Oprah's Next Book Club Pick Is at the Top of Our Summer Reading List

It's not summer without a good book to tote to the beach or pool. So when Oprah Winfrey — American talk show host, producer, bestselling author and all-around icon — recently unveiled the Oprah's Book Club pick for June and declared it "one of the best books I've ever read in my entire life," we had to put it at the top of our TBR pile.

The book in question? "The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese, an epic 715-page tale that follows three generations of a family plagued by a mysterious curse in Kerala, India. Winfrey has spotlighted more than 100 books since launching Oprah's Book Club in 1996, but few titles have garnered as much enthusiasm as Verghese's long-awaited second novel. You can learn more about the book and the real-life inspiration behind Verhese's fictional novel on Oprah Daily.

"I felt transported, I felt like I lived in a different land for a while, I felt expanded," Winfrey said on CBS Mornings. "I think this is an offering to the world."

Winfrey then followed the Book Club announcement with another piece of exciting news: She's rolling out a six-part companion podcast premiering June 21 for readers who want to engage with "The Covenant of Water" on a more intimate level.

"This is the first time I've taken a fiction book and turned it into a series of podcasts," Winfrey said, revealing that she's also trying to secure the rights to the novel. "I want to be the steward of this to make sure this story gets what it deserves."

You can join Winfrey, Verghese and other Oprah's Book Club readers for weekly discussions of the book on Oprah Daily.