'The books that see her through': Winfrey suggests seven

ENTERTAINMENT

'The books that see her through': Winfrey suggests seven

Hillel Italie

Published Monday, October 26, 2020 11:16AM EDT

Oprah Winfrey arrives for the presentation of Stella McCartney's ready-to-wear Fall-Winter 2019-2020 fashion collection in Paris on March 4, 2019. Winfrey is setting aside her usual book club recommendations and instead citing seven personal favorites ranging from James Baldwin鈥檚 landmark essays in 鈥淭he Fire Next Time鈥� to Mary Oliver鈥檚 poetry collection 鈥淒evotions.鈥� She is calling her choices 鈥淭he Books That See Me Through,鈥� works she values for 鈥渢heir ability to comfort, inspire, and enlighten鈥� her. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

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NEW YORK -- With Election Day approaching and the pandemic ongoing, Oprah Winfrey is setting aside her usual book club recommendations and instead citing seven personal favourites, ranging from James Baldwin's landmark essays in 鈥淭he Fire Next Time鈥� to Mary Oliver's poetry collection 鈥淒evotions.鈥�

Winfrey is calling her choices 鈥淭he Books That See Me Through,鈥� works she values for 鈥渢heir ability to comfort, inspire, and enlighten.鈥�

鈥淚t's a mix of fiction, poetry, non-fiction and spirituality, books I know and trust and revisit time and again,鈥� she said in a statement Monday.

Her new list, announced in partnership with Apple, includes Eckhart Tolle's spiritual guide 鈥淭he Power of Now鈥� and a classic novel she picked in 1996 for her book club, Toni Morrison's 鈥淪ong of Solomon.鈥� Winfrey also chose Ta-Nehisi Coates' prize-winning book on race and police violence, 鈥淏etween the World and Me鈥�; historian Jon Meacham's 鈥淭he Soul of America: The Battle For Our Better Angels鈥�; and an anthology edited by U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo, 鈥淲hen the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry.鈥�

Winfrey will 鈥渄ive deeper into each book鈥� on Instagram, according to Monday's press announcement, but will not be airing any interviews on Apple TV Plus as she has done with other picks since she signed with Apple in 2019. Winfrey had planned a new choice every two months; her previous selection, Isabel Wilkerson's 鈥淐aste,鈥� was announced in early August.

Winfrey spokesperson Chelsea Hettrick said the seven books announced Monday would serve as 鈥渁 bridge between selections,鈥� and that no firm timeline had been set for future choices.

鈥淭his year has brought such unprecedented change overall. We will re-evaluate in the coming weeks the selection plan and timing for the remainder of 2020,鈥� she said.