The Current Book Club Choice

The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver

In her most highly acclaimed book to date, Kingsolver presents a compelling exploration of religion, conscience, imperialist arrogance, and the many paths to redemption, telling the story of an American missionary and his family in the Congo in 1959.


The Recent Book Club Choices

Sue Miller   Toni Morrison   Tawni O'Dell   Isabel Allende   Robert Morgan   Jane Hamilton  

While I Was Gone, by Sue Miller

Jo has everything she's ever wanted: a veterinary practice she loves, a devoted husband, three grown daughters, and a beautiful Massachusetts farmhouse. But when an old housemate settles in her small town, the fabric of Jo's life begins to unravel: seduced again by the enticing possibility of another self and another life, she begins a dangerous flirtation that returns her to the darkest moment of her past and imperils all she loves.


The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison

The Bluest Eye is Toni Morrison's first novel, a book heralded for its richness of language and boldness of vision. Set in the author's girlhood hometown of Lorain, Ohio, it tells the story of black, eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove. Pecola prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be as beautiful and beloved as all the blond, blue-eyed children in America. In the autumn of 1941, the year the marigolds in the Breedloves' garden do not bloom, Pecola's life does change -- in painful, devastating ways. With its vivid evocation of the fear and loneliness at the heart of a child's yearning, and the tragedy of its fulfillment, The Bluest Eye remains one of Toni Morrison's most powerful, unforgettable novels -- and a significant work of American Fiction.


Back Roads, by Tawni O'Dell

Harley Altmyer is marooned in the Pennsylvania backwoods caring for his three beloved but unruly younger sisters. He has, at best, a shaky hold on the vicissitudes of day care, mac and cheese dinners, and visits to a once-devoted mother who seems not only resigned, but glad to hand over the reins of motherhood to her son. Frustrated, overwhelmed, and utterly endearing, he's a guy in an impossible situation: an orphan with the responsibilities of an adult and the fiery, aggressive libido of a teenager.


Daughter of Fortune, by Isabel Allende

Spirited Eliza leaves her home in Chile in search of her lover, who has set out for the California Gold Rush. What she finds instead is adversity and adventure and, through her own resourcefulness, an even more momentous journey to independence and freedom.


Gap Creek, by Robert Morgan

Oprah's latest pick is here! The author of "The Truest Pleasure" returns his readers to the world of the Appalachian high country as a couple struggles to survive amid fires and floods, flesh-and-blood grifters, drunks, and busybodies who insinuate themselves into their lives in the late 1800s.


A Map of the World, by Jane Hamilton

With more than 65,000 hardcover copies in print, rave reviews from coast to coast, and appearances on several national bestseller lists, the publication of Hamilton's "extraordinary story of a family's disintegration" (People) in paperback should be among the literary highlights of the summer.


So you want to sit at Oprah's table?

 First, you've got to read the book! Then, write to Oprah and tell her how the book affected you ... what did the characters mean to you, how did the story make you reflect on your own life ... she wants to know what the lasting impact is from having read the book. Did you love it? Did you hate it? This is your chance to tell her!

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