95 Books recommended by Oprah Winfrey

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie
Author :Ayana Mathis

"So astonishing, it left me speechless." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

As I Lay Dying
The Corrected Text
Author :William Faulkner

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

A Million Little Pieces
Author :James Frey

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

The Underground Railroad
A Novel
Author :Colson Whitehead

"Every now and then a book comes along that reaches the marrow of your bones, settles in, and stays forever. This is one." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

Deacon King Kong
A Novel
Author :James McBride

"Reminds us that when we come together as a community in compassion and empathy, our love triumphs." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

The Treasure Hunt
Author :Bill Cosby

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

Drowning Ruth
A Novel
Author :Christina Schwarz

"It will drive you crazy with suspense. I loved it, loved it, loved it; I stayed up all night reading it." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

The Sun Does Shine
How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row
Author :Anthony Ray Hinton

"Reads like an epic novel. And it is all true!" - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

Fall On Your Knees
Author :Ann-Marie MacDonald

"What a wild ride. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

Mother of Pearl
Author :Melinda Haynes

"That, my dear, is called reading." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]


The Corrections
A Novel
Author :Jonathan Franzen

"A grandly entertaining novel for the new century." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

A Tale of Two Cities
Author :Charles Dickens

"Such a beautiful book. I love this book." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

While I Was Gone
Author :Sue Miller

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

Where the Heart Is
Author :Billie Letts

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

Songs in Ordinary Time
A Novel
Author :Mary McGarry Morris

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

East of Eden
Author :John Steinbeck

"So rich and full of drama you won't be able to turn the pages fast enough!" - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

The Book of Ruth
Author :Jane Hamilton

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

Behold the Dreamers
A Novel
Author :Imbolo Mbue

"About race and class, the economy, culture, immigration and the danger of the us-versus-them mentality." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

Here on Earth
Author :Alice Hoffman

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

If at Birth You Don't Succeed
My Adventures with Disaster and Destiny
Author :Zach Anner

"[The author] makes you want to be a better person, with his humor and his heart and everything he's had to deal with from the time he was born." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]


American Dirt
Author :Jeanine Cummins

"Changed the way I see what it means to be a migrant in a whole new way." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

Stones from the River
Burgdorf Cycle Book 1
Author :Ursula Hegi

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]


A Fine Balance
Author :Rohinton Mistry

"I've never encountered pages that took me so far, and removed me from my own way of life and way of thinking the way [this book] did." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

Cry, the Beloved Country
Author :Alan Paton

"Captures the very essence of South Africa in transition from a rural, tribal nation of spiritual heritage to a modern country of big cities, violence and upheaval." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

The Deep End of the Ocean
A Novel
Author :Jacquelyn Mitchard

"An intense tale that really is a mother's worst nightmare." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
Author :Carson McCullers

"The book I love so much—recommended to me by Julia [Roberts]." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]



Light in August
Author :William Faulkner

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

The Heart of a Woman
Author :Maya Angelou

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

We Were the Mulvaneys
Author :Joyce Carol Oates

"I read this book over a year ago, but this family still haunts me." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

The Good Earth
House Of Earth, Book 1
Author :Pearl S. Buck

"[The author's words] evoke the simple beauty of the characters and the harsh mystery of China's ancient culture." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

Olive, Again
A Novel
Author :Elizabeth Strout

"I fell in love with Olive not despite her flaws, but because of them." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

A Map of the World
A Novel
Author :Jane Hamilton

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

Black and Blue
A Novel
Author :Anna Quindlen

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

The Meanest Thing To Say
Author :Bill Cosby

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]



A New Earth
Awakening to Your Life's Purpose
Author :Eckhart Tolle

"One of the most important books of our time." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]


One Hundred Years of Solitude
Author :Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"As steamy, dense and sensual as the jungle that surrounds the surreal town of Macondo!" - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

Daughter of Fortune
Daughter Of Fortune, Book 1
Author :Isabel Allende

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

An American Marriage
A Novel
Author :Tayari Jones

"The perfect book to read along with a friend or family member." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

The Untethered Soul
The Journey Beyond Yourself
Author :Michael A. Singer

"One of my new favorite books." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

Strength in Stillness
The Power of Transcendental Meditation
Author :Bob Roth

"I am one-thousand percent better when I do it. Meditation Bob: He’s got it!" - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

The Poisonwood Bible
A Novel
Author :Barbara Kingsolver

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

The Reader
Author :Bernhard Schlink

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

Love in the Time of Cholera
Author :Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"One of the greatest love stories I have ever read." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

The Water Dancer
A Novel
Author :Ta-Nehisi Coates

"I knew early on the book was going to cut me up. I ended up with my soul pierced." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

A Virtuous Woman
A Novel
Author :Kaye Gibbons

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

The Sound and the Fury
Author :William Faulkner

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

Ellen Foster
Author :Kaye Gibbons

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]




She's Come Undone
Author :Wally Lamb

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

Say You're One of Them
Author :Uwem Akpan

"Masterfully both captures the innocence and the horror of the unimaginable events these children witness." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

Song of Solomon
Author :Toni Morrison

"Fills me with admiration and awe." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

Love Warrior
A Memoir
Author :Glennon Doyle

"I read it as a testament to the power of vulnerability." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

Great Expectations
Author :Charles Dickens

"You get something new every time." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

The Measure of a Man
A Spiritual Autobiography
Author :Sidney Poitier

"A beautifully crafted book, written like poetry." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

Cane River
Author :Lalita Tademy

"[Opens] the door for a lot of people who want to trace their own roots or look at what their heritage, what that legacy has meant for them." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

White Oleander
Author :Janet Fitch

"Page after page, I fell in love with a story that deeply moved me." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

The Best Way to Play
Author :Bill Cosby

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

I Know This Much Is True
A Novel
Author :Wally Lamb

"It’s not just a book, it’s a life experience." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

Breath, Eyes, Memory
Author :Edwidge Danticat

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

The Pillars of the Earth
Kingsbridge, Book 1
Author :Ken Follett

"Nobody who reads it—looks at a church or a cathedral the same." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

The Bluest Eye
Author :Toni Morrison

"One of the things [the author is] able to do in this book is [to let] people know that they are not alone." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

Vinegar Hill
Author :A. Manette Ansay

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

A Lesson Before Dying
Author :Ernest J. Gaines

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

The Invention of Wings
A Novel
Author :Sue Monk Kidd

"It is impossible to read this book and not come away thinking differently about our status as women." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]



What Looks Like Crazy On an Ordinary Day
Idlewild Book 1
Author :Pearl Cleage

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

Icy Sparks
Author :Gwyn Hyman Rubio

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
A Novel
Author :David Wroblewski

"I think that this is right up there with the greatest American novels ever written." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

Anna Karenina
Author :Leo Tolstoy

"[The author] weaves an extravagant web." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

The Pilot's Wife
A Novel
Author :Anita Shreve

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

Stolen Lives
Twenty Years in a Desert Jail
Author :Malika Oufkir

"People read [this book] and they are changed by it—enlightened by it—opened up by it." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird, Book 1
Author :Harper Lee

"I remember starting it and just devouring it, not being able to get enough of it, because I fell in love with Scout." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]

River, Cross My Heart
A Novel
Author :Breena Clarke

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

Hidden Valley Road
Inside the Mind of an American Family
Author :Robert Kolker

"A riveting true story of an American family that reads like a medical detective journey." - Oprah Winfrey [Source]


Open House
A Novel
Author :Elizabeth Berg

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]


Rapture of Canaan
Author :Sheri Reynolds

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]

House of Sand and Fog
A Novel
Author :Andre Dubus III

Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in "Oprah's Book Club." [Source]
FAQs
Q1: What books have been recommended by Oprah Winfrey?
Oprah Winfrey has recommended a wide variety of books over the years, but some of the more well-known titles include The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Wild by Cheryl Strayed, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, and The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.
Q2: How did Oprah come to find these books?
Oprah is a voracious reader and has a long career in media and entertainment. She often shares her recommendations with her fans via social media and her magazine, O Magazine. Additionally, she may hear about books from other authors, booksellers, or find them on bestseller lists.
Q3: What type of books does Oprah prefer?
Oprah loves books that tell powerful stories and that evoke strong emotions. She often has a preference for books that reflect her own values and beliefs. Additionally, she tends to recommend books that explore themes of resilience, redemption, perseverance, and joy.
Q4: What authors has Oprah consistently recommended?
Oprah has consistently recommended books by Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Zadie Smith, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Louise Erdrich. Additionally, she has a strong affinity for books of poetry and short stories.
Q5: Does Oprah have any other resources for book recommendations?
Yes! Oprah has two other resources for book recommendations—Oprah's Book Club and Oprah's Reading List. Through her online book club, she has selected more than 80 titles since 1996 and maintains an extensive archive of recommendations for her fans. Oprah’s Reading List also offers custom recommendations and exclusive interviews with authors.