Famous American talk show host Oprah Winfrey and tech giant Apple have announced a new partnership aimed at building “a vibrant, global book club”.
The book club, Apple said has the power to both transport and transform people — turning every book into an opportunity for self-discovery, and bringing the world together through reading”.
In accordance with the partnership terms, Oprah’s new Book Club series, which will feature interviews with the authors of her book club picks, will become available on the Apple TV+ streaming service, with the first episode expected to premiere on 1 November and a new episode coming out every two months.
The book club’s selections are also being promoted on Apple Books app where the first title, “The Water Dancer” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, is already available for pre-order.
“I am who I am today because of the experience of learning to read at an early age. Reading opened up a whole world for me beyond the red dirt road and my grandmother’s porch in Mississippi”, Oprah said.
“I want to do that for everybody. And the opportunity to do this with Apple, to speak to people all over the world about the pleasures, the excitement, the tension, the drama that a good book can bring you … I don’t know what’s better than that”.
(Watch Oprah’s promotion of the book club on Twitter:
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 pic.twitter.com/DG99kTKrWu
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) September 23, 2019
Apple CEO Tim Cook also remarked that “few people in the world can bring us together like Oprah, whose compassion and grace celebrating the power of books are unmatched”, adding his company is honoured by this opportunity to “provide a new platform for Oprah’s Book Club and support the American Library Association in opening hearts and minds to the joy of reading”.
About 36 million Americans can’t read, one report said.
