Celebrity Book Clubs
This week we've had the opportunity to explore controversy over books, celebrity book clubs, fake memoirs and author mills. While some of these are headlines I have skimmed in the past, it was interesting to read them with intent this week.
While the phenomenon of the Oprah Winfrey book club has slowed down over the years, there has to be something said for a book club that has been around for 26 years. Yes, some of the hiatus' have been long and she has changed her format over the years from inviting the authors to her show to most recently to hosting the book talks on her Apple TV program and reducing the number of books each year, but we can't deny that she has brought books into the top of the book charts for many years. As Butler, Cowen and Nilsson showed in their study "from 1996 to 2002, an Oprah endorsement was enough to bring a book up into the top 150 bestsellers in America, and almost certainly guaranteed a sturdy spike in the rankings in the beginning, followed by a prolonged period of strong sales for months to come." Lucky are most the authors that have had a book selected for her book club. Even author James Frey, whom years ago was called him out on television by Winfrey for his inaccurate account of his personal life unfolding in A Million Little Pieces, gained from being on her book club list. Just recently she has been bound to another book/author controversy with American Dirt, receiving messages and letters from fans asking her to remove this book from her 2020 Book Club list. While people might be calling for her to pull it from her list, the continued controversy continues to keep the book title in the news.
Reese Witherspoon and Emma Watson also have book clubs, but far less controversial. Emma Watson's focuses on feminist classics while she is serving as a UN Ambassador. While she encourages fans to read strong women literature it is done is a far more subdued and limited manner.
Reese Witherspoon recently announced a position for her book club librarian and her Hello Sunshine Book Club encourages reading and an online discussion of books. Notes from the authors give an extra insight to the books. Will her book club garner notoriety of Oprah's, we don't know.
Maybe celebrity book clubs will be a trend that will fade, but 26 years and counting tells me they have found a niche. Following celebrities via social media is a trend that is only growing and I would guess that as celebrity book clubs continue to build an online social media presence their popularity will continue to grow. What I hope is that it is done out of a love for reading. I hope their book selections are done based on what they want to read, not done as a financial gain. I hope that their book clubs continue to inspire a love of reading.
Butler, R. J. ., Cowan, B. W. ., & Nilsson, S. (2005). From Obscurity to Bestseller: Examining the Impact of Oprah’s Book Club Selections. Publishing Research Quarterly, 20(4), 23–34. https://doi-org.proxy.ulib.uits.iu.edu/10.1007/s12109-005-0045-2
https://hello-sunshine.com/
Celebrity Book Clubs do seem to be on the rise and it looks like they are here to stay, especially depending on who the celebrity is. In the case of Reece Witherspoon, she has tapped into the industry of adapting novels into screenplays. Many of the novels she's recommended through her Sunshine Book Club are now being adapted into movies through her media company Hello Sunshine (Wild, Where the Crawdads Sing, and Daisy Jones & the Six). Because of this, her book club could last just as long as Oprah's.
ReplyDeleteWith having a book club for so long, there's bound (statistically) to be an occasional "dud" book, right? That's something I didn't think of when I wrote my prompt response. And I think your final paragraph is a perfect conclusion. All we can do is hope that celebrities actually enjoy the books and reading! I don't think it's fair to assume all celebrities do is for their own financial gain, but on the other hand when reading librarian and book-lover blogs we know for sure their commitment to books and reading. I personally felt more drawn to Emma Watson's book club than the others; what about you?
ReplyDeleteGreat work on this post!
I've never felt drawn to Oprah's book club. I did go on and start following the Hello Sunshine (RW) book club and Our Shared Shelf (EW). I hope to catch up on some reading come graduation in May, and RW book club I imagine as gentle reads, but I haven't really looked. While EW books give me the feeling of more literary fiction, but again haven't really looked at them. It does seem that EW has left the GoodReads book club she started, or at least won't be moderating and recommending books but will still use the #oursharedshelf hashtag on instagram. It seems that even in the short time period she did a lot for bringing attention to feminist readings.
DeleteI didn't realize how big celebrity book clubs were until I read that article. I knew about Oprah and Reese Witherspoon's book clubs, and I'd heard about Sarah Jessica Parker's imprint, but I didn't realize they were that big of a thing. I think it's really interesting how the book clubs reflect the celebrities themselves, too. Oprah's book club has much heavier titles than I'd seen in the other clubs, so I wonder if that's why the newer book clubs are so popular now or if that's just the new clubs' brands. I also thought it was funny that Reese Witherspoon started a book club when she was in the A Wrinkle in Time movie with Oprah- where is Mindy Kaling's book club? (I'd definitely want to see her picks). Great post!
ReplyDeleteJenna Bush Hager has a book club as well. I noticed last time I was in Barnes and Noble that they had a special end-cap for all the popular book club picks for the month including all of those listed above. I admit that I follow the Instagram accounts for most of them, partially to discover new reads for myself but also to know what books others are likely to be talking about. The picks almost always come up in my book club discussions so I know they're reaching an audience. These book clubs definitely have value as they're a great way to introduce the world to a new author who people might not be as willing to pick up without the endorsement of a known book club. But then the weight of the endorsement means that the process is ripe to be corrupted (placements can be bought or leveraged). It would be interesting to know how the selection process works and whether some are more "pure" than others.
ReplyDeleteExcellent prompt response! I like that you really got to the heart of each one. I too agree that they may be more than a fad and I look forward to seeing how they evolve in the future. Great job and full points!
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