Oprah Winfrey names Maria Semple’s ‘Go Gentle’ as her latest book club pick

Advertisement

Advertise with us

NEW YORK (AP) — Maria Semple's “Go Gentle,” a comic novel about a Stoic philosopher and single mother in Manhattan who finds herself caught up in events that challenge her capacity for acceptance, is Oprah Winfrey's new book club pick.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

NEW YORK (AP) — Maria Semple’s “Go Gentle,” a comic novel about a Stoic philosopher and single mother in Manhattan who finds herself caught up in events that challenge her capacity for acceptance, is Oprah Winfrey’s new book club pick.

“For all those who crave a good page turner, this is one wild ride of a story that carries equal parts wit and wisdom,” Winfrey said in a statement Tuesday. “I learned so much about Stoicism — I laughed out loud for real. And underneath the humor there was always something tender … a quiet truth about relationships, identity, and what it means to find peace with yourself.”

Semple, whose new book was published this week, is best known for such bestsellers as “Today Will Be Different” and “Where’d You Go, Bernadette.” Her interview with Winfrey was taped for the “Oprah Book Club Podcast,” which can be seen through Winfrey’s YouTube channel.

This cover image released by G.P. Putnam's Sons shows
This cover image released by G.P. Putnam's Sons shows "Go Gentle" by Maria Semple. ( G.P. Putnam's Sons via AP)

“To authors, ‘to get the call’ means one thing: Oprah has phoned out of the blue and made you a book club pick,” Semple said in a statement. “Truth is, I should have been prepared, considering the countless hours I’d spent in fantasyland imagining it happening to me … before scolding myself that it was an honor bestowed on other, more serious writers. When, while tidying the kitchen, I heard her voice for the first time, I hit the ceiling in bewildered, grateful, joy. I’m still there.”

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

A Life's Story: Writer built bridges with genuine curiosity, compassion for diversity of religious practices

Janine LeGal 6 minute read Preview

A Life's Story: Writer built bridges with genuine curiosity, compassion for diversity of religious practices

Janine LeGal 6 minute read Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

Brenda Suderman knew how to make people feel comfortable. For a journalist, that character trait is a real strength, and it made people trust and appreciate her.

Whether covering musicals, worship spaces, the effects of pandemic shutdowns, death rituals and practices of different traditions, the discovery of the burial of 2,284 infants in unmarked graves, or any other of the countless topics she wrote about in her four- decade career, Suderman did it with genuine interest and care.

Born and raised in Winkler, Suderman grew up on a farm. Much of her childhood was spent in gardens and sugar beet fields.

Baptized at 16, she became a member of the Winkler Bergthaler Mennonite Church. The restrictions against women at the time contributed to planting the seeds of Suderman’s feminist perspective.

Read
Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

Bombers beat Stamps, claim season series

1 minute read Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Calgary Stampeders 33-28 on Saturday night in front of a sell-out crowd at Princess Auto Stadium.

With the win, the Blue and Gold improve to 8-8 and bump up to fourth in the West Division standings. If the Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-7) lose to the Montreal Alouettes (12-3) on Monday, the Bombers will move up to third.

With the loss, the Stampeders drop to 8-9 and fall to fifth place which has them currently on the outside of the playoff picture.

The Bombers now just need to finish the season with at least the same record as Calgary or Saskatchewan to qualify for the post-season since they own the tiebreaker over both West Division foes.

Carney: Trump’s ‘energy ceasefire’ could ‘de-escalate’ war in Ukraine

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Carney: Trump’s ‘energy ceasefire’ could ‘de-escalate’ war in Ukraine

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 5:18 PM CDT

OTTAWA - Mark Carney thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for “his leadership toward securing an energy ceasefire" between Ukraine and Russia, the Prime Minister's Office said on Sunday.

But on the same day, Carney also expressed to Ukraine's leader that Trump's new diesel supply agreement with Russia undermines Canada's efforts to end the war in Europe.

Trump posted on his Truth Social account on Sunday that Ukraine and Russia have agreed to an "energy ceasefire," but did not immediately offer any details.

Carney expressed “strong support for this agreement," according to a readout from the PMO that followed a conversation between the two leaders. And on his own social media account, Carney offered that Trump’s newly announced “energy ceasefire” could help wind down Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 5:18 PM CDT

Person killed in workplace accident at Fairmont construction site

Morgan Modjeski 3 minute read Preview

Person killed in workplace accident at Fairmont construction site

Morgan Modjeski 3 minute read Friday, Oct. 9, 2026

Emergency responders were on scene and Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health is investigating after a worker died following an incident at a Winnipeg construction site Thursday.

Little information about the worker killed was provided, but the fatal incident happened at the Fairmont Winnipeg, located at 2 Lombard Place, with police responding around 5 p.m.

The hotel is currently closed and is an active construction site. The person killed has not been identified by name.

Information from a provincial spokesperson said the deceased was working for Kepsco Construction when they were fatally injured after a “portion of an overhead canopy collapsed during asbestos abatement work.”

Read
Friday, Oct. 9, 2026

News briefs for Monday, October 12, 2026

2 minute read Updated: 10:39 AM CDT

A collection of breaking news briefs filed on Monday, October 12, 2026

Woman accused of pulling handgun on taxi driver

10:39 AM

A 45-year-old woman accused of pulling a handgun on a Winnipeg taxi driver is facing multiple firearms-related charges.

Puerto Vallarta boards up as Hurricane Simon hits Category 4 strength

The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Puerto Vallarta boards up as Hurricane Simon hits Category 4 strength

The Associated Press 3 minute read Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (AP) — Simon has strengthened into a powerful Category 4 hurricane as it barrels toward Mexico’s coast.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Saturday that Simon’s maximum sustained winds increased to 150 mph (240 kph). A storm of that strength or greater is considered a major hurricane.

The center said it expected Simon “to be near or just inland” of Mexico's west-central coast on Sunday. The hurricane could bring as much as 10 to 20 inches (25-50 cm) of rain over parts of southwestern Mexico, with some areas in the states of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco receiving up to 30 inches (76 centimeters).

“This rainfall will produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain,” the center warned in a bulletin that also urged residents to take immediate action to prepare as tropical-storm conditions were expected to arrive Saturday afternoon.

Read
Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026