Alright, alright.  Oprah wasn’t giving out cars this time.  She was, however, giving out a lifetime of reading to millions.  Her book club introduced — and re-introduced — the culture of reading to the nation and the women who follow her.

“‘I want to get the whole country reading again.’  These nine little words represent an enormously ambitious project.  Who could have predicted back in 1996 how Oprah Winfrey’s announcement would affect people’s everyday habit of book consumption?”

There is something exciting about knowing that vacations and cars aren’t the only thing Oprah is giving out.  The gift of literacy is something that can never be taken away, no matter what the age or medium.

The choices of books are smart, too.  Why assign all difficult or easy things?  The variety selected for the book club give more than a small group of people the chance to enjoy their reading.

Difficulty isn’t the only deciding factor for Winfrey.  “The language Winfrey used to frame every one of these selections suggests that something more than taste in the abstract guides the decision making process.  That she repeatedly referred to specific selections as summer books, holiday books, and so forth, indicates that both time and page length are criteria she carefully considers.”

Oprah, admittedly, used to annoy me.  You know what, though?  I can’t dislike someone who goes to that length to encourage and nurture reading and sheer enjoyment of books.

Well done.