Do you read or avoid books recommended by Oprah Winfrey?

[Seabound]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

Oprah connected with another faked memoir. She needs some researchers on her team, LOL.

That's the job of the publisher.

A really good writer can make the impossible believable.

[Harry001]

i am pretty sure, that oprah has no idea, how the kindle works. for me, she is not that kind of woman, who is interested in reading on an e-reader at all.
she's too showbiz for that.
enjoy your reader - and the books
harry

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by Seabound

That's the job of the publisher.

A really good writer can make the impossible believable.

True. However, anyone with her widespread influence has a responsibility to do a little more research into what she touts. Lord knows she has enough staff to do so.

[Seabound]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

True. However, anyone with her widespread influence has a responsibility to do a little more research into what she touts. Lord knows she has enough staff to do so.

From the article:

The Rosenblats were interviewed twice over the years by Winfrey, who has called their romance "the single greatest love story ... we've ever told on the air." They have inspired a children's book and a feature film adaptation is scheduled to begin next year.

Unlike such fake Holocaust memoirists as Misha Defonseca ("Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years") and Benjamin Wilkomirski ("Fragments"), Rosenblat is indeed a survivor and records prove that he was at the Buchenwald camp.

But scholars doubted his story, noting that the layout of the sub-camp made such an encounter at the fence virtually unthinkable (They would have met right by an SS barracks). A recent article in The New Republic quoted friends and family members who were outraged by Rosenblat, so much so that one of his brothers stopped speaking to him.

The cancellation is sure to outrage survivors and scholars, who have worried that Rosenblat would encourage Holocaust deniers, and likely revive the debate over why publishers don't fact check books. Even after such fabrications as James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces," another Winfrey favorite, publishers have said that with more than 100,000 books coming out each year, fact-checking is too time-consuming and too expensive.

Penguin has already had to break ties with two authors this year.

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by Seabound

That's the job of the publisher.

A really good writer can make the impossible believable.

He was on her show well before he planned on the book. He wrote the memoir because of the popularity of the story.

[desertgrandma]

Seabound, "interviewing them twice over the years" is not what I meant by research.

Any book written as non fiction demands to be verified, does it not?

This quote, by the publishers

Even after such fabrications as James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces," another Winfrey favorite, publishers have said that with more than 100,000 books coming out each year, fact-checking is too time-consuming and too expensive.

is shameful. But, encouraging others to buy the book, without checking it out herself, is as bad.

If you are going to sell a book, you must take responsibility for the contents.

I know I just lost a lot of faith in so called "non-fiction".

[mjh215]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Seabound, "interviewing them twice over the years" is not what I meant by research.

Any book written as non fiction demands to be verified, does it not?

This quote, by the publishers

Even after such fabrications as James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces," another Winfrey favorite, publishers have said that with more than 100,000 books coming out each year, fact-checking is too time-consuming and too expensive.

is shameful. But, encouraging others to buy the book, without checking it out herself, is as bad.

If you are going to sell a book, you must take responsibility for the contents.

I know I just lost a lot of faith in so called "non-fiction".

This has been my opinion of 'non-fiction' for years. The only ones I tend to read are those of a technical nature, with an established base or easily verifiable, or those titles by individuals I would trust. Either way I still read them with a grain of salt. I started treating non-fiction that way sometime in my teens when I learned how many 'facts' from history that are constantly retold have been debunked -and widely accepted as being debunked- and are often the more well known. Simply because of an author or salesman (ie. politician) who gave a nice sensational count of the faux history. One doesn't even need to lie to give a reader a false viewpoint of the events, simply choosing the truth to tell about a situation very carefully can lead a reader nearly anywhere the author wants.

-MJ

[ChipnDale]

It never fails to amaze me how much emotion people invest in Oprah, I chose "I'll read a book if I find it interesting" which is true. I don't seek out her recs but I don't avoid them either, same thing with her electronics...when she endorses something I won't rush out to buy it but I won't avoid it either. And this attitude applies to every celebrity on this planet...I like what I like, if they ike it too great if not, too bad.

[radleyp]

As I read all these comments, I kept asking myself: why was this thread started? If it was to discuss the value of celebrity endorsements of books, then the comments of literate readers (which I think we all are) would surely be interesting. But if it became a forum simply for opinions about Oprah herself, then it was likely to produce (and indeed did produce) a lot of disparagement (it's really easy to be and sound superior when you are not debating face to face) that is, frankly, a waste. My opinion of Oprah is of little interest to those who don't know me, so why express it here? What is most obvious to me is that there are people who can't abide a powerful woman whose words pack a commercial wallop, but that's who Oprah is and nothing we say here will change that. OTOH, anyone who can recommend Anna Karenina, Night and The Corrections (though that recommendation, as some of you know, produced a whole ruckus of its own) can't be all bad.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by Harry001

i am pretty sure, that oprah has no idea, how the kindle works. for me, she is not that kind of woman, who is interested in reading on an e-reader at all.
she's too showbiz for that.
enjoy your reader - and the books
harry

I'm curious what you think is the "kind of woman, who is interested in reading on an e-reader at all."

[Falbe Publishing]

Originally Posted by nohmi2

What on earth convinced Oprah that she had great taste in books mystifies me.

I imagine the marketing budgets of major publishers convinced Oprah that she should recommend books. I've watched her show on and off since the 80s but not so much anymore because it has become boring. If you analyze what she does, almost every episode is based on product placements. That woman makes bank with every word that comes out of her mouth. For that, I truly admire her. She is amazing. However, the books she pushes rarely spark my interest, so I have never read a book based on her recommendations.

[ProfJulie]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

If you are going to sell a book, you must take responsibility for the contents.

That statement seems overly broad to me. Or do you really believe Amazon.com and every other store that sells books should take responsibility for the contents of the books they sell?

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by ProfJulie

That statement seems overly broad to me. Or do you really believe Amazon.com and every other store that sells books should take responsibility for the contents of the books they sell?

We're not talking Amazon. We're talking a powerful talk show host that pushed a book without verifying its truthfulness.

And yes, its called integrity and responsibility.

"Non-Fiction"

[Seabound]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Seabound, "interviewing them twice over the years" is not what I meant by research.

Any book written as non fiction demands to be verified, does it not?

This quote, by the publishers

Even after such fabrications as James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces," another Winfrey favorite, publishers have said that with more than 100,000 books coming out each year, fact-checking is too time-consuming and too expensive.

is shameful. But, encouraging others to buy the book, without checking it out herself, is as bad.

If you are going to sell a book, you must take responsibility for the contents.

I know I just lost a lot of faith in so called "non-fiction".

It took "scholars"--whatever those meant in this case--to expose the hoax, and the story was out there for anyone to "investigate." It's the kind of story that people want to believe.

Also, the publishing industry is in the business of publishing books. The "Pride and Prejudice" and other fiasco notwithstanding, they would have tools, experience, and know tricks of the trade that Oprah would not. For every hoax writer that Oprah inadvertently supported (eh, two?), there are probably other honest and deserving people, not only authors, who benefited from her support.

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by Seabound

It took "scholars"--whatever those meant in this case--to expose the hoax, and the story was out there for anyone to "investigate." It's the kind of story that people want to believe.

Also, the publishing industry is in the business of publishing books. The "Pride and Prejudice" and other fiasco notwithstanding, they would have tools, experience, and know tricks of the trade that Oprah would not. For every hoax writer that Oprah inadvertently supported (eh, two?), there are probably other honest and deserving people, not only authors, who benefited from her support.

Pride and Prejudice fiasco?