From Girlfriend to Goddess, Oprah: A Biography

I am a reader of books.  I love books.  I have since I was just a wee one (and really, we don’t need to discuss how many years ago that has been).  My mother tells stories of me reading books or magazines at the tender age of 2 without tearing a single page.  To say that I love books would be like saying Britt loves shoes.  I probably have as many books as she has shoes, and that’s saying something.

When I saw Oprah A Biography on the shelf at my local library, (I checked it out from my local library. You can buy your own copy here.) I jumped at the chance to read about the most powerful woman in media.  And by media I mean television, radio, print, and internet.  If it’s out there so is she.  I wanted to know what’s Oprah really like? I wanted to know the history and what she did to get to where she is today.  After all, aren’t well all using social media to get out name, our brand out there to make impact, make a difference or even make a living, (or maybe just enough to pay for webhosting).  Oprah does the same thing, only on a much grandeur scale.  She has cornered the market on branding, by trade-marking her name, her signature, her image, her catch phrases. If she’s come up with it, come in contact with it, or makes you think of her, she probably owns it.  But most of all, I wanted to know what’s the true relationship between her and Stedman and Gayle?  Who’s really sleeping with who in that trio.

The book follows her life from ‘a po’ ole’ nappy-headed colored chile’ in Mississippi, to Baltimore where she was first put on air as a news anchor, to Chicago where she got her own show, to The White House where Obama works and she sings his praises.  It follows her from a net worth (according to Forbes) of $675 million in 1998 to $1500 million in 2007.

Oprah is a control freak, and the more powerful she gets the more control over her life, her image, her secrets, she has to have.  She makes everyone sign life long all inclusive confidentiality agreements (that DO stand up in court, they’ve been challenged).  And by everyone she means all her employees, all her guests, their entire family, her maids, hair dressers, dog walkers, gardeners, her entire staff, hotel staff, everyone she comes in contact with.

She is a contradiction in terms, meaning her private life is a contradiction to her public life.  On air, in public, she appears to be caring and giving and open and sharing and warm and your BFF for life.  Behind closed doors she’s shrewd, insensitive, cold, calculating and manipulative and single minded.  What she wants, she’s going to get no matter the cost to anyone.  The Pontiac G6′s she gave to her audience?  While she could have paid for them herself, she didn’t.  “Yes, I could have paid for them, but Pontiac offered to donate them so why should I pay for them?”  She of course did not help with sales taxes licensing or fees either.  They were presented as a gift and not a prize and therefore audience members had to pay approximately $7000 in sales tax on the vehicles.  Nice gift.

Oprah is the queen of branding and the Madame of Media, using each and every possible outlet to it’s fullest potential to further her brand and reach more and more people.  She is the epitome of what we’re all doing on a much much smaller scale.  The phrase if you build it they will come certainly applies here.  She has built an empire around herself and fans and followers flock to worship at her feet, or at their television set every weekday at 4:00 (9:00 AM Chicago).

I enjoyed the book.  I was sucked in from the first page and would read it every night when I got home. It’s a hard book to put down.  If for no other reason than to find the answer to “What the hell really *is* going on with her, Stedman and Gayle?”  The world may never know.

Henry’s Sisters

Once in awhile a book comes along that I know will never quite make it to the donation box that my husband and I take to the senior center book store every other month or so. My Harry Potter books, my Twilight series books and then every so often a single novel will shine in such a way that I know it will always be on my shelf even if I never peruse its pages again.

Henry’s Sisters is a story about a completely, and I mean COMPLETELY, dysfunctional family. The kids are all grown, the three sisters Isabelle, Janie, Cecilia and Henry. Their dad is in prison, their mom is cruel and cold – just as she was her kids’ whole lives – and their grandmother thinks she is Amelia Erhart. This family makes you value that one crazy drunk uncle you have.  You know, the one who gets a little overly friendly at holidays while loaded up on eggnog and schnapps. He’s a treat compared to this family.

You will fall in love with this family and with these sisters of Henry. You will adore Henry with every fiber of your being. He is an ever-constant, ever-loving brother, son and grandson with Downs Syndrome and is the heart and soul of the book.

Follow this family as they journey through life together while learning more and more about their past. You should take the trip with them and bring a tissue box. Or five.  Or ten.  There is laughter, too, so don’t worry that I’m leading you into a downward spiral of sorrow. There are laughs and joy and tears. Just enough of each to strike a balance.

It’s a lovely book. So next time you’re trying to find something to read for vacation, lunch breaks, winter nights or just to curl up and have some “me” time. Take a chance with Henry’s Sisters. They will not disappoint.

A Book For Wounded Souls

My friend Deanna sent me an instant message last week to see how I was doing.  I assured her that I was, still, doing fantastically awful.

And then she did the most annoying thing that people always do when they know you are feeling awful.

She recommended a book to me.

I don’t know why I didn’t punch Deanna.  Maybe because she was instant messaging me from Canada, and I have yet to figure out the emoticon for “punch in face through computer”.  Maybe because I really kind of love her.  Or maybe because, for some odd reason, my mental response was actually something along the lines of “I think you need this right now.”

Don’t ask me why.

I don’t know why I didn’t roll my eyes or immediately forget the name of that book.

What I do know is that I had $200 in my checking account, 24 hours until pay day, and a weekend conference I was leaving for that was going to require me to feed myself using a good chunk of that $200.

I stopped at Barnes & Noble on my way to the hotel and bought that damn book anyway.

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