The Best Oprah's Book Club Picks Of The 2020s

Oprah Winfrey first launched her book club in 1997, bringing literary discussions to "The Oprah Winfrey Show" after being inspired by her intern-turned-producer Alice McGee. While the reading group has changed and evolved over the years, Oprah's vision for the club has remained the same. "I love books and the community that's created when people share them," she wrote for Oprah Daily. "I particularly like helping unknown authors find new audiences, introducing them to readers who might never have found them otherwise."

If you're looking for easy ways to read more books this year, keeping up with a book club is a great idea, but these bookish circles have a great number of backlogged titles to choose from, too. There have been some pretty thought-provoking book club picks from the 2020s across Reese's Book Club and Read With Jenna Book Club, with Oprah having some standout selections herself. With this in mind, here are some great titles to check out.

"Finding Me" by Viola Davis was named an Oprah Winfrey Book Club pick in April 2022, with the memoir garnering an average rating of 4.55 on Goodreads. It ranks as a great, well-written celebrity memoir, charting Davis's life from her roots in Rhode Island, where she lived in poverty with her siblings, to the stardom she enjoys today as one of few Black EGOT winners. Reviewers agree that "Finding Me" provides a harsh and honest look at Davis's childhood, which was riddled with racism, sexual abuse, and violence, as well as a heart-wrenching exploration of self-reflection, healing, and love in her adulthood.

"There are so many lessons to be learned from this breathtaking memoir about triumphing over adversity and trauma," Winfrey said about the book via Oprah Daily. "Viola Davis leaves it all on the page — from her beginnings in South Carolina as the fifth of six children born in a sharecropper's shack to acclaim as an actor, producer, and philanthropist. I was so moved by this book that I just had to share it with our entire OBC audience." With this in mind, "Finding Me" is a great pick for readers ready for a gripping, truths-bared memoir filled with perseverance and hope.

In August 2020, Oprah Winfrey selected a hard-hitting nonfiction book for her club, titled "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson. The poignant publication was longlisted for the 2020 National Book Awards and boasts an average rating of 4.53 stars on Goodreads. In "Caste," Wilkerson argues that America's inequality has been shaped by a hidden caste system, with the author constructing a narrative through the lives of figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and baseball player Satchel Paige while making comparisons to the societal systems of India and Nazi Germany.

"This might be the most important book I've ever chosen for my book club," Winfrey said in a statement obtained by People. "'Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents' provides a new way of seeing racial inequality, giving rise to countless aha moments and helping us truly understand America as it is now and how we hope it will be." While nonfiction might not be the first genre you reach for, reviewers have praised "Caste" for its unique and challenging view of both America's history and present, making it a must-read for those interested in U.S. history, racial inequality, and social justice.

Next on the list, "The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois" by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers is another Oprah Book Club pick that centers around American history and the Black experience, but this time in the form of an epic tale of family and heritage. At the center of the novel, which has an average rating of 4.51 stars on Goodreads, is Ailey Pearl Garfield searching for belonging and a sense of identity. Told through both the past and the present, the complex and harrowing history of Ailey's multiracial ancestry is unveiled as a vital part of her self-discovery.

"I was enraptured by the story of this modern Black family," Oprah said about the book via Oprah Daily. "And how author Honorée Fanonne Jeffers interweaves the larger fabric of historical trauma with that family's ancestral tale — of tragedy, triumph, and also of the legacy of hidden abuse. But this is Ailey's story, too, and through her, we are offered new learnings about colorism, aspiration, the role of matriarchy, and what it is to be a woman who's 'not to be trifled with.' She's a heroine for the ages." While "Love Songs" deals with heavy, potentially triggering subject matter, it's a great pick for readers looking for a beautifully-written story about family and identity.

Oprah Winfrey selected "Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver as her book club pick for October 2022, with the Goodreads Choice Awards nominee garnering an average rating of 4.49 stars on Goodreads. A humorous but harsh retelling of the classic "David Copperfield" by Charles Dickens, the novel follows the titular Demon who, born to a teenage, drug-addicted mother in the Appalachian mountains, is faced with poverty and a broken foster care system.

"This is the second time I've chosen one of Barbara Kingsolver's novels for my book club — 22 years ago we named 'The Poisonwood Bible' as a selection," Oprah said on her website. "I so admire the way Barbara has taken the plight of a young boy and invited us on his journey through loss, the foster system, addiction and so much more. The novel speaks to so many of our country's relevant issues, but most importantly, it's absolutely riveting." Alongside Oprah, reviewers agree that "Demon Copperhead" deftly explores themes of childhood abuse, institutional poverty, and drug addiction, making it a good recommendation for those looking for a gripping, socially relevant American story.

Another well-selected memoir, "The Many Lives of Mama Love: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing" by Lara Love Hardin was an Oprah Book Club pick for February 2024. In this inspiring and enthralling book, which boasts a rating of 4.46 stars on Goodreads, Hardin divulges her journey from a suburban soccer mom with a secret drug addiction to a convicted felon navigating the intricacies of incarceration. Upon her release, the author reinvents herself as a successful ghostwriter, but she still must contend with the reality of her past and the shame she carries.

"I was turned on by that idea of somebody who has spent their whole life pretending to be somebody else now writes a book that is the truth of themselves," Oprah told CBS about the selection, describing it on Oprah Daily as a story "about redemption, about joy, about hope, about claiming yourself and what you rightly deserve." If you're looking for a strongly written, honest memoir, then this Oprah Book Club pick is worth checking out.

With Oprah's Book Club boasting over one hundred picks since its formation in the late '90s, we used some notable metrics to inform this list. First, each of the featured titles was selected by the reading group in the 2020s, though the publications themselves were not required to be published within that time frame. Goodreads ratings, which are user-submitted, were used to narrow down the list to the top five titles. From there, Oprah's personal comments about the books combined with readers' reviews were used to inform the featured recommendations.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence, or needs help with addiction issues, contact the relevant resources below:

• The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

• The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

• The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).