I've always enjoyed the show "Married with Children" but didn't really understand the Oprah jokes until she started her reading club. We didn't see it coming. One day there was a sudden rush for some book that we never heard of, I think it was "Deep End of the Ocean". Finally we found out the reason for the madness, Oprah told her audience to buy the book and they did. They'd continue to unquestioningly rush to purchase every book she recommended. The hysteria grew and grew. I suddenly witnessed the cult-like mentality that surrounded Oprah.

After a few cycles we starting getting her book recommendations in advance. Well, we got boxes labeled "Oprah's book club, do not open until xx/xx/1997". Opening them in advance was a big no-no, some severe penalty or whatever. I saw what happened to the guy that made-up his autobiography in 2006, I assume Oprah would give the same treatment for revealing her book club titles in advance. The contents of the boxes didn't matter of course. It could have been filled with "A Night Without Armor : Poems by Jewel" and it would have sold-out so long as it was Oprah-endorsed.

Oprah also published a diet & exercise book called "Make the Connection". It sold at some unfathomable rate. I suppose it's too easy to make fun of her weight problems. Although not a fan of hers by any stretch I can't go after someone who's actually trying to control their weight though. I guess those that struggled with weight problems related to the book or whatever. I've always thought diet books were a joke, including this one. "Eat less, exercise more" seems to be all you need. The books are more like a placebo.