Adored by its fans, deplored by its critics, Oprahas Book Club has been at the center of arguments about cultural authority and literary taste since it began in 1996. Reading with Oprah explores the club's revolutionary fusion of books, television, and commerce and tells the engaging and in-depth story of the OBC phenomenon. Kathleen Rooney combines extensive research with a dynamic voice to reveal the clubas far-reaching cultural impact and its role as crucible for the clash between ahigha and alowa literary taste. Comprehensive and up-to-date, the book covers the club from its inception in 1996, through the Jonathan Franzen contretemps, the surprising suspension in 2002, and, after the clubas return in 2003, the progression from agreat booksa to memoir. New material includes an extensive look at the James Frey scandal and Oprah's turn to contemporary fiction, including The Road and Middlesex. Through close examination of Winfreyas picks and personal interviews with book club authors and readers, Rooney demonstrates how the club that Barbara Kingsolver calls aone of the best possible uses of a television seta has, according to Wally Lamb, agotten people of all ages to read, to read more, and to read widely.a