CHICAGO — Oprah Winfrey shocked the gaming and literary worlds today by announcing that the newest entry in her long running tastemaking book club would be its first ever strategy guide, titled 101 Fortnite Tips & Tricks.
“I am so ecstatic to bring these tips and tricks to the world,” said Winfrey, at the beginning of her Oprah Book Club program, which recently premiered on AppleTV+. “We’ve long aspired to showcase voices and stories that resonate with us, and is there a more powerful symbol of the 21st century than an individual alone in the world, doing what they can to scrape by and survive? These may be tips for a battle royale video game, but I think we can all take these lessons with us in our everyday lives.”
The episode began with Winfrey introducing the clearly surprised and nervous author, a 22 year old college student named Henry Berger.
“I, uh, I thought I might make a couple bucks by writing this and self publishing it,” Burger sai to the studio audience. “There’s like tons and tons of these. So while I appreciate the opportunity and the exposure, I have to imagine Epic will be pulling my book from the store any minute now now that this much attention is being paid to my unauthorized strategy guide.”
“Also, make sure you’re good at building, and use headphones if you can,” he added, before asking if anyone in the audience was familiar with Fortnite.
Though many in the audience were puzzled by the selection, most professed their confidence in Winfrey’s cultivation of titles.
“I’ve read everything Oprah has recommended since she started the book club,” said Caitlyn Richards, who was in the studio audience. “And she’s never steered me wrong. So yeah, this all seems a little fishy to me, but I am going to read the book and try some of the things it talks about, like gathering wood and uh, maintaining the high ground when there’s a storm close? I’m still not sure I understand.”
As of press time, Winfrey has confirmed that her next Book Club selection will be 1990’s novelization of Mega Man 2.
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