Oprah forgives Franzen, picks his latest for book club

Oprah Winfrey has forgiven Jonathan Franzen.

Nine years after picking Franzen's "The Corrections" for her book club and then canceling his appearance on her show after he expressed ambivalence over her endorsement, Winfrey has chosen his new novel, "Freedom," The Associated Press reports.

The talk show host is not scheduled to announce her pick until Friday, but the AP purchased a copy Thursday that had a book club sticker.

Three bookstores previously had told the AP that "Freedom" had been selected.

Winfrey's decision tells a story she loves well, one of redemption, and cites a book that itself redeems a troubled Minnesota-based family. Released in late August, "Freedom" was virtually canonized by critics before publication and has been topping best-seller lists even without Oprah's approval. Franzen was the subject of a Time Magazine cover story, titled "Great American Novelist," and anticipation was so great that President Barack Obama secured an early copy while visiting a bookstore on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.

Publisher Farrar, Straus & Giroux did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Angela DePaul, a spokeswoman for Winfrey's production company Harpo, would not confirm nor deny the selection.

"The Oprah Winfrey Show" just began its final season, but DePaul says it is "likely" Winfrey will make another book club pick after Friday. Since 2008, she has averaged just one or two selections a year.