Hot take: my book club hated my pick and they were right

Last month I picked "The Overstory" thinking it would blow everyone away with its tree metaphors. The group tore it apart, said the pacing was terrible and characters felt flat. They called it pretentious and I got defensive at first. After rereading chapter 5 alone I saw they were spot on - it meandered way too much. Anybody else had your favorite book flop hard with your group and change what you recommend now?

4 comments

4 Comments

simonp761mo ago

Exactly, you gotta check your ego at the door. Once I let go of wanting the book to be good, I could actually see what they meant.

taylorshah1mo ago

The group's always right if you actually listen, though.

keith9001mo ago

Read a study awhile back that said when people are in groups they actually pick up on things individual brains miss. Something about how our brains are wired for social sense making. It was about jury decisions actually. Makes sense with this book club stuff too.

lilya761mo ago

Oh totally, @keith900, it's like how in my old knitting circle we'd all misread a pattern differently but together somehow figured out the right stitch (which is way less high stakes than a jury, obviously).