Shoutout to the guy who called my book club picks boring

For months I was picking these big, heavy novels for our club, thinking that's what serious readers do. I'd choose stuff like 'The Brothers Karamazov' or 'Moby Dick' and wonder why half the group wouldn't finish. Last meeting, a new member, Mike, just flat out said, 'Look, these are homework, not fun. We're all tired after work.' That hit me. I was treating it like a college seminar, not a group of friends wanting to talk and relax. I picked a fast-paced mystery for this month, and suddenly everyone is texting about it before we even meet. Have you ever had to totally switch up what you think makes a 'good' book club book?

2 comments

2 Comments

walker.thomas20d ago

Mike sounds like he's lowering the bar for everyone. A book club should push people to read things they wouldn't pick up on their own. Those big novels are classics for a reason, and dumbing it down to airport mysteries just turns it into another social hour. The point is to have a real talk about big ideas, not just chat about plot twists. If people wanted only fun, easy reads, they could do that alone.

patricia38520d ago

Seriously, what's the actual harm in letting people enjoy reading again?