Actress Megan Mullally is one of Anna's biggest fans

This summer, actress Megan Mullally traded the script of Will and Grace for the pages of Anna Karenina. She admits her favorite character is the young Kitty, but what did Megan think of Anna, the tragic heroine?

"The whole breakdown, or Anna Karenina's entire mental unraveling, is really interesting. Of course, now she could just, like, take some Paxil and it all would be cured. But, you know, they didn't have those mood stabilizers back then.

"I heartily recommend it to one and all. It's so rich. It's pretty great. There were times, I must admit, since it is 817 pages long, that I wasn't sure if I was gonna make it. But you can't wait to get back to it and get back to the story."

Megan wasn't the only one singing the praises of Tolstoy…
These dedicated readers crossed the finish line with Oprah.

These dedicated readers crossed the finish line with Oprah! Their matching t-shirts say on the front: "I wasn't scared." And the back: "Anna Karenina Summer 2004, Oprah's Book Club."
The Culture Project in St. Petersburg, Russia receives an Angel Network award.

You may not know that celebrated author Leo Tolstoy devoted his life to the education of those less fortunate than him. Yet over a century after his death in his beloved Russia, over 4 million children live in overcrowded orphanages with few opportunities for a decent education.

In honor of our book club selection, Anna Karenina , we are proud to announce that our $50,000 Angel Network award goes to The Culture Project in St. Petersburg, Russia. Thousands and thousands of story books, written in Russian, will now make their way to these orphan children who have so very little. Together with your help, Oprah's Book Club and Oprah's Angel Network are bringing the joy of reading to boys and girls all over the world one book at a time. Thanks to all of you who logged onto Oprah.com and shopped our boutique.

Learn more about The Culture Project.
Book Club Elves from Marian High School's honors English class.

Book Club Elves from Mrs. Predny's Advanced English class at Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, Illinois passed out the next book club pick: The Good Earth . They'll be reading it along with us too!