Tried to get my book club to read 'Moby Dick' with a fun twist

I suggested we each read a different chapter and present it like a potluck dinner (you know, bring your own piece of the whale). We have 8 people, so I figured it would take 2 months. It went off the rails when Dave from accounting brought a 45 minute PowerPoint on cetacean biology and Susan just recited her chapter's stage directions as a spoken word poem. The debate about whether we actually finished the book lasted longer than the meeting. Has anyone else's club tried a weird format that completely backfired?

3 comments

3 Comments

andrew_kelly2mo ago

Stage directions as spoken word? That's a new level of book club chaos.

nathan5452mo ago

Right, @andrew_kelly? It's a whole new kind of bad.

cameron_owens491mo ago

So you have someone reading the "he sighs deeply" parts out loud? Been there! You have to cut it off right away or it becomes a habit. Next time someone starts, just jump in with "Let's stick to the character dialogue for now" and keep reading your own line. It feels awkward but saves the whole meeting.