Oprah’s Book Club List: The Best Books Ranked for 2024 (+PDF)

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

August 2016 Oprah’s Book Club Pick

I loved this book and it was one of the first reviews we ever did on the blog. I love the way this book examined the underground railroad with a touch of magical realism. If you are looking for thought-provoking books, look no further.

The story is about Cora and Caesar, two run-away slaves in the South who run away to the underground railroad which, in this book, is an actual railroad.

Each stop along the way is reminiscent of a different place in history and it is interlaced with actual ads placed for runaway slaves. This book is profound and beautiful and a must-read.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

January 2004 Oprah Book Club Pick

This multi-generational family saga is about the Buendiá family and their hometown, the magical Maconda. It’s a comedy, a tragedy, and it looks at the rise and fall of the town’s founding family.

For the record, I read this book BEFORE Oprah picked it! We spent a semester learning about this family saga in high school. Each person was assigned a symbol to report on throughout the book each week.

Mine was goldfish -part of the symbolism of amnesia and the duality between amnesia and nostalgia. Yep. I still remember the lesson. Maybe the teaching contributed, but this remains one of my favorite books ever.

Find this book in Kirsten’s Favorites / Magical Realism Books / Classic Books

Night by Elie Weisel

January 2006 Oprah Book Club Pick

I have a personal story about this book.  My husband’s grandmother grew up in the same town as Elie Weisel.  She knew both him and his wife.  This was the first thing that she told me when I met her (My husband’s name is also Elie but this is purely coincidental). 

This is a must-read non-fiction book about the Holocaust written by the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.  It is a short but very powerful book that will emotionally wreck you.

I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb

June 1998 Oprah Book Club Pick

I read this book more than 20 years ago and I still feel emotional about this book. I have not re-read it to see if it has withstood the test of time but I have no doubt that it has.

This is a story of identical twin brothers one of whom is a paranoid schizophrenic. When he shockingly mutilates himself, his brother must become his caretaker. It is powerful and heartbreaking.

Finding Me by Viola Davis

April 2022 Oprah’s Book Club Pick

Viola Davis’s life story had me entranced as I learned what she needed to overcome during her childhood, college, and her early career to become the powerhouse she is today.

Her thoughts on life in Hollywood were enlightening. Her deep love for her family and her roots shone through. And her story made it very clear that she takes nothing for granted.

Viola worked damn hard to be successful and she deserves every accolade she’s received and more. Her narration even earned her an Audie Awards 2023 nomination.

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummings

January 2020 Oprah’s Book Club Pick

The story starts with Lydia and her 8-year-old son Luca as they hide from the cartel who are massacring their entire extended family. The opening is heart pounding and the jolt it gives to your heart never lets up. ⁣

Lydia and Luca then have to make the perilous journey North as migrants. What they go through as they try to outrun the cartel is devastating, thought-provoking, and scary. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I never knew that a scene about putting a bandaid on a blister could be so suspenseful.⁣ I don’t want to tell any details because this story is about the unfolding of real-time events and the backstory that lead to the massacre.

My heart did not stop pounding the entire time I read this book.  I know that there is a lot of controversy surrounding this book.  However, I read this book for what it was- a work of fiction rather than non-fiction.

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

June 2017 Oprah’s Book Club Pick

This contemporary fiction story was recommended to me so often in the past few years that I was worried it wouldn’t live up to the hype. My library hold finally came due and I finally took the plunge. WHAT TOOK ME SO LONG?

Honestly, I love this story about immigration, Wall Street, and the American dream. At a time when election coverage is ramping up, this book seems so relevant and is a great book club book. Jeni and Nedi’s story about their move from Cameroon and how it affects their marriage and their morals was compulsively readable. I couldn’t put it down. Don’t wait as long as I did to read this amazing African novel.

Where the Heart is by Billie Letts

December 1998 Oprah Book Club Pick

This book was all the rage in my youth, especially when the movie adaptation came out starring Natalie Portman. It’s about a pregnant young woman who is abandoned by her boyfriend in the middle of nowhere. She ends up having a baby in the Walmart she’s been living in and is welcomed by the whole town.

I read this when I was still a teenager, yet I remember connecting with Novalee over her struggles and fight to protect her daughter. Truly a wonderful story about how your family might just be the community you live in.

Bewilderment by Richard Powers

September 2021 Oprah Book Club Pick

This book is a sci-fi fantasy-like book that explores brain treatments to correct behaviors in a child with suspected Autism.

Robin is a sweet child who feels deeply and can have big mood swings, but when a treatment if offered to help him sync his brain to that of his dead mother’s, he jumps at the change.

As the experiment gains momentum and Robin’s behavior changes, his dad Theo is left wondering about the potential consequences.

This story explores the parent-child bond, the growing climate crisis, and autism in a way that will have you thinking about it for months to come.

Fall on Your Knees by Anne-Marie MacDonald 

January 2002 Oprah Book Club Pick

I read this book when its as first published in 2002. Needless to say, I needed to remind myself of some of the plot details but, the emotions in this book remain.

This book is a multigenerational saga that deals with the effect of trauma. This book will bring you to your knees.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

June 2000 Oprah Book Club Pick

This is another book from Oprah’s original book club that has stayed with me over the years. This is the story of one family’s three decades in the Congo.

Oprah chooses books that are emotional and well-written and this family saga is no exception. Nathan Price is an evangelical Baptist who takes his family on a mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. The novel takes place during the Congo’s fight for independence. This epic family saga is told by Nathan’s Wife and four daughters. If you are looking for the best novels about Africa, this one will not disappoint.

She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb

December 1996 Oprah Book Club Pick

I often do not like books in which the email main character is written by a man. Wally Lamb does this with ease in this funny and poignant coming-of-age story.

This story covers her eating disorder, her subsequent stay at an in-patient facility, her suicide attempt and more. It’s a wonderful, moving story.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

February 2018 Oprah’s Book Club Pick

I can see why there are so many people that loved this book. I liked it but from the very beginning, there were so many things that made me anxious while reading this book. Some were for the right reasons (I knew he would be wrongly convicted) and some were for the wrong reasons like the cavalier way Roy talked about his marriage.

The book is well-written and delves into the complexities of love, marriage, and relationships.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

I read this book and enjoyed it but there was something about the book that did not seem authentic. I loved the idea of the book and I actually really liked the movie. There was something about the book that made it “good” but not great for me.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

I know that this book is a great American Classic. But, that does not change my opinion of this book. It is one of the few books I have started to read that I did not finish.

The writing is amazing. It is John Steinbeck but, I could not get into this book. No matter how many times I tried to read this book, I could never fully immerse myself in the story.