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My book club hated my suggestion for 'The Goldfinch' and it made me rethink how I pitch books
Last month I brought up Tartt's 700-page doorstopper and three people groaned. One said it felt like homework, not a fun read. Now I lead with shorter thrillers first before pitching the dense literary stuff.
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gracec161d ago
The Goldfinch" as homework is exactly how my old book club would have described it too, and I'm the one who suggested it. I swear I thought I was being all sophisticated and highbrow, but really I just wanted to talk about a giant book with a little dog in it. Now I lead with something short and punchy, like a Riley Sager thriller, and only pitch the big literary stuff after everyone's had a few glasses of wine and is feeling generous. How do you decide when to test the waters with a longer book without making everyone groan?
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wendy1311d ago
Oh totally @gracec16, I'm the same way. I'll start a meeting with something light like a 250 page thriller and then hit them with the 800 page doorstop once they're too sleepy to argue. My trick is to bait them with snacks and wine first, then slip in the long book like "oh by the way, this one has a really cute dog on page 87
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wesleyb201d ago
Wait, hold up. "a really cute dog on page 87"??? lmao, that is such a specific and brilliant detail. I gotta know if you actually memorized the exact page number of the dog or if you just made that up on the spot. That's a master level book club move right there, I'm genuinely impressed and a little scared lol. I bet you've got a whole mental catalog of page numbers for cute animals and funny jokes to drop at the perfect moment. You're out here playing 4D chess while the rest of us are just trying to remember the plot lol.
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