My book club pushed a memoir I voted against... and I was wrong about it

Last month our group in Austin picked "Know My Name" by Chanel Miller, which I actively argued against. I thought a victim impact statement drawn out into 300 pages would be self-indulgent and boring. Three chapters in I realized I had completely misjudged the book based on my own assumptions. The way she writes about reclaiming identity and dignity after trauma is powerful without being preachy. By page 150 I was angry at myself for almost voting it down. Has anyone else had a book they resisted turn out to be one of their best reads?

2 comments

2 Comments

wyatt_fox683d ago

What is it about books we judge before even reading them, right? @holly47 I did the same thing with "Educated" by Tara Westover thought it was gonna be some preachy survival story but it wrecked me in the best way. If a book really gets under your skin before you open it, that's usually a sign it's gonna challenge something in you.

holly473d ago

Stumbled into that exact same mindset when my sister pushed "The Anthropocene Reviewed" on me. I mean, a book of reviews? Seemed like the laziest concept ever. Ended up crying over the chapter on the QWERTY keyboard and the one about the indestructible water bear. What got me was how he turns these random tiny things into mirrors for how we handle being human. Maybe the books we fight against are the ones that know something we don't want to admit about ourselves.