Down with the OBC!

Lately I've read or tried to read several books from the Oprah Book Club. No more, I say, no more! The two I read most recently are "Gap Creek" and "The Rapture of Canaan." Both books kept me hooked, but then sucked at the end. This seems to be what most of Oprah's (or as I like to call her, Opry) book picks are like. Actually, that's not entirely true. I just looked at a list of all her Book Club Picks and there are actually more that I liked than not liked. Whatever. I'm still bitter after "Gap Creek." If you haven't read it, don't, it'll just piss you off. Oh, and I've also been reading "A New Earth" bit by bit, but then I saw the author, Eckhart Tolle, on Oprah, and now I can't read it anymore. I am extremely ashamed to admit this, and it just goes to show you what a horrible, superficial person I am, but my first thought when I saw him was "If I looked like that, I'd probably write a book about not judging people by their physical appearance too." I can't believe I just admitted that. It's just his nostrils. They are ginormous. Seriously. O.k., so I just googled "Eckhart Tolle nostrils" and the following comments showed up on a message board:

-Call me shallow or whatever you want but the main reason I cannot watch the webcasts is because of his nostrils. He looks like a munchkin. I think his real name was Eckhart Troll, not Tolle.

-I am sorry. I am going into ego. Have you noticed how huge Tolle's nostrils are?

-I have gotten over my issue with his nostrils -- I like that I can see right through to his soul in those chasms.

I just wanted everyone to know that I'm not the only one who has noticed this issue. But I think everyone should decide for themselves. Click here to watch a YouTube clip.

O.k., enough about the nostrils. Here is a list of the few Opry books I've read and I've marked them with a plus or minus if I liked them or not.

-"She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb (+)
-"The Rapture of Canaan" by Sheri Reynolds (-)
-"Black and Blue" by Anna Quindlen (+)
-"Midwives" by Chris Bohjalian (+)
-"Where the Heart Is" by Billie Letts (+)
-"Tara Road" by Maeve Binchy (+++)
-"Gap Creek" by Richard Morgan (---)
-"The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck (+)
-"A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey (+)