" Winfrey said she wants to avoid the "self-imposed box" in which she found herself: the fewer expectations the better He could only do the Madonna or the whore com, trailing only the new Harry Potter book " Winfrey thinks "East of Eden" is a great way to get people interested in older books " The revived book club means more good news for the publishing industry, which is already anticipating Saturday's debut of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix "I just want to read great books without it becoming controversial Steinbeck's publisher, Penguin Group USA, has ordered a new printing of 600,000 for a book that usually sells 40,000-50,000 copies a year Since founding her club in 1996, she has often highlighted sympathetic women characters, choosing such books as Jacquelyn Mitchard's "Deep End of the Ocean" and Toni Morrison's "Sula "I wanted to lead people down this path without them thinking they're back in school And after first wanting to call her revived club "Traveling With the Classics," she settled for "Oprah's Book Club," just as it was called before " In a segment filmed Monday and aired on Wednesday's show, Winfrey personally delivered boxes of "East of Eden" to Anderson's Bookshop in the Chicago suburb of Naperville She will not make monthly picks, but three to five choices a year When you read something that's good and juicy and it's called literature, then you're not closed to the idea of it "She's a woman you love to hate," Winfrey said " "The portrayal of women in the book is rather shockingly misogynistic by today's standards," said Steinbeck biographer Jay Parini " Steinbeck worked for years on "East of Eden," a best seller when first published in 1952 And Winfrey thinks women will love the book, if only to root against Cathy The Winfrey touch is apparently undiminished "There's always a problem with women in Steinbeck's books "There are some who would argue that this (`East of Eden') is not really a `classic' , when she read the novel '" ââ‚¬â€?ââ‚¬â€?ââ‚¬â€? Associated Press writer Don Babwin contributed to this story "When I said, 'Do you know what it is?' They said, 'No,'" Blechman recalled "And when I said, 'Do you care?' They said, 'No " But novels rarely come as manly as Steinbeck's epic, biblically influenced story about rival brothers " Winfrey agreed that she was "put off" by Cathy but says that she couldn't stop reading She revealed in February that she would be starting her picks again and focusing on older authors By late Wednesday afternoon, "East of Eden" had jumped to No Blechman said that when the segment aired, the store's phones began to ring from people who wanted to order the book ââ‚¬â€? simply on Winfrey's recommendation She will focus on authors of the past, but doesn't rule out living ones "I was literally halfway through `East of Eden' and thought, `Gee, I wish I had a book club again,'" Winfrey told The Associated Press Wednesday in a telephone interview from Chicago, shortly after announcing on her TV talk show that Steinbeck's novel was her first pick after a 14-month hiatus Winfrey had suspended her club in April 2002 because she didn't have enough time to keep up monthly selections " Parini agreed that the novel is far from perfect, but called it a "magnificent failure" and praised it as "quite readable The main female character, Cathy, is a ruthless prostitute of whom the author writes, "I believe there are monsters born in the world He didn't have much middle ground Winfrey acknowledged that "East of Eden" is a long way from the typical "Oprah" pick 2 on Amazon By midmorning Wednesday, 20 copies from Winfrey had been purchased, along with 50 more the store had ordered, said Doris Blechman, the assistant manager "You can see right through her and it gives you a little sense of superiority because you can't believe the other characters don't see through her "It's not like Shakespeare, or even Faulkner; it's reader friendly," she said and I realized that that was a conversation that would come up over and over again," said Winfrey, who was vacationing in Santa Barbara, Calif Oprah Revives Book Club With Steinbeck Jun 18, 9:32 PM EST Oprah Winfrey was sitting under an oak tree in California last summer, reading John Steinbeck's "East of Eden" and loving it, when she realized that just telling a few friends about it wouldn't do But most critics regard it as contrived and awkward, beneath such Steinbeck standards as "Of Mice and Men" and "The Grapes of Wrath