While there’s been a lot of buzz so far this year around Oprah’s new television network, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), Green Apple Books has not been blinded by the hype.
In a blog post today, they noted (with the help of beatrice.com) that Oprah’s all powerful book club has not offered up a book by a woman writer SINCE 2004 (Pearl Buck’s The Good Earth). And no living woman novelist since 2002.
Filed under the blog category “WTF c’mon Oprah”, Green Apple blogger Pete just says this in response to the revelation: “I don’t even know what to say.”
Ok, well he did know what to say and that was to offer up a list of stellar books by female authors. 😉 Head over to the Green Apple blog to check them out.
Considering how much pull Oprah has in getting America to crack open a book, especially American WOMEN, it is a bit of a shock that there isn’t more gender balance in her recommendations.
What do you think?
Sarah B.
-It is her club, she is under no obligation. But because of her gender she is obligated to? But why stop at gender? See where this type of thinking can lead to?
-I fail to see any misogyny in Oprah’s doing, a terrible use of a word.
-This is what happens when you look too much into things, you can always find something that is ____ist/ism.
Mark, I agree with your logic in most cases, but this is a pretty glaring oversight. Misogyny might not be the right word, mostly just inflammatory, but it’s pretty obvious that there’s something not-quite-perfect with the selection process.
I don’t understand modern humanity’s aversion to reading. Glad I’m not them. Their loss.
i think the word you meant to use is “sexist” book club. unless you really think that Oprah *hates* women.
it does seem a little unbalanced, doesn’t it?
It’s inexcusable that women have been overlooked by Oprah’s Book Club – they’ve written some damn good cookbooks. Even more outrageous, is that no eskimos have ever been honored. Oprah must stop giving the cold shoulder to the eskimos!