I used to defend every single book in our book club picks. Now I'm the one calling for cuts.

Last year I would fight anyone who suggested we drop a book from our reading list, even if half the group hated it halfway through. I thought pushing through was part of the deal. Then we hit this 600 page historical fiction novel about Polish pottery in the 1800s. By week three everyone was skipping chapters just to finish. Our discussion night was a total dud, three people showed up. Our club lead in Denver finally said "we're not a college seminar, this is supposed to be fun." So now I vote to cut books after two bad weeks of feedback. We swapped in a short thriller collection and attendance jumped back to twelve. Has anyone else's club just admitted defeat on a book mid-month?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor30524d ago

Pushing through was part of the deal" is exactly what I used to think too. Then my buddy in a sci-fi book club told me they dropped a book two weeks in because nobody could follow the made up jargon. It blew my mind at first but it makes total sense. Life's too short to force yourself through something that sucks the joy out of reading. Your club switching to a thriller collection and getting back to twelve people proves the point. I've heard similar stories from other online groups where they treat book club like homework instead of something fun. If nobody's showing up or talking, what's the point of finishing a book nobody wants to read.

clark.iris24d ago

Right? @taylor305 it's like we're all stuck in some dystopian book club where the main character is a dictionary nobody asked for. Dropping a book two weeks in over made up jargon is the most relatable thing I've heard all week. My own group once spent three meetings trying to figure out if "flark" was a weapon or a greeting. Nobody even finished the book.