Starbucks teams up with Oprah’s Book Club and new podcast series
Each month from a Starbucks cafe, Oprah will host an author selected as part of her book club over a cup of coffee and customers can listen to the conversation on Oprah’s new podcast series.
Starbucks and Oprah are coming together to launch Oprah’s Book Club: Presented by Starbucks, a podcast companion to Oprah’s Book Club. As part of “The Oprah Podcast” with talk show host, producer and philanthropist, Oprah Winfrey, a new episode of the podcast will air each month featuring an engaging conversation about the book selection between Oprah and special guests over coffee, inside of a Starbucks cafe. Oprah will also share a recommended Starbucks beverage pairing that customers can enjoy while discussing the book at their local Starbucks store.
Latest episodes
- Episode 11: A Guardian and a Thief and Iced Banana Cream Protein Matcha
- Episode 10: All the Way to the River and Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Episode 9: Bridge of Sighs and Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew
- Episode 8: Culpability and the Salted Caramel Mocha Strato™ Frappuccino® Drink
- Bonus Episode: The Expanded Conversation with Eckhart Tolle
- Episode 7: The River is Waiting and Iced Horchata Oatmilk Shaken Espresso
- Episode 6: Emperor of Gladness and Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso
- Episode 5: Matriarch: A Memoir and Starbucks® Sunsera Blend™
- Episode 4: The Tell: A Memoir and Starbucks® Anniversary Blend
- Episode 3: Eric Puchner’s Dream State and the new Starbucks Matcha Latte
- Episode 2: Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth and the new Starbucks Cortado
- Episode 1: Small Things Like These and Starbucks Christmas Blend
“This beautifully written story is going to get you thinking about some things that really matter,” Oprah shares with a live audience at a Starbucks coffeehouse in New York City. The story in question is told by bestselling author Ann Packer, in her latest book
Some Bright Nowhere explores themes of marriage, friendship, and the end of life, leaving us with an important question, one that Oprah was left to ask: “How do you want to spend your last days?”
Packer’s novel left such an impression that it was selected for Oprah’s Book Club, a decision that shocked the author. “Oprah’s Book Club reads like a list of my favorite books of the last three decades. I am honored, thrilled, and humbled to be included among them, and more grateful than I can possibly say,” says Packer.
Marking a decade since Ann Packer’s last novel, we’ve paired Some Bright Nowhere with Peppermint Mocha, a beloved holiday drink making its own return this season.
Some Bright Nowhere is available to purchase where books are sold.
Book club is back in session—this time in New York City where Oprah is joined by author Megha Majumdar to discuss A Guardian and a Thief. “I was spellbound from Page 1,” says Oprah, citing Majumdar as an “exquisitely skilled author.”
Following her acclaimed debut, Majumdar’s latest is an intricate portrait of two families on their own tumultuous journeys. The story, set over the course of one week, raises questions about love, hope, and sacrifice in the face of catastrophe.
For this episode of Oprah’s Book Club, we’ve paired A Guardian and a Thief with Iced Banana Cream Protein Matcha, a well-rounded iced drink that’s high in protein with rich banana and vibrant matcha.
A Guardian and a Thief is available to purchase where books are sold.
The latest from Oprah’s Book Club: Presented by Starbucks finds Oprah and bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert at a Starbucks café in its Seattle hometown. The purpose? A powerful and vulnerable conversation on Gilbert’s landmark memoir, All the Way to the River.
A raw and riveting read, the book follows Gilbert falling in love with her partner Rayya as they navigate addiction, recovery, and liberation through their relationship. Oprah describes Gilbert’s story as “the bravest thing I’ve ever seen” and something that will “set people free.”
We’ve paired All the Way to the River with Pumpkin Spice Latte, a beautiful flavor combination of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. As you dive into reading, enjoy a PSL at your nearby Starbucks café.
All the Way to the River is available to purchase where books are sold.
This conversation contains discussion about addiction. Listener and viewer discretion is advised. This is not a subject for young children.
Richard Russo’s 2007 novel Bridge of Sighs is getting fresh recognition as the 117th pick of Oprah’s Book Club.
Set in Upstate New York in the 1950s and ’60s, Bridge of Sighs follows Louis Charles Lynch (“Lucy”) and his wife of 40 years as they ready themselves for a vacation to Italy. It’s an evocative story of small-town life, secrets and the complexity of marriage, and explores the contradictions of a time when America was rapidly changing.
In this episode, Oprah joins Richard at a Starbucks café to discuss and celebrate the book—along with an audience of readers who came prepared with thought-provoking questions.
Need a sip while you read? We’ve paired Bridge of Sighs with our Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew, a super-smooth favorite among cold coffee drinkers (and, like the book, a classic worthy of renewed attention). It’s Starbucks® slow-steeped Cold Brew coffee accented with vanilla flavor and topped with a float of house-made vanilla sweet cream that cascades throughout the cup.
Bridge of Sighs is available to purchase where books are sold.
Summer thrills await. In this episode of Oprah’s Book Club: Presented by Starbucks, Oprah joins author Bruce Holsinger at a Starbucks café in Seattle to discuss Culpability, a powerful summer read centered on family drama and moral responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence.
Oprah calls this of-the-moment book “a modern tale of our times”—one that kept her riveted “until the very last shocking sentence.”
With an audience of readers, Oprah and Bruce dissect the story’s many thought-provoking questions, including the impact of chatbots, self-driving cars, drones and other non-human forces shaping our lives today.
It’s a topic that calls for an innovative new refreshment. Dive into Culpability with the brand-new Salted Caramel Mocha Strato™ Frappuccino® beverage, a perfectly sweet and salty blend of Starbucks icy-cold Frappuccino® drink base and rich mocha sauce, topped with salted caramel cream cold foam and finished with a drizzle of salted caramel.
Culpability is available to purchase where books are sold.
In this bonus release, Oprah’s conversation with Eckhart Tolle continues at the Starbucks café in New York as an audience of readers shares how the wisdom in A New Earth has transformed their lives.
Oprah and Eckhart cover topics that speak to this moment in time—staying present at work, mourning the loss of loved ones, managing addiction and how parents can help their teenagers stay present in the age of social media. While Eckhart says we are moving into a period of “turbulence,” he offers advice on how to proceed through life with a greater sense of awareness and presence instead of living in a state of anxiety and fear.
Translated into 52 languages and available as an audiobook, A New Earth is a profoundly spiritual manifesto for a better way of life and for building a better world. Pair your reading with a fan-favorite Starbucks® Cortado, including the deliciously nondairy Brown Sugar Oatmilk Cortado.
Readers can tune into Oprah and Eckhart’s previous conversation here and find A New Earth wherever books are sold.
From a Starbucks café in its Seattle hometown, Oprah joins author Wally Lamb to discuss The River Is Waiting, a story she describes as “a transformative journey.”
Haunting and layered, Wally’s novel follows a young father struggling with life in prison in the wake of an unbearable tragedy, one of his own doing. Amid frightful brutality, small acts of kindness and unexpected kinship with those around him, he reckons with the truth—and whether forgiveness is possible from those he loves most.
In this episode, Wally shares his writing process, character development and experiences that helped build the landscape for The River Is Waiting. During the conversation, a former guest of The Oprah Winfrey Show returns after 25 years to recount her story of grief and healing following a tragic accident, connecting her story to the experience of the novel’s main character.
We’ve paired Wally’s newest book with our newest nondairy pick-me-up, the Iced Horchata Oatmilk Shaken Espresso. Inspired by traditional Mexican-style horchata, the drink blends Starbucks® Blonde Espresso Roast with a fusion of cinnamon, vanilla and sweet rice flavors, shaken with ice and topped with creamy oatmilk.
As you dive into your reading, enjoy an Iced Horchata Oatmilk Shaken Espresso at your neighborhood Starbucks café.
The River Is Waiting is available to purchase where books are sold.
In this episode of Oprah’s Book Club: Presented by Starbucks, Oprah joins bestselling author and poet Ocean Vuong at the café to discuss Emperor of Gladness, his newest novel.
Set in a post-industrial Connecticut town called East Gladness, the story begins as nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge ready to jump—when an elderly widow intervenes, and a life-altering bond begins. The story is centered around a cast of characters Oprah describes as “unforgettable.”
Vuong, who was born in Vietnam, raised in working-class Connecticut and worked as a fast-food server in his teenage years, pulls from the scenery of his life to craft a narrative deeply personal to him. Over coffee, Oprah and Vuong discuss these influences and Vuong’s gift of illuminating the fullness of humanity in ordinary places.
We’ve paired Emperor of Gladness with the Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso. Made with Starbucks® Blonde Espresso, cinnamon and brown sugar topped off with oatmilk and ice, this barista-crafted drink is a flavorful match for Vuong’s rich, evocative storytelling and way of balancing grit with tenderness.
As you venture into Vuong’s remarkable new book, enjoy an Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso at your neighborhood Starbucks café.
Emperor of Gladness is available to purchase where books are sold.
Tina Knowles—businesswoman, fashion designer, philanthropist and mother of superstars—has stories to tell. Her latest endeavor is Matriarch: A Memoir.
In this episode of Oprah’s Book Club: Presented by Starbucks, Tina and Oprah meet in Chicago for an astonishing, wide-ranging conversation. Tina starts at the beginning, with her humble upbringing as the youngest of seven in Galveston, Texas. She shares her struggle to fit in as a Black woman, what she did to shape the mega-hit group Destiny’s Child and her personal journey of mothering Beyoncé, Solange and bonus daughter Kelly Rowland. She discusses the work it takes to reinvent yourself—and how, at age 70, she finally feels that she is enough.
Matriarch: A Memoir isn’t just an intimate look into Tina’s life, but also the story of America and the wisdom women pass on to one another across generations.
We’ve paired Matriarch: A Memoir with our new Starbucks® Sunsera Blend™, a roast as bright as this family of women who have inspired millions worldwide. With notes of citrus and toasted almond, this blend is crafted, roasted and brewed to bring out the coffee’s full natural flavor.
As you journey into Tina Knowles’s story, enjoy a cup of Starbucks® Sunsera Blend™ at your neighborhood Starbucks café or take a bag home to brew as a pour-over or in your drip coffeemaker.
Matriarch: A Memoir is available to purchase where books are sold.
This month’s Oprah’s Book Club pick follows one woman’s journey to understand and begin to recover from buried childhood trauma—a journey of hope, heart and relentless honesty.
In The Tell, author Amy Griffin interrogates the pursuit of perfectionism and maintaining appearances that drives so many women. When in the path from girlhood to womanhood do we begin to look outside ourselves for validation? What freedom is possible if we learn to accept our whole story, as painful as it may be?
We’ve paired The Tell with our 2025 Anniversary Blend, released each year as a testament to our history and celebration of the future. It’s a bold, full-bodied dark roast with notes of smoked cedar, allspice and black truffle.
If you enjoy dark roasts, give Anniversary Blend a try as you discover The Tell and Amy Griffin’s exploration of radical truth-telling. You can tune into the latest episode of Oprah’s Book Club: Presented by Starbucks here.
The Tell is available to purchase where books are sold.
This conversation contains discussion about sexual abuse of a minor, repressed trauma and suicide which may be challenging or upsetting for some people. Listener and viewer discretion is advised. This is not a subject for young children.
This conversation is not intended to offer medical advice. Psychedelics remain illegal in most states, consult your own healthcare professional before considering any kind of mental health treatment.
Dream State follows the lives of college friends, over the course of 50 years, in an emotional rollercoaster of friendship, love triangle, marriage, raising kids, aging and death, showing the beauty of impermanence through themes of grief, love and time.
To sip on while reading the book, we’ve paired Dream State with the new Starbucks Matcha Latte — a vibrant green tea latte handcrafted with unsweetened matcha, milk and classic syrup. It’s a perfect anytime boost, now with sweetness you can customize.
In this episode, Oprah and Eric discuss the craft of character development and Dream State’s thought-provoking depictions of friendship and marriage. As the audience joins in, questions arise about what matters most in life.
Tune in to watch the episode with a Matcha Latte in hand as you dive into Dream State, now available to purchase wherever books are sold.
Joined by Eckhart Tolle to discuss his groundbreaking work A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, Oprah brings together a live audience at the Starbucks Reserve® Empire State Building® store for conversation over the new Starbucks Cortado, a small but robust coffee classic made with three Starbucks® Blonde Roast ristretto shots and velvety steamed milk. It’s the perfect little pick-me-up.
A New Earth has affected Oprah more than any other book by a living author, she says.
In this episode, Tolle shares his journey overcoming cancer and reveals simple yet transformative lessons on diminishing ego and becoming a more conscious human being. As the conversation builds, audience members, including actor Chris Evans, share their favorite teachings and quotes from the book.
Whether you’re new to Tolle’s work or have been inspired by his teachings before, A New Earth has wisdom for everyone.
Visit your neighborhood Starbucks cafe or order in the app to try the new Cortado, served exclusively in an 8 fl oz Short size. Readers can find A New Earth online or wherever books are sold.
A cup of Starbucks Christmas Blend – a rich and robust dark roast coffee that is the perfect coffee pairing to enjoy while reading this historical fiction set during the holiday season.
Customers can purchase Small Things Like These online or wherever books are sold.
All episodes of Oprah’s Book Club: Presented by Starbucks can be found on the Oprah’s Book Club playlist on The Oprah Channel YouTube page. Episodes are also available for listening on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher and more.
This latest venture between Oprah and Starbucks marks their third collaboration. The first was in 1997 when Oprah’s Book Club selections were made available in Starbucks stores with proceeds going to literacy funds, and then in 2014 Oprah paired with Starbucks to create the Teavana Oprah Chai Tea, which raised $21 million to support youth education organizations across the country.