I like Oprah again

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that Oprah often gets a bad rap. Sometimes from me. It’s all that advice-giving. It gets to me sometimes.

That said, I am now a born-again Oprah fan. Why? Well, no doubt you’re aware of her infamous book club selections — once Oprah chooses a book for her book club, it’s an instant bestseller. One of her latest selections, though, was A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, and to accompany the book she did a 10-week World Wide Web class with Mr. Tolle.

Nothing so remarkable about that, you might say. Except that the classes are just that: remarkable. Available for free download either as a webcast or a podcast from her website (http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsbookclub/anewearth/20080130_obc_webcast_download), the hour-and-a-half sessions take Tolle’s book (which is thought-provoking and at times rather cerebral) and make it understandable for everyone watching. Viewers could call, skype or email in questions and good old Oprah kept bringing the conversation back to the practical.

“What do you mean?” was probably her most-repeated question.

I know, I know, there’s so much hype around it. And that’s not usually my scene. But I was given A New Earth for Christmas and I have to say it is simply extraordinary. Made even more so by our pal Oprah who, it must be said, gets more and more genuine as the series continues.

I highly recommend it. Just get someone with no internet cap to download it for you as the files are pretty massive!