Oprah's New Book Club 2.0

I received my July Edition of O Magazine on Saturday and was happy to see that Oprah is starting a new book club. I read the article in the magazine about the first book club selection; Wild (Oprah's Book Club 2.0 Digital Edition): From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. I decided to join the thousands (millions??) of other people who are reading this selection.

There are several resources that are offered to interact with other readers and discussion groups.

You can sign-up for Oprah's Book Club 2.0 on Oprah's web site. You can access Oprah's personal notes, the author's scrapbook, photos and discussion groups from this page.

You can use the hashtag #oprahsbookclub to connect with other readers on Twitter.

You can also join the Oprah's Book Club 2.0 Community on Facebook.

You can watch a video that features Cheryl Strayed talking about her book at Wild Webisodes: Week 1.

What Is This Book About?

"At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker, and the trail was little more than an idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise. But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone."

 Getting Started
I purchased the digital copy of this book last night. The digital copy is expensive ($12.99) but the book club edition includes Oprah’s personal notes highlighted within the text and a reading group guide.

I read the first chapter this morning and I am hooked. In the first chapter of the book, Cheryl tells about her childhood and the death of her mother. She expresses the deep grief that she felt when her mother died of lung cancer at a young age.

Will You Join Me?
Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below. I will be blogging about this book over the next several weeks.

FYI ~ The Amazon link at the top of this post is my affiliate link. If you decide to purchase this book, I would truly appreciate your support. Thank you!

Oprah Down Under

Oprah Winfrey began her 25th season as a talk show host with the announcement that this would be the last season for the popular Oprah Winfrey Show. She decided to celebrate with a surprise trip for her most loyal and deserving fans. In December 2010, Oprah Winfrey took 302 of her fans plus 198 members of her professional staff on a ten day dream vacation to Australia. This book provides behind-the-scenes details about this trip.  

About The Author

Oprah Down Under was written by Brian Lawrenson and published by Marco Polo Press.  Mr. Lawrenson has lived in Australia for over 40 years. He is a traveler, writer, speaker and author of many travel books. He runs Marco Polo Press, a small independent publishing house.

Who Got To Go?

There were 302 audience members chosen for the trip to Australia from The Oprah Winfrey Show. They came from 38 states, 13 from Canada and one from Jamaica. The group was made up of 242 women and 60 men and included 48 couples. Their ages ranged from 17 to 75. The majority of these people had never traveled out of America before. This diverse group of people had one thing in common ~ They all loved Oprah!

The Itinerary

Mr. Lawrenson provides a detailed description of the places and events that were included in this trip. The travelers arrived at the Sydney airport after a thirteen hour flight from Los Angeles on December 7, 2010. The following day the audience members were split into separate groups and each group went off on their own mini tour of Australia. The audience members were reunited for two tapings of the Oprah Winfrey Show at the Sydney Opera House on December 14th.

The author provides fascinating details about the many tourist attractions that were visited by Oprah's audience members. He also gives "insider" information about the experiences of Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King while they were in Australia.

Who Should Read This Book? 

This book is currently being offered as a FREE Kindle book at Amazon.Com. If you are an Oprah Winfrey fan, then this book is for you.

I was somewhat disappointed in the quality of the writing. There are numerous grammatical errors and typos in the text. The author needs to employ the services of a good proofreader to make the needed corrections.

It was really fun to travel along with Oprah to the Land Down Under. Maybe someday I will have the opportunity to visit this wonderful country.

Are you an Oprah fan? Please post your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Thank You Oprah!

Last week Martha Stewart was a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show.   I am a big fan of Martha Stewart crafts supplies so I was delighted when Martha displayed and talked about some of her favorite card making and scrapbooking tools.  At the end of the show, Oprah announced that for 24 hours viewers could download a 50% off coupon for Michaels that could be used to purchase any Martha Stewart crafts item.
I eagerly downloaded my coupon and went to Michaels to select my one item.  I was like a kid in a candy store.  There were so many great things to choose from.  I finally decided to purchase a Punch Around The Page Double Loops set of punches.
I made this wedding card with the new double loops punch set.  I punched the corners of the flowered paper and the edges of the solid paper.  I was really pleased with the way it turned out.
So thank you Oprah and Martha!  The coupon helped me buy this item at a discounted price and I hope to make many more cards in the future.