My book club told me I was summarizing instead of analyzing and it totally changed how I prepare for meetings

Last month, Sarah called me out for just recapping plot points for 10 minutes and said 'we already read the book, tell us what you think it means instead,' so now I write down two questions about themes before each meeting... anyone else get that feedback?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_terry20d ago

Oh man, that clicks! I used to do the same thing until someone told me to stop treating book club like a book report. Now I keep a sticky note with two things: what confused me and what made me feel something. It helps me actually dig into why the author wrote it that way instead of just listing events.

vera_roberts20d ago

Does anyone else find that what confuses you and what makes you feel something are usually the same thing? For me, the parts I don't get are always the parts that hit me hardest emotionally, like the author is doing something weird on purpose to mess with my head. That sticky note idea is genius because it forces you to sit in the uncomfortable parts instead of rushing to explain everything neatly. Most people want book club to be about proving they understood the plot, not sitting with the confusion and letting it change how they see the story. I bet if you looked at your sticky notes from the last three books, you'd probably find a pattern in what kind of confusion gets under your skin. That's the stuff that actually sticks with you long after you forget who the main character was.

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