| That reading will improve the self and benefit the body politic continues to be among the most expected effects of literacy. Readers are often imagined as either "common" or perhaps, as "literary"; Jonathan Franzen recently caused controversy when he commented that he envisioned potential readers for his novel, The Corrections, in terms of their "literariness" and their gender. As an experience, reading often gets labeled as "nourishing" or, as first lady and literacy advocate Laura Bush has said, an activity that "lets you know you're important." To investigate the constructs of common readers and reading for life-change, I consider readers who have been involved in what I consider the most significant mass literacy movement in contemporary America---Oprah's Book Club. Nicknamed "Preacher Woman" by her elementary school peers, Oprah is truly an evangelist of literacy.;Utilizing qualitative methods, I examine thirty-eight written testimonies made by readers who have read the novels chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her book club during 2000. Prompted by Oprah to write a letter about how the activity of reading has "changed" them, these readers' letters have been chosen as interpretative exemplars by Oprah's enterprise. As they read for life-change, I find that Oprah's readers imaginatively engage with themes of spirituality, healing, feminism, and racial and social injustices. Yet, this sincere and socially aware engagement with reading and life-change is complicated by the ways in which readers' testimonies promote and sell books.;Since several public reading projects have adopted her model of reading, it is important to deepen our understanding of this union of spirit and economy. Readers' interpretations often depend on imagined spiritual alliances forged with plots, characters, and authors, and because these readers' reported alliances are such public (often televised) promotions of particular texts, they are yoked to publishers, booksellers, and authors who stand to profit from such charismatic interpretations. New media and economic models are rapidly blurring old demarcations among literacy's religious, recreational, and civic functions. In order to grasp the consequences of such transformations, we must first understand how sponsors like Oprah encourage individuals to believe literacy changes their lives. |
