Oprah Winfrey Welcomes Short Stories into Book Club

Being chosen by Oprah Winfrey's book club can almost guarantee that the book in question will become a best seller. The latest selection is something that is not commonly on the bestseller's list: the short story anthology, of which Uwem Akpan's debut "Say You're One of Them" was recommended Friday.

The book has since shot to the top five best-sellers on Amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble.com. Upon recommending the book on her show, Oprah Winfrey admitted that she did not normally read short stories, but Akpan's was different.

"This is a first for me because each one of these five stories really just left me gasping," she said. "Just an incredible book."

Akpan, 38, hails from Nigeria and is an ordained Jesuit priest. His debut "Say You're One of Them," consists of five short stories, each told from the point-of-view of an African child and details the hardships and joys of living in Africa.

The book has won the 2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for best first book from Africa and the PEN/Beyond Margins Award.

On his website, Akpan writes about his inspiration for the book, "I was inspired to write by the people who sit around my village church to share palm wine after Sunday Mass, by the Bible, and by the humour and endurance of the poor."

Source: Associated Press