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57-591: Oprah's Book Club was a book discussion club segment of the American talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show , highlighting books chosen by host Oprah Winfrey . Winfrey started the book club in 1996, selecting a new book, usually a novel , for viewers to read and discuss each month. In total, the club recommended 70 books during its 15 years. Due to the book club's widespread popularity, many obscure titles have become very popular bestsellers , increasing sales in some cases by as many as several million copies. Al Greco,

114-584: A Fordham University marketing professor, estimated the total sales of the 70 "Oprah editions" at over 55 million copies. The club has seen several literary controversies, such as Jonathan Franzen 's public dissatisfaction with his novel, The Corrections , having been chosen by Winfrey, and the incident of James Frey 's memoir, A Million Little Pieces , being outed as almost entirety fabricated. The latter controversy resulted in Frey and publisher Nan Talese being confronted and publicly shamed by Winfrey in

171-694: A Supermicro server motherboard during manufacturing. Pingwest, a media company founded in Silicon Valley and based in Beijing , identified the chip mentioned in the article as a balun . Pingwest pointed out that its size made it impossible to implement any form of attack; it did not have the storage space required to store commands that would allow a hacker to infiltrate the hardware. They suggested that Businessweek had underestimated security standards employed by Amazon and Apple. The claims by Bloomberg have been heavily questioned. By 2 p.m. on

228-436: A rehabilitation facility and his stories of time spent in jail. Initially, Frey convinced Larry King that the embellishments in his book were of a sort that could be found in any literary memoir; Winfrey encouraged debate about how creative non-fiction should be classified, and cited the inspirational impact Frey's work had had on so many of her viewers. But as more accusations against the book surfaced, Winfrey invited Frey on

285-493: A revival of Oprah's Book Club that aired on Apple TV+ . The book club's first selection on September 17, 1996, was the then recently published novel The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard . Winfrey discontinued the book club for one year in 2002, stating that she could not keep up with the required reading while still searching for contemporary novels that she enjoyed. After its revival in 2003, books were selected on

342-416: A book is anywhere from 20 to 100 times that of any other media personality. In 2009, it was reported that the influence of Winfrey's book club had even spread to Brazil , with picks like A New Earth dominating Brazil's best-seller list. The club generated so much success for some books that they went on to be adapted into films. This subset includes The Deep End of the Ocean and The Reader . At

399-479: A book not because they are interested in it from a literary point-of-view but because they think it will offer them an opportunity to make points of personal interest to them or fit an external agenda. Also, different expectations and education/skill levels may lead to conflicts and disappointments in clubs of this kind. The characteristics of a multi-title club are such that each member may be reading different titles from each other at any given time, and they may share

456-464: A club makes reading a shared experience and frees the busy members from the "homework" of having read the book before coming to the club. It also creates a lively environment for commenting on the specifics of the books as it is read and can lead to very enriching exchanges. A given book may continue for several sittings, depending on the pace of reading, frequency of meetings, and the extent of comments and discussion. Members can take turns reading to share

513-548: A copy of the book Franzen had sent her with a note, she called the author and gained his permission. Oprah said, "we have a little history this author and I", but called the book "a masterpiece", and according to an article in the Los Angeles Times , she "seems to have forgiven the bestselling author after their 2001 kerfuffle". In late 2005 and early 2006, Oprah's Book Club was again involved in controversy. Winfrey selected James Frey 's A Million Little Pieces for

570-496: A copy of the book from the library over a given timeframe in order for a later discussion. There may be a few problems with these clubs. Some members may regard them as opportunities to meet people for social contact and general conversation, partially veering off onto a wide variety of non-literary topics, while others wish to engage in serious literary analysis focused on the book in question and related works, with little non-literary interaction. Additionally, some members may suggest

627-416: A highly praised live televised episode of Winfrey's show. On June 1, 2012, Oprah announced the launch of Oprah's Book Club 2.0 with Wild by Cheryl Strayed . The new version of Oprah's Book Club, a joint project between OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network and O, The Oprah Magazine , incorporates the use of various social media platforms and e-readers. On March 25, 2019, Apple Inc. and Oprah announced

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684-462: A memo was sent out to Bloomberg Businessweek staff members informing them the publication will relaunch sometime in 2024 as a monthly magazine and be redesigned with “heavier paper stock for a more high-end look and feel.” Brad Stone was appointed editor of the magazine in January 2024 and will oversee the transition to monthly publication. The magazine switched to publishing bi-weekly as part of

741-594: A more limited basis (three or four a year). Winfrey returned to fiction with her 2007 selections of The Road by Cormac McCarthy in March and Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides in June. Shortly after its being chosen, The Road was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction . Winfrey conducted the first ever television interview with McCarthy, a famously reclusive author, on June 5, 2007. The October 2007 selection

798-428: A reading list for a period of time. What distinguishes this from any group of unrelated people reading different things from each other is that each title is expected to be read by the next member in a serial fashion. Open loans suggest that the books in question are free to be loaned among the population with the expectation of getting them back eventually. Instead of one member deciding what everyone will read, with all

855-401: A sales decline," following an Oprah endorsement. In the 12 weeks following an endorsement, "weekly adult fiction book sales decreased by a statistically significant 2.5 percent." The club has received critical commentaries from the literary community. Scott Stossel , an editor at The Atlantic , wrote: There is something so relentlessly therapeutic , so consciously self-improving about

912-405: A short time, three to five people may have read the same title, which is the perfect amount for a worthy conversation. Catch and release imply that actual ownership of the book transfers each iteration with no expectation of the book returning to the original owner. The mechanism of transfer may include a personal face to face hand off, sending the items through the mail, or most remarkably, leaving

969-759: Is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City -based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City in September 1929. Bloomberg Businessweek business magazines are located in the Bloomberg Tower , 731 Lexington Avenue , Manhattan in New York City and market magazines are located in the Citigroup Center , 153 East 53rd Street between Lexington and Third Avenue , Manhattan in New York City. The Business Week

1026-431: Is one in which people discuss a particular title that every person in the group has read at the same time, often with each member buying a personal copy. Clearly, the club must somehow decide ahead of time what that title will be. Some groups may decide to choose new release titles, whilst others may choose older ones, or a mixture of the two. If it is a book discussion club that meets at a library, then each member may borrow

1083-607: Is the Visual Editor at The New York Times Styles desk. International editions of Businessweek were available on newsstands in Europe and Asia until 2005 when publication of regional editions was suspended to help increase foreign readership of customized European and Asian versions of Businessweek 's website. However, the same year the Russian edition was launched in collaboration with Rodionov Publishing House. At

1140-456: The 1600s, it wasn't until the late 1700s that secular reading circles emerged in both America and Europe. Reading circles were not limited to particular races or classes, with one of the first reading groups for black women being formed in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1827. Throughout the 1800s, women’s reading circles expanded, with some becoming outspoken on social issues such as abolition—foreshadowing

1197-533: The September 2005 selection. Pieces is a book billed as a memoir —a true account of Frey's life as an alcoholic , drug addict , and criminal. It became the Book Club's greatest selling book up to that point, and many readers spoke of how the account helped free them from drugs as well. But the additional attention focused on Frey's memoir soon led to critics questioning the validity of Frey's supposedly true account, especially regarding his treatment while in

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1254-452: The author of the current book as part of the discussion; it often concludes the discussion with a live conference call or webinar . A broadcast club is one in which a television, radio, or podcast show features a regular segment that presents a discussion of a book. The segment is announced in advance so that viewers or listeners may read the book prior to the broadcast discussion. Some notable broadcast book discussion clubs include: Given

1311-538: The book as a memoir, and forced Talese to admit that she had done nothing to check the book's veracity, despite the fact that her representatives had assured Winfrey's staff that the book was indeed non-fiction and described it as "brutally honest" in a press release. The media commented on the televised showdown. David Carr of The New York Times wrote: "Both Mr. Frey and Ms. Talese were snapped in two like dry winter twigs." "Oprah annihilates Frey," proclaimed Larry King. New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd wrote, "It

1368-413: The book club that it seems antithetical to discussions of serious literature. Literature should disturb the mind and derange the senses; it can be palliative, but it is not meant to be the easy, soothing one that Oprah would make it. Jonathan Franzen felt conflicted about his book The Corrections being chosen as a book club selection. After the announcement was made, he expressed distaste with being in

1425-406: The book in a public place with the expectation that unknown future readers will find it there. All three methods are utilized with BookCrossing . Participants use a website and a system of unique identification numbers to track released items as they migrate through a worldwide community. The interaction is largely web-centric, but it does not exclude face-to-face gatherings, each of which can take on

1482-478: The business world. The name of the magazine was shortened to Business Week in 1934. Business Week was originally published to be a resource for business managers. However, in the 1970s, the magazine shifted its strategy and added consumers outside the business world. As of 1975 , the magazine was carrying more advertising pages annually than any other magazine in the United States. In 1976 and 1977,

1539-446: The busy lifestyles of today, another variation on the traditional 'book club' is the book reading club. In such a club, the group agrees on a specific book, and each week (or whatever frequency), one person in the group reads the book out loud while the rest of the group listens. The group can either allow interruptions for comments and questions from the members at any time, or agree to allow such input at chapter or section endings. Such

1596-428: The category of social networks , these online clubs are made up of members of a variety of reading interests and often approach book discussion in different ways, e.g. academic discussion, pleasure-reading discussion, personal connection, and reaction to books members read. In 2012, a new book club format referred to as author-led book clubs was introduced by Business Book Club " 12 Books ." Author led book clubs include

1653-633: The club movement of the end of that century. Well into the 1900s, book clubs continued to serve as both an intellectual outlet and a radical political tool. In the first half of the 20th century, women continued to be barred from many top universities. This time period was the heyday of the Book of the Month Club and the Great Books movement, both of which encouraged average Americans to take on hefty literary novels. Women’s chief role in founding

1710-466: The company of other Oprah's Book Club authors, saying in an interview that Winfrey had "picked some good books, but she's picked enough schmaltzy, one-dimensional ones that I cringe, myself, even though I think she's really smart and she's really fighting the good fight." Franzen added that his novel was a "hard book for that audience." Following the criticism Franzen was uninvited from the televised book club dinner, and he apologized profusely. When Franzen

1767-592: The conclusion of The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2011. See Oprah's Book Club 2.0 for the selections of the club's 2012 relaunch. On March 25, 2019, Apple Inc. and Oprah announced a revival of Oprah's Book Club that was released on Apple TV+ . Book discussion club A practice also associated with book discussion, common reading program or common read , involves institutions encouraging their members to discuss select books in group settings; common reading programs are often organized by educational institutions. Though women had formed Bible study groups since

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1824-424: The cost implications of acquiring that title, these clubs usually involve circulating books they already own. Each book is introduced with a short precis. This offers members the advantage of previewing a work before committing to read. It has the effect of narrowing the focus of the dialogue so that book and reader are more quickly and more accurately matched up. The sequential nature of the process implies that within

1881-571: The day of publication, Apple , Amazon , and Supermicro issued blanket denials, which Bloomberg reported. Within the week, the United States Department of Homeland Security stated that it saw no reason to question those refutations. The National Security Agency and Government Communications Headquarters and NCSC also denied the article's claims. In 2021, Bloomberg published a follow-up article standing by its allegations. On Dec. 1, 2023, The New York Times reported

1938-551: The facility, some libraries offer book discussion kits where several titles of a book are able to be loaned to a single patron, with a lending period typically longer than normal. The kits also contain suggested reading guides with discussion questions. Librarians can aid in the procurement of items needed for private book club meetings. They are able to reserve multiple copies of a publication and extend loan periods. They are also able to facilitate club meetings digitally, through discussion boards or video meetings. Librarians have noted

1995-546: The high end of the speculated price, at $ 5   million, along with the assumption of debt. In early 2010, the magazine title was restyled Bloomberg Businessweek (with a lowercase "w") as part of a redesign. As of 2014 , the magazine was losing $ 30   million per year, about half of the $ 60   million it was reported losing in 2009. Adler resigned as editor-in-chief and was replaced by Josh Tyrangiel , who had been deputy managing editor of Time magazine. In 2016, Bloomberg announced changes to Businessweek , which

2052-435: The late 1980s. He was succeeded by Stephen J. Adler of The Wall Street Journal . In 2006, Businessweek started publishing annual rankings of undergraduate business programs in addition to its MBA program listing. Businessweek suffered a decline in circulation during the late-2000s recession as advertising revenues fell one-third by the start of 2009 and the magazine's circulation fell to 936,000. In July 2009, it

2109-441: The list, it caused a short-term overall decrease in sales for the book industry as a whole after each selection was announced. Since Oprah's selections were longer and more difficult classics that demanded greater time and energy to read, those people who were reading Oprah's books were not buying their usual fare of genre books: "there were statistically significant decreases for mysteries and action/adventure novels. Romances also saw

2166-502: The magazine's name's form was changed from Business Week to BusinessWeek . Businessweek began publishing its annual rankings of United States business school MBA programs in 1988. Stephen B. Shepard served as editor-in-chief from 1984 until 2005 when he was chosen to be the founding dean of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism . Under Shepard, Businessweek ' s readership grew to more than six million in

2223-909: The modern book club—a consequence of being marginalized from other intellectual spaces—has gone on to influence the book industry, with women accounting for 80 percent of fiction sales. Author Toni Morrison called the 1996 launch of the Oprah's Book Club the beginning of a "reading revolution"; in its first three years, books Oprah chose averaged sales of 1.4 million copies each. Sociologist Christy Craig said that women have turned to book clubs to construct social networks and important partnerships, especially in times of upheaval. A 2018 BookBrowse survey found that 88% of private book clubs are all-women groups, but almost half of public groups—such as those hosted by libraries—include men. The survey found that 70% of book clubs primarily read fiction, though 93% read nonfiction at least occasionally. A single-title club

2280-440: The ones he designates." Author Andre Dubus III wrote that, "It is so elitist it offends me deeply. The assumption that high art is not for the masses, that they won't understand it and they don't deserve it – I find that reprehensible. Is that a judgment on the audience? Or on the books in whose company he would be?" In 2010, Oprah chose another of Franzen's books, Freedom , for her book club. She said that after she read

2337-426: The positive influence of Google+ hangouts and Skype to host meetings for long-distance club members and for times in which not all members can attend the club. Librarians have also helped non-traditional book clubs find footing within their communities. Online book clubs exist in the shape of Internet forums , Yahoo Groups , e-mail mailing lists , dedicated websites, and even telephone conference calls. Also, in

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2394-424: The reading responsibility. Another variation on the concept could be jointly listening to an audio-book with pauses for comments. Once a book is completed, members recommend their choices of the new books and vote on which book to proceed with next. Business Week [REDACTED] Bloomberg Businessweek , previously known as BusinessWeek (and before that Business Week and The Business Week ),

2451-415: The role in January 2018 and Joel Weber was appointed by the editorial board in her place. On October 4, 2018, Bloomberg Businessweek published "The Big Hack: How China Used a Tiny Chip to Infiltrate U.S. Companies", an article by Jordan Robertson and Michael Riley which claimed that China had hacked dozens of technology corporations including Amazon and Apple by placing an extra integrated circuit on

2508-526: The same time, Businessweek partnered with InfoPro Management, a publishing and market research company based in Beirut, Lebanon , to produce the Arabic version of the magazine in 22 Arab countries. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek continued the magazine's international expansion and announced plans to introduce a Polish-language edition called Bloomberg Businessweek Polska , as well as a Chinese edition which

2565-452: The show to find out directly from him whether he had lied to her and her viewers. During a heated live televised debate, Winfrey forced Frey to admit that he had indeed lied about spending time in jail, and that he had no idea whether he had two root canals without painkillers or not, despite devoting several pages to describing them in excruciating detail. Winfrey then brought out Frey's publisher Nan Talese to defend her decision to classify

2622-551: The show's conclusion in May 2011, Nielsen BookScan created a list of the top-10 bestsellers from the club's final 10 years (prior data was unavailable). The top four with sales figures as of May 2011: In a 2014 paper by economist Craig L. Garthwaite published in American Economic Journal: Applied Economics , it was reported that while the book club increased sales of individual titles in

2679-584: The top business magazine in the country. In 2012, Bloomberg Businessweek won the general excellence award for general-interest magazines at the National Magazine Awards . Also in 2012, Bloomberg Businessweek editor Josh Tyrangiel was named magazine editor of the year by Ad Age . In 2014, Bloomberg Businessweek won a Society of American Business Editors and Writers Best in Business award for magazines, general excellence. In 2016,

2736-401: The traits of other book discussion clubs. Many public libraries lead book clubs as a library program on a regular basis. A librarian usually leads a discussion after participants read the book. Copies of the book are available to be checked out for the group meeting. Some libraries at secondary schools and tertiary education institutions form book clubs. For book discussion groups outside of

2793-502: The transition, starting in January. In early 2010, the magazine title was restyled Bloomberg Businessweek (with a lowercase "w") as part of a redesign. During the following years, the bold, eclectic, playful, and memetic face of Businessweek was cultivated largely by Businessweek 's Creative director, Richard Turley then Rob Vargas (from 2014), and Deputy Creative director Tracy Ma (from 2011 through 2016). During her time at Businessweek , Ma worked on over 200 issues. Now she

2850-897: The use of electronic media, specifically television and the Internet , to take reading—a decidedly non-technological and highly individual act—and highlight its social elements and uses in such a way to motivate millions of erstwhile non-readers to pick up books." Business Week stated: Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of the Oprah phenomenon is how outsized her power is compared with that of other market movers. Some observers suggest that Jon Stewart of Comedy Central 's The Daily Show could be No. 2. Other proven arm-twisters include Fox News 's Sean Hannity , National Public Radio 's Terry Gross , radio personality Don Imus , and CBS ' 60 Minutes . But no one comes close to Oprah's clout: Publishers estimate that her power to sell

2907-762: Was Love in the Time of Cholera , a 1985 novel by Nobel Prize laureate Gabriel García Márquez , greatly furthering not only the influence of the author in North America, but that of his translator Edith Grossman . Another work by Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude , was a previous selection for the book club in 2004. The last club selection was a special edition of Charles Dickens ' A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations . It had disappointingly low sales figures. In Reading with Oprah: The Book Club That Changed America , Kathleen Rooney describes Winfrey as "a serious American intellectual who pioneered

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2964-517: Was a huge relief, after our long national slide into untruth and no consequences, into Swift boating and swift bucks, into W .'s delusion and denial, to see the Empress of Empathy icily hold someone accountable for lying," and The Washington Post ' s Richard Cohen was so impressed by the confrontation, that he crowned Winfrey " Mensch of the Year." Source: The original book club ended with

3021-498: Was first published based in New York City in September 1929, weeks before the stock market crash of 1929 . The magazine provided information and opinions on what was happening in the business world at the time. Early sections of the magazine included marketing, labor, finance, management and Washington Outlook, which made The Business Week one of the first publications to cover national political issues that directly impacted

3078-456: Was losing between $ 20 and $ 30 million. Nearly 30 Bloomberg News journalists were let go across the U.S., Europe and Asia and it was announced that a new version of Bloomberg Businessweek would launch the following year. In addition, editor in chief Ellen Pollock stepped down from her position and Washington Bureau Chief Megan Murphy was named as the next editor in chief. Megan Murphy served as editor from November 2016; until she stepped down from

3135-467: Was not invited back, he suggested that perhaps he and Winfrey could still have dinner but not on TV, but Winfrey was all booked up, and her spokesperson said she was moving on. Other writers were critical of Franzen. Writing in The New York Times , author Verlyn Klinkenborg suggested that "lurking behind Mr. Franzen's rejection of Ms. Winfrey is an elemental distrust of readers, except for

3192-478: Was relaunched in November 2011. Bloomberg Businessweek launched an iPad version of the magazine using Apple's subscription billing service in 2011. The iPad edition was the first to use this subscription method, which allows one to subscribe via an iTunes account. There are over 100,000 subscribers to the iPad edition of Businessweek . In the year 2011, Adweek named Bloomberg Businessweek as

3249-558: Was reported that McGraw-Hill was trying to sell Businessweek and had hired Evercore Partners to conduct the sale. Because of the magazine's liabilities, it was suggested that it might change hands for the nominal price of $ 1 to an investor who was willing to incur losses turning the magazine around. In late 2009, Bloomberg L.P. bought the magazine—reportedly for between $ 2   million to $ 5   million plus assumption of liabilities—and renamed it Bloomberg BusinessWeek . News reports published in 2019 suggest McGraw-Hill received

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