his debut novel's inspiration, his writing process, and how a biracial upbringing shaped his point of view.
13. Honorée Fanonne Jeffers: The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
Aired 23 September 2021 • 27 min
The acclaimed poet opens up to Oprah about the inspiration for her epic debut novel and what she hopes to impart about the Black experience.
14. Richard Powers: Bewilderment
Aired 22 October 2021 • 29 min
Oprah and Powers talk about his first novel since a Pulitzer Prize win, finding empathy through our differences, and his hopes for our planet.