Oprah Winfrey's Book Recommendations (Updated for 2026)

1

Everything is Figureoutable

Marie Forleo

4.4

Do you ever have trouble finishing what you start? Do amazing ideas come to you all the time but after the initial excitement wanes you struggle to follow through? If you're creative and ambitious, the answer is likely yes.

The problem isn't you. It's not that you're not hardworking, intelligent or deserving, but that you haven't yet installed the one key belief that will change everything: Everyth

Recommended by Oprah Winfrey, Tony Robbins, Arianna Huffington, and 10 others.

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

Millions of young women look to Marie Forleo as their inspiration for empowerment and achievement. [source]

Tony Robbins

Life Coach

Making the impossible possible has little to do with talent and almost everything to do with massive action. Everything Is Figureroutable turns you into the powerhouse you were born to be. This book will make you think, laugh and leap into action — often on the same page. If you ever wonder what separates those who dream from those who achieve, this book is your answer. [source]

Arianna Huffington

Founder/The Huffington Post

If you’re stuck or frustrated with any aspect of your life, take heart. With her trademark mix of warmth, intelligence and insightful advice, Marie Forleo shows us how, as the title says, everything is figureoutable. [source]

2

The Good Earth (House of Earth #1)

Pearl S. Buck

4.3

Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

The Good Earth is Buck’s classic story of Wang Lung, a Chinese peasant farmer, and his wife, O-lan, a former slave. With luck and hard work, the couple’s fortunes improve over the years: They are blessed with sons, and save steadily until one day they can afford to buy property in the House of Wang—the very house in which O-lan used to

Recommended by Oprah Winfrey, Amy Chua, and Abid Zaidi.

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

Reading Pearl Buck's writing feels like reading poetry to me. I just love the quiet rhythm of the words. They evoke the simple beauty of the characters and the harsh mystery of China's ancient culture. [source]

Amy Chua

I read this book when I was about nine years old. It just made such an impact on me. O-Lan, the mother in this book, toils silently and stoically all her life to provide for her family. [source]

Abid Zaidi

Day 4 : #30Days of posting cover of books I love (1 book a day for 30 days). No expectations, no reviews, just the covers. Inspired by @rekha_bhardwaj #MyFavouriteBooks https://t.co/Z1RZbzh9vZ [source]

3

One Hundred Years of Solitude

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

4.1

The brilliant, bestselling, landmark novel that tells the story of the Buendia family, and chronicles the irreconcilable conflict between the desire for solitude and the need for love—in rich, imaginative prose that has come to define an entire genre known as "magical realism."

Recommended by Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson, and 9 others.

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

Brace yourselves—One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez is as steamy, dense and sensual as the jungle that surrounds the surreal town of Macondo! [source]

Barack Obama

Former USA President

When asked what books he recommended to his 18-year-old daughter Malia, Obama gave the Times a list that included The Naked and the Dead and One Hundred Years of Solitude. “I think some of them were sort of the usual suspects … I think she hadn’t read yet. Then there were some books that are not on everybody’s reading list these days, but I remembered as being interesting.” Here’s what he included: The Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez The Golden Notebook, Doris Lessing The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston [source]

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. [source]

4

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

Sheryl Sandberg

4.2

Preview Summary

Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In is a massive cultural phenomenon and its title has become an instant catchphrase for empowering women. The book soared to the top of bestseller lists internationally, igniting global conversations about women and ambition. Sandberg packed theatres, dominated opinion pages, appeared on every major television show and on the cover of Time magazine, and sparked ferocious deb

Recommended by Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson, and 13 others.

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

Honest and brave... The new manifesto for women in the workplace. [source]

Mark Zuckerberg

Founder/Facebook

For the past five years, I've sat at a desk next to Sheryl and I've learned something from her almost every day. She has a remarkable intelligence that can cut through complex processes and find solutions to the hardest problems. Lean In combines Sheryl's ability to synthesize information with her understanding of how to get the best out of people. The book is smart and honest and funny. Her words will help all readers - especially men - to become better and more effective leaders. [source]

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

If you loved Sheryl Sandberg's incredible TED talk on why we have too few women leaders, or simply believe as I do that we need equality in the boardroom, then this book is for you. As Facebook's COO, Sheryl Sandberg has first-hand experience of why having more women in leadership roles is good for business as well as society. Lean In is essential reading for anyone interested in righting the injustice of this inequality. [source]

5

The Water Dancer

Ta-Nehisi Coates

4.3

Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her—but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known.

So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram fro

Recommended by Oprah Winfrey, John Rampton, Rick Klau, and 2 others.

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

The only thing more thrilling than being captivated by a book is being able to share it with others. Which is why I’m excited to bring @oprahsbookclub to @apple starting TODAY! My first pick, The Water Dancer by the brilliant Ta-Nehisi Coates. It will enthrall you. #ReadwithUs https://t.co/DG99kTKrWu [source]

John Rampton

Oprah on Ta-Nehisi Coates' sci-fi debut: 'One of the best books I've ever read' https://t.co/S4r62JQOFe https://t.co/Nmd8PU7yYN [source]

Rick Klau

@goodreads @taffyakner @thrillkinson @itsDanielSuarez @blakecrouch1 @eliotpeper @RonanFarrow @cbracy The Water Dancer, by Ta-Nehesi Coates. Coates sees us—all of us—with a clarity that is as unnerving as it is breathtaking. He sees our failures, our aspirations, our hypocrisy, our pettiness, our beauty. Astounding book. https://t.co/afUvOdc8ne [source]

6

The Road

Cormac McCarthy

4.0

A searing, postapocalyptic novel destined to become Cormac McCarthy’s masterpiece.

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have noth

Recommended by Oprah Winfrey, Aubrey Marcus, George Monbiot, and 6 others.

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

It's got everything that's grabbing the headlines in America right now. It's about race and class, the economy, culture, immigration and the danger of the us-versus-them mentality. And underneath it all, pumps the heart and soul of family love, the pursuit of happiness, and what home really means. [source]

George Monbiot

This is possibly the most important environmental book ever written. It is a thought-experiment that imagines the world without a biosphere. That is the fundamental thought-experiment at the heart of environmentalism. All the horrors of that story arise from the disappearance of the biosphere, leaving people without any means of feeding themselves and without any means of survival. They are thrown into a brutal and fatal competition where the only thing left to eat is each other. [source]

Greg Garrett

There is no creature that has been transformed by leaking chemicals or radioactive satellites. But, on the other hand, there are human beings who consume other humans and that informs the major conflicts of the book. So, you’ve got a post-apocalyptic setting and you’ve got ethical quandaries for the main characters. There’s the sense of menace that permeates the zombie apocalypse. It’s not bad enough that they’re going to kill you, they’re also going to eat you. What I love about this story is its literary quality. We tend to think of the zombie apocalypse as a low-culture, pulp phenomenon. [source]

7

East of Eden

John Steinbeck

4.5

In his journal, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck called East of Eden "the first book," and indeed it has the primordial power and simplicity of myth. Set in the rich farmland of California's Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poiso

Recommended by Oprah Winfrey, Emma Watson, John Lilly, and 2 others.

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

It's the perfect summer read...a novel so rich and full of drama you won't be able to turn the pages fast enough! [source]

John Lilly

@ben_mathes @kevinakwok @samhinkie @aweissman Amazing book. Ive always liked it better than Grapes of Wrath. [source]

Steve Benjamins

My favorite non-business book is East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I think all of John Steinbeck’s books are uplifting. He sees the best in humanity and it leaves me feeling warm and generous. [source]

8

We Were the Mulvaneys

Joyce Carol Oates

3.8

The Mulvaneys of High Point Farm in Mt. Ephraim, New York, are a large and fortunate clan, blessed with good looks, abundant charisma, and boundless promise. But over the twenty-five year span of this ambitious novel, the Mulvaneys will slide, almost imperceptibly at first, from the pinnacle of happiness, transformed by the vagaries of fate into a scattered collection of lost and lonely souls.It i

Recommended by Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

I read this book over a year ago, but this family still haunts me. [source]

9

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

David Wroblewski

3.8

Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life on his family's farm in remote northern Wisconsin where they raise and train an extraordinary breed of dog. But when tragedy strikes, Edgar is forced to flee into the vast neighboring wilderness, accompanied by only three yearling pups. Struggling for survival, Edgar comes of age in the wild, and must face the choice of leaving

Recommended by Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

It's so engaging, so gripping, so epic, that I wanted absolutely everybody to share the joy of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle...I think that this is right up there with the greatest American novels ever written. Up there with Steinbeck and even Harper Lee. [source]

10

The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)

Ken Follett

4.4

Ken Follett is known worldwide as the master of split-second suspense, but his most beloved and bestselling book tells the magnificent tale of a twelfth-century monk driven to do the seemingly impossible: build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known.

Everything readers expect from Follett is here: intrigue, fast-paced action, and passionate romance. But what makes The Pillars of the

Recommended by Oprah Winfrey and Theresa Evanoff.

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

Nobody who reads it—nobody who reads it—looks at a church or a cathedral the same. I made me think about my own life differently, reading that book, the experience of reading that book. What a treasure. [source]

Theresa Evanoff

One of my favourite non-business book is “Pillars of the Earth”, by Ken Follett. I have read this many times over the years, and still enjoy eit ach time. I love how the characters are all very complex, strategic, and how the story weaves together on so many levels. [source]

11

White Oleander

Janet Fitch

4.2

Everywhere hailed as a novel of rare beauty and power, White Oleander tells the unforgettable story of Ingrid, a brilliant poet imprisoned for murder, and her daughter, Astrid, whose odyssey through a series of Los Angeles foster homes--each its own universe, with its own laws, its own dangers, its own hard lessons to be learned--becomes a redeeming and surprising journey of self-discovery.

Recommended by Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

Page after page, I fell in love with a story that deeply moved me, and vivid passages that described the sky as the color of peaches and compared sorrow to the taste of a copper penny. [source]

12

The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography

Sidney Poitier

4.2

"I have no wish to play the pontificating fool, pretending that I've suddenly come up with the answers to all life's questions. Quite that contrary, I began this book as an exploration, an exercise in self-questing. In other words, I wanted to find out, as I looked back at a long and complicated life, with many twists and turns, how well I've done at measuring up to the values I myself have set."

Recommended by Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

It's a beautifully crafted book, written like poetry. Because, just as Poitier speaks so eloquently, he also writes that way, too. [source]

13

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

Carson McCullers

4.1

'The way I need you is a loneliness I cannot bear'

Making its twenty-three-year-old author an overnight literary sensation, this story of isolated, lost lives intersecting in a small town in the American South is a masterpiece of humane sensitivity.

Ten new titles in the colourful, small-format, portable new Pocket Penguins series

Recommended by Oprah Winfrey and Bryony Gordon.

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

I love this book! I had heard about this book for years and then my dear friend Julia Roberts did an interview in O, The Oprah Magazine and she listed this as one of her favorite books of all times. The book I love so much—recommended to me by Julia—is The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. It's a great, great read and not hard at all. [source]

Bryony Gordon

She wrote about what it was to be an outcast, a misfit, to be depressed, to be lonely. [source]

14

The Corrections

Jonathan Franzen

3.8

Winner of the National Book Award for Fiction
Nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award
An American Library Association Notable Book

Jonathan Franzen's third novel, The Corrections, is a great work of art and a grandly entertaining overture to our new century: a bold, comic, tragic, deeply moving family drama that stretches from the Midwest at mid-century to Wall Street and Eastern Europe

Recommended by Oprah Winfrey and Ev Williams.

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

The Correctionsis a grandly entertaining novel for the new century —a comic, tragic masterpiece about a family breaking down in an age of easy fixes. Richly realistic, darkly hilarious and deeply humane, it confirms that Jonathan Franzen is one of our most brilliant interpreters of American society and American soul [source]

15

The Deep End of the Ocean

Jacquelyn Mitchard

3.9

Few first novels receive the kind of attention and acclaim showered on this powerful story—a nationwide bestseller, a critical success, and the first title chosen for Oprah's Book Club. Both highly suspenseful and deeply moving, The Deep End of the Ocean imagines every mother's worst nightmare—the disappearance of a child—as it explores a family's struggle to endure, even against extraordinary odd

Recommended by Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

It's an intense tale that really is a mother's worst nightmare. A lot of you who are mothers think you can't read the book at first, but you really can — trust me. [source]

16

Freedom

Jonathan Franzen

3.6

Patty and Walter Berglund were the new pioneers of old St. Paul—the gentrifiers, the hands-on parents, the avant-garde of the Whole Foods generation. Patty was the ideal sort of neighbor, who could tell you where to recycle your batteries and how to get the local cops to actually do their job. She was an enviably perfect mother and the wife of Walter's dreams. Together with Walter—environmental la

Recommended by Oprah Winfrey, Ellen de Bruin, and Ken Powell.

Oprah Winfrey

CEO/O Network

You don’t hear me say this word often, but this book is a masterpiece ... It’s an epic family saga—it’s got everything—sex and love, even rock n’ roll, and everything you want in a book. [source]

Ellen de Bruin

I had a theory about that, but I looked it up and it turned out to be wrong. Jonathan Franzen said in an interview why he called it Freedom, that he gave the title to the publisher because he really, really wanted to be free. My theory was rather different. In the book, some people explore their own freedom in relationships with others – there is the boy Joey, Patty’s son, who behaves very badly. He’s really seeking the edge of freedom – trying to be really free in that family, and harming other people by doing so. Later on in the novel, Patty explores her own freedom in a way that harms her husband. When I finished the book I thought it was about people seeking freedom at the cost of others. And although I can imagine people seeing the world in that way, that is something I really didn’t like about the book. People can be free and act free, and still have responsibility for other people’s feelings. [source]

Ken Powell

CEO of General Mills, , is into a different genre of books, the novel kind with great life lessons. “Freedom” is one of those books. [source]

17

A Fine Balance

Rohinton Mistry

4.4

With a compassionate realism and narrative sweep that recall the work of Charles Dickens, this magnificent novel captures all the cruelty and corruption, dignity and heroism, of India.

The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers--a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill s

Recommended by Oprah Winfrey, Jacqueline Novogratz, Michael Peel, and 1 others.

Jacqueline Novogratz

A Dickensian novel that captures the essence of being poor in urban India in ways extraordinary and deeply human. [source]

Michael Peel

The book is full of these terrible moments and yet at the end of it you feel strangely uplifted. [source]

Stuart Rutherford

A great romp of a novel, set in western India. In a way, it’s a precursor of Slumdog Millionaire, but much darker. [source]