Winfrey Picks Tolles SelfHelp Book
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(01-30) 18:55 PST New York (AP) —
Oprah Winfrey has chosen Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth,” a self-help guide by the author of the million-selling “The Power of Now,” as her latest book club selection.
Winfrey made the announcement Wednesday on her television talk show, which airs from Chicago. Wednesday’s broadcast featured an appearance by her previous pick, novelist Ken Follett, who discussed his historical blockbuster, “Pillars of the Earth.”
Tolle, whose other books include “The Power of Now” and “Stillness Speaks,” is a native of Germany who now lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. According to his Web site, he advocates “transcending our ego-based state of consciousness” as a “prerequisite not only for personal happiness but also for the ending of violent conflict endemic on our planet.”
Winfrey has a history of advocating spiritual and self-help books, notably Rhonda Byrne’s “The Secret,” a publishing phenomenon thanks in part to Winfrey’s support, although not as a book club pick.
The selection marks another endorsement of Tolle’s work by Winfrey. Eight years ago, actress Meg Ryan recommended “The Power of Now” to Winfrey, who subsequently plugged the book in her magazine “O.” She has cited the book on her Web site as among “Oprah’s Favorite Books.”
Winfrey called the selection of “A New Earth” her “boldest choice yet,” and publisher Penguin Group (USA) announced that more than 750,000 copies had been printed. Beginning Monday, Winfrey and Tolle will begin teaching the book “chapter by chapter” on her Web site.
“A New Earth” is something of a departure for Winfrey’s club, which she revived in 2002 with an emphasis on “classics,” such as John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden” and William Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying.” Since then, she has chosen a number of contemporary novels, including Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road,”"The Pillars of Earth” and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “Love in the Time of Cholera,” as well as Sidney Poitier’s memoir, “The Measure of a Man.”
Wednesday’s pick also continues an unusual streak for Winfrey: The last nine authors chosen for her book club have been men.
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On the Net:
Eckhart Tolle: www.eckharttolle.com/
Oprah Winfrey: www.oprah.com
