The Oprah Book Club will be reading Colson Whitehead’s 'Underground Railroad'

The Oprah Book Club is back again!

Oprah Winfrey announced on Tuesday that her book club will be reading Colson Whitehead’s Underground Railroad.

This is fifth book in Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 and the first recommendation since February 2015′s pick of Cynthia Bond’s Ruby.

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead is a powerful novel about a teenage girl who is a slave that escapes from a Georgia cotton plantation.

Oprah said in her video announcement:

"I was blown away by it," Oprah Winfrey also told the Associated Press when speaking about the book, which imagines the Underground Railroad as an actual railroad.

"'Blown away' is an often used expression, but with this book, it was to the point of sometimes putting it down and saying, 'I can't read anymore. I don't want to turn the page. I want to know what happens, but I don't want to know what happens."

The New York Times Times described the book as "dense and sometimes difficult," but noted that Whitehead's literary reputation "should be heading toward the upper floors." That is, if "there is any justice in the world of fiction."

Though his name may be unfamiliar to Winfrey fans, Whitehead has been a staple of the literary community since his 1999 debut novel, The Intuitionist, which explored the world of elevator maintenance men in New York.

Oprah’s Book Club has a history of picking excellent books. And the books always ended up becoming best-sellers.

Past selections have included Cheryl Strayed’s Wild, Uwem Akpan's Say You're One Of Them and Ayana Mathis’s The Twelve Tribes of Hattie.

Nigerian author Uwem Akpan, a Jesuit priest, became popular after his debut collection of short stories was chosen by the highly influential Oprah for her book club.

Oprah told newsmen that "Say You're One Of Them" was her first book of short stories, saying these stories "left me stunned and profoundly moved."

Let's hope she discovers more Nigerian authored books, until then you can join the Oprah Book Club here.

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