First - Our Big Book Club News....

We're excited to announce that for the first time ever -- Oprah.com is joining forces with CNN.com to present a very special LIVE Book Cub Web Event on Monday, November 9th at 9pm EST, 8pm CST.

Oprah and author Uwem Akpan will be discussing his book, Say You're One of Them. We'll be taking your questions and calls during the program and we want to hear what you have to say!

To R.S.V.P. for our web event -- click on the link below:

http://www.oprah.com/static/webcast/cnn/webcast_register_cnn.html

And if you have a burning question for our author -- send it to us and you might get to ask it yourself during our broadcast:

https://www.oprah.com/plugform.jsp?plugId=2902689

Now onto the last short story of this collection, "My Parents' Bedroom"...

After finishing this story, the question that has been running through my mind is: At what moment did you leave your childhood behind?

There's a time in almost every child's life when he or she has an abrupt entry into the adult world. As a child of an alcoholic father, I think about the number of things I should not have seen or experienced so young. For many children their particular event was so traumatic that their psyches might take years, sometimes even a lifetime, to heal. This story makes me think about all the children who go to bed hungry night after night, who are orphaned too young by their parents' death from AIDS, are the innocent victims of wars, or have family circumstances that robbed them of their childhood at a very young age. I often wonder if these children will ever get over what they've lived through and find a way to survive.

I think the answer can be found at the end of the story when nine year old Monique, having witnessed something no child or human being for that matter should ever see -- decides to do the one thing we all can do, if we chose, when faced with so much trauma.

"There are corpses everywhere. Their clothes are dancing in the wind." (page 353)

The adults in the story are caught up in a deadly frenzy of chaos and violence -- what the rest of the world would eventually learned of in 1994 as the Rwandan Genocide. Before I read this book I never imagined what it was like for the children of that modern day holocaust, but in this story Monique is there as our witness. And she dutifully reports what the adults do after their grotesque killing spree in her home, "They run on."

Yet it's what Monique says she does next, with her baby brother in tow, that I think is the most profound event of the story. Monique tells us quite simply, after all of the anguish and suffering she has experienced, "we walk forward." Her statement is an intention, a directive of purpose and I believe, an act of forgiveness.

What Monique chooses to do demonstrates what we all can try to do when faced with life's challenges... we can walk forward, we can walk through, and we can simply forgive. I believe the end of this story is telling us not to get caught in the swirl of anger and violence, or even in the question of why. I believe our author is trying to offer an instruction to the reader on the way past grief, hurt, and suffering. He's perhaps trying to teach us that there really is a way out of the pain of our past. And the way is to forgive... to walk forward. If Monique can put one foot in front of the other -- and not look back -- then maybe so can we.

What do you think after you finished this story? How did it help you see your life and your world in a new way? Is there anyone you need to forgive?

I've been reading your comments on this blog and on the book club message boards and have been quite moved by your thoughts and insights about this book. I've noticed that many of you are asking now that you've read this book and your eyes have been opened to what it's really like for those in need, how you can help. Many of us here felt the same way when we read Say You're One of Them and that's why we decided to create a section on this site on how to make a difference.

For those of you interested in finding out ways to help, please take a look at our "For All Women Registry." We have selected a variety of programs that do the vital work of helping women and children in need around the world.

http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsbookclub/pastselections/pkguwemakpan/20090930-obc-say-youre-one-of-them-charity

And if you're wondering why this registry is for women and girls, it's because we've learned that they are the key to changing the world for the better. We have been educated by people like Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn who together wrote an extraordinary new book, Half the Sky, featured on our show a few weeks ago. They say that when you help a mother and a girl, you help the whole family not just survive but thrive - and that's exactly why we created our Oprah.com registry. I hope you take a moment to look at the programs we highlighted.

Now for those who've read story #3, "What Language Is That?" - my question to you is... "Did you ever have a BFF (Best Friend Forever)?" I did when I was in elementary school. Her name was Katy and I thought she was sheer perfection. She was the very first friend I made when my parents moved us from the south side of Chicago to a leafy suburban neighborhood in Evanston, IL. She was my same age and lived across the street from me and I wanted to do everything Katy did. We spent all our time together: we played dress up and listened to music on her cool record player and talked and talked and talked. She was white with curly blonde hair that looked like an afro and I was the only 7 year old black girl in the neighborhood. She never hesitated to be my friend and her parents welcomed my family to the area and into their home.

But that was not the case for some of the families who lived on our neighboring blocks. The ones next door made it known that my brother, younger sister, and I were not allowed in their house or yard and several others families followed suit. My parents had worked with a fair housing organization to buy the house we lived in and I guess in 1970s suburbia, racial equality for some had not moved from the lunch counter to the front porch. At the time Katy and I didn't think we were remarkable, but I guess to the adult world we were an example that seemed to many unfathomable and to some... undesirable.

Eventually Katy and I drifted apart on our own once we got to junior high and the social culture of race caught up to both of us. But I will always be grateful that I had that kind of special friendship and that we both had and for parents who unlike the ones in the book, could look beyond our differences to see that true friendship is a human -- not racial, religious or cultural -- bond.

What did you think when you read, "What Language Is That?" How did this story make you think of your own life or the world differently? I can't wait to read your thoughts!

As promised, I'm blogging about the first story of our current book club selection, Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan, titled "An Ex-mas Feast." If you haven't finished the story, I suggest you do before you read this -- you'll get much more out of it, I promise.

I'm first struck by the pure irony of the setting: a family celebrating a Christmas holiday on the street because they have nowhere better to go, much like Mary and Joseph -- but they at least found a manger. And instead being surrounding by animals and sleeping on straw, the family of this story live in filth and squalor in a rundown shack.

And then the mother, hungover from partying night before, gives her children glue in order to keep their hunger at bay. This was where I stopped and thought, am I up for this? Can I handle the destitution and heartbreak on these pages? I really didn't know if I could -- it was a particularly beautiful day outside... there were plenty of errands to run.... But after the first couple of pages, all I did know was that I could not put the book down.

I needed to know, do these children in this story even have a chance? They live in utter destitution with parents who have given up the fight to better themselves, change their circumstances, completely. But then I think there's hope for these children because they have each other. Maisha is working as a prostitute so her family will have enough money for her eight-year-old brother, Jigana, to attend school for the first time. And Jigana is as devoted to his sister as she is to him. That to me is survival on the edge of despair -- right there, in my face -- who am I to look away.

In some way, it reminds me of my own family's story about the time my mother dropped out of college so her younger sister could go to nursing school. They didn't have much money; my grandfather had a devastating stroke and could no longer work, so my mother quit school to go to work to help. My mother's family was nowhere near the dire straits of the family in the story, but it was 1940s America and they were struggling, not just to survive... but also achieve. And I guess why this family story has stayed with me is that my mother never had a moment of resentment about dropping out, not once. I could never understand why. She was as smart as her sister and was just as deserving, but after reading this story, I now understand.

My mother didn't just see herself as an individual, but as part of a unit, whose success relied on someone, anyone in fact, getting to the next rung. And when that person succeeded, everyone else felt they did too. That was how families fought their ways out of poverty, sacrifices had to be made and everyone understood. In our case it worked. My mother went on to eventually finish college and even achieve a Masters Degree.

But sometimes the burden is too much to bear, the weight too heavy. And in the case of this story -- a tsunami wave of pain and despair swept Maisha and Jigana out on the dangerous streets of Nairobi unmoored and all alone. Will they end up like their own parents, discarded like detritus from a city that never saw their value? Parents who might have been like Maisha and Jigana in their youth? Or will each of them find their own path to a better life than the one they knew?

All I do know is that when I see children begging in the streets again... I will think stop and differently -- and that's what a great story is there to do.

What are your thoughts about "Ex-mas Feast"? Will these children survive? Are the parents at fault or victims of a system that doesn't support those who have the least? I can't wait to read what you have to say!

Actually it's two questions I'm always asked....

The first is:

"What's your next book?"

Of course I can't answer that question - but Oprah will LIVE on the show next Friday, September 18th, 2009! It's been a long time since we've had a selection so we're extremely excited, too. It's always an exhilarating time around here in bookclubland when we have a new selection.

And, thank you all for posting titles on my last blog of what you'd like to see as future book club selections. It's great to see what our members recommend so feel free at any time throughout this season to post your suggestions.

Now the other question I get most of all is:

"How do I submit a book to Oprah's Book Club?"

Here's the deal, our book club is like any other in the way that we find books on our own through lots of research and word-of-mouth. That being the case, we don't accept submissions from authors -- but we deeply appreciate all the authors who are interested in being a part of our book club and all the hard work they dedicate to their art. So if you're an author and have a published book you'd like us to check out, free feel to post the title and/or cut and paste your book review to your post.

Let the countdown to our new season AND new book begin....

Okay, I could dance around this confession for a paragraph or two blabbing about my summer vacation and all, but let me get right to it. I said I was going to read a classic this summer and with your help I chose Middlemarch by George Eliot. Right away, I downloaded it on my Kindle, got a variety of paperback versions just in case and hit the beach with good intentions but.... I have to confess; I didn't stick to the reading schedule and have NOT finished the book. Okay, I said it - it feels good to get this book guilt off my chest. I apologize to all who committed to reading along with me. I WAY over-estimated my capacity to read a classic book and about 7 or 8 other titles at the same time. I tend to use my summer breaks as a way to read as many books as possible as potential selections; I didn't factor in what an extra 1,000 pages would do to my reading schedule.

But in the end, I'm glad I tackled Middlemarch and here's what I learned from attempting such a great classic:

1. Classics require your full attention.

Unlike many a modern book that breezes along with cultural references and conversational dialogue, classics are set in a historic place and time and understanding this new world requires time and concentration. So, trying to read while eating my way through Europe was not a good way to start.

2. Classics can have footnotes - if you're lucky!

I happen to pick a very small print paperback edition that I got attached to very quickly because it had footnotes explaining many of the references I didn't understand. But the type was small and my eyes are over 40 so it was really, really slow going.

3. Classics still have lessons for readers today.

Unlike many books I read quickly and never think of again once I'm done, classics are not only stories that stand the test of time but have something of value to say about the human condition that is still relevant and timely. What I loved about Middlemarch - at least the parts I finished, is that the debate about love, medicine, science, power, marriage are all topics we still discuss and examine today.

So in order to get back on track - I will be discussing the book as I move through it, albeit slowly. My next blog will be Parts 1 & 2 of Middlemarch. For all of you who are already done with the novel and followed the reading schedule - you get an A+ - and I hope you join in on the discussion. And for the rest of us bringing up the rear, summer's not over yet - let's get reading!

I'd like to thank everyone who participated and sent me your choice for the classic book I should read this summer. There were a lot of suggestions -- some I've read before like Pride and Prejudice, Atlas Shrugged, Wuthering Heights... and a few that were already Oprah's Book Club selections like East of Eden, The Good Earth, Ann Karenina...

But in the end, many of you told me to go for it and read:

Middlemarch

by George Eliot

Book Description: Bright, beautiful, and rebellious Dorothea has married the wrong man, and Lydgate--the ambitious new doctor in town--has married the wrong woman. Both of them long to make a positive difference in the world, but their lives do not proceed as expected. Along with the other inhabitants of Middlemarch, they must struggle to reconcile themselves to their fates and find their places in the world. (Vintage Classics)

Stayed tuned to my blog this summer for my thoughts on the book and let me know if you're going to read it along with me!

One of the topics in a recent Oprah's Book Club newsletter was, "What Happens When a Book Makes It to the Big Screen?"

The Oprah.com newsletter highlights an interview with Bernhard Schlink, author of The Reader, a 1999 OBC selection and award winning movie starring Kate Winslet. When I read the book I was quite moved by Schlink's story of love and atonement. Even today, when I'm asked to recommend a past selection, The Reader is one of the titles I often suggest. I thought the novel was made into an excellent film (rent it if you haven't seen it), but this topic got me thinking about a question I'm often asked when a book is made into a film -- should I read the book or go see the film?

Although there's no substitute for hot buttered movie popcorn, I always answer -- read the book.

For me, reading is a journey and taking one with a truly well-crafted book is an extraordinary experience that is unique to the reading process. As the reader, you get to "cast" all the characters and do all the set design, but that is not to say that a film can't also deliver a memorable and sometimes even transformational experience.

But after seeing many a good book turned into mediocre a movie, I'm not so quick to want to see the pages I loved up on the big screen (remember the 1970s version of "The Great Gatsby?"). Sometimes I've been pleasantly surprised when the movie is even better than the book, which is how I feel about director David Lean's adaptation of Doctor Zhivago. It's a movie I will sit down and watch to the end no matter what time it's on -- I have to see that final scene on the cable car althought I know it will break my heart. And every time I see the movie, I always marvel at how a book I found to be rather dry was turned into such a passionate film.

Now you tell me, what do you like to do first -- read the book or see the movie? What are your favorite books that were made into movies you liked... or thought missed the mark?

AND -- If you haven't seen our weekly book club newsletter, you can sign up for it clicking on the link below... it's free!

https://www.oprah.com/mbr/mbr_edit_subscriptions.jsp