Stubborn about critique until my buddy said one thing about pacing

I've been in the same book club for like 4 years now, and I always thought my picks were solid. Last month I chose a slow burn literary novel, the kind where nothing happens for 200 pages but the prose is gorgeous. Half the group admitted they skimmed it, and I got defensive at first. Then my buddy Mike said, 'You're picking books for the ending, not for the Tuesday night conversation.' That hit me. I realized I was treating book club like a solo reading project with an audience, not a group experience. So for our next pick I chose a fast paced thriller with a twist halfway through, and the debate about the moral choice of the main character went for almost an hour past our normal end time. Has anyone else had to switch their pick style after a direct hit like that?

1 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

1 Comment

karen41012d ago

That line about picking for the ending instead of the Tuesday night conversation really got to me too. I used to think my picks just needed to be good books, you know, important ones that people should read. But honestly, a book club is less about the book and more about the back and forth, the arguing and laughing about it after. I had a similar moment when someone said my choices were like homework, not fun. Now I look for books that will split the room, something where folks will take sides and get loud about it. That one hour past your normal end time is the whole point, that's the magic.

1