Those who have been avid readers for a while or following pop culture are aware of Oprah’s work. Started in 1996, Oprah's Book Club started and has been growing ever since. A lot of her literary choices have gained popularity and become best-sellers. If you have been looking for a book to read but could not decide which one to read first, you should follow the Oprah book club. Following are given the best books straight from the recommendations of Oprah Book Club 2020:
1. ‘American Dirt’ by Jeanine Cummins
American Dirt, published in 2020, is the story of a mother named Lydia Quixano Perez, who lives comfortably in Acapulco, Mexico, with her husband, and son, Luca. She owns a books store where one-day jefe of a new drug cartel, Javier, arrives to buy some books. Their life changes drastically once her husband publishes a tell-all profile of Javier. American Dirt has the ability to leave a mark on its readers. It is full of poignancy, drama, and humanity. It is already being considered ‘a new American classic.’
2. ‘Olive, Again’ by Elizabeth Strout
‘Olive, Again,’ a sequel to Pulitzer prize-winning novel, Olive Kitteridge, contains 13 stories surrounding Olive and the rich nobles of Crosby, Maine. The novel opens at Olive struggling with her life after the demise of her husband and is about to give birth. This novel once again proves why Strout is one of the best writers of our times.
3. 'Song of Solomon' by Toni Morrison
Macon Dead, Jr., also known as Milkman, is on a spiritual journey to find his real purpose in life after alienating himself from his family and hometown. Morrison's novel has been banned in many schools since 1993 throughout the U.S. due to its subject matter.
4. 'The Sun Does Shine' by Anthony Ray Hinton
Anthony Ray Hinton knew he was innocent when he was charged in 1985 with two counts of capital murder. Being a black man with no money in the South, he was sentenced to death by electrocution. Living life on death row filled him with anger and hopelessness. By accepting his fate, Hinton found a way to transform his spirit and survive the next 30 years in a 5-foot-by-7-foot jail cell. Thanks to civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, he was released in 2015.
5. 'A Lesson Before Dying' by Ernest J. Gaines
Convicted of murder and sentenced to death, Jefferson forms a bond with Grant, an educated man who has come back to town to teach at the local plantation school. As their unexpected friendship grows, they realize the heroism that lies in going against the expected.
6. 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' by Gabriel García Márquez
Still recognized as one of the most significant works in the Spanish literary canon, One Hundred Years of Solitude is the story of the rise, birth and fall of the mythical town of Macondo, told through the seven generations of the Buendía family.
7. 'Anna Karenina' by Leo Tolstoy
Set in 19th-century Russia, this story follows the life of aristocrat Anna Karenina, as she leaves her marriage and falls in love with a count. The movie has had many film adaptations since the book's publishing, including some silent films. One of the first was in 1935 starring Greta Garbo, and the most recent was in 2012 starring Keira Knightley.
8. 'The Sound and the Fury' by William Faulkner
This 20th-century classic follows the Compson family through their struggles as Faulkner writes about these Southern former aristocrats over 30 years of their lives. As they lose faith, lose money, and lose their love and appreciation for their hometown of Jefferson, Mississippi, the Compsons fall deeper and deeper into tragedy.
9. 'Love in the Time of Cholera' by Gabriel García Márquez
At a young age, Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza fall in love. Fermina later falls in love with a rich doctor, leaving Florentino heartbroken and devastated. After 50 years, nine months, and four days, at her husband's funeral, Florentino is there to declare his love for her.
10. 'The Twelve Tribes of Hattie' by Ayana Mathis
Full of hope and ready for a better life, Hattie settles in Philadelphia with a man she marries who brings nothing but disappointment. After losing her first-born twins to an illness, she then has nine more children who she vows to raise, ready to meet the world that she knows to be so unkind.
