02.23.10: Mark Lee Gardner - To Hell on a Fast Horse

In 2008, deciding to live her life according to Oprah Winfrey, Robyn Okrant pledges herself to study the "way" (and therefore to live by) what Oprah and her team of experts prescribe to the audience of Oprah Winfrey. In Living Oprah, author Robyn Okrant retells and outlines her year of living life according to the Goddess of Talk Shows, Oprah Winfrey. Included ongoing records of her blog (LivingOprah.com) as well as clear charts of time and money elaborating on her expenses demonstrate how seriously Okrant takes her project. As she elaborates on the year, her past comes to the front, and as a book, it reads well as a memoir. As readers, we see the somewhat naive but rather open-minded (and sometimes neurotic) Okrant revealing pressure and fear of Oprah recommendations through her genuine fan's mind. Her plot to "do the right thing," allows us readers to commiserate with the author. She puts out the "realness" of Oprah as a person. She is clearly enamored with the lifestyle Oprah pushes, but she also realizes the branding that Oprah places on her "experts" in all aspects of life. This almost bizarre case, a point of celebrity influence here, allows us readers to find out what all the hype is about regarding the Oprah lovers of the world.