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Oprah Winfrey is the protagonist of the story to be told here, but this book has broader intentions, begins Eva Illouz in this original examination of how and why this talk show host has become a pervasive symbol in American culture. Unlike studies of talk shows that decry debased cultural standards and impoverished political consciousness, Oprah Winfrey and the Glamour of Misery asks us to rethink our perceptions of culture in general and popular culture in particular. At a time when crises of morality, beliefs, value systems, and personal worth dominate both public and private spheres, Oprah's emergence as a cultural form—the Oprah persona—becomes clearer, as she successfully reiterates some of our most pressing moral questions. Drawing on nearly one hundred show transcripts; a year and a half of watching the show regularly; and analysis of magazine articles, several biographies, O Magazine, Oprah Book Club novels, self-help manuals promoted on the show, and hundreds of discussions on the Oprah Winfrey Web site, Illouz takes the Oprah industry seriously, revealing it to be a multilayered "textual structure" that initiates, stages, and performs narratives of suffering and self-improvement that resonate with a wide audience and challenge traditional models of cultural analysis. This book looks closely at Oprah's method and her message, and in the process reconsiders popular culture and the tools we use to understand it.

Winfrey, Oprah. --- Oprah --- Winfrey, Oprah, --- Oprah Winfrey show (Television program) --- PERFORMING ARTS / Television / History & Criticism. --- Oprah Winfrey show. --- Winfrey, Oprah --- Oprah Winfrey show

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African American television personalities. --- African American women entertainers. --- Winfrey, Oprah --- Criticism and interpretation. --- Oprah Winfrey show.

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Book history --- Sociology of literature --- Winfrey, Oprah --- United States of America

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The Oprah Affect explores the cultural impact of Oprah's Book Club, particularly in light of debates about the definition and purpose of literature in American culture. For the critics collected here, Oprah's Book Club stands, in the context of American literary history, not as an egregious undermining of who we are and what we represent, as some have maintained, but as the latest manifestation of a tradition that encourages symbiotic relationships between readers and texts. Powered by women writers and readers, novels in this tradition attract crowds, sell well, and make unabashed appeals to emotion. The essays consider the interlocking issues of affect, affinity, accessibility, and activism in the context of this tradition. Juxtaposing book history; reading practices; literary analysis; feminist criticism; and communication, religious, political, and cultural studies; the contributors map a range of possibilities for further research on Oprah's Book Club. A complete chronological list of Book Club picks is included.

Book clubs (Discussion groups) --- Books and reading --- Literature and society --- Education --- Social Sciences --- Education, Special Topics --- Book clubs --- Book discussion groups --- Book study groups --- Clubs --- Group reading --- Oprah Winfrey show (Television program) --- Winfrey, Oprah --- Influence. --- Oprah --- Winfrey, Oprah,

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Fitzgerald, Francis Scott --- Adams, James Truslow --- Alger, Horatio --- Davis, James John --- McLuckie, John --- Ayer, Harriet Hubbard --- Kang, Younghill --- Walker, Madam C.J. --- Antin, Mary --- Powter, Susan --- Winfrey, Oprah --- Perot, Ross