14
My book club roasted me for picking a slow starter last month
I picked "The Night Circus" for our August meeting because I loved the cover and the magic theme sounded fun. Well, three people said they nearly quit after 100 pages because nothing happens in the first third. One lady literally brought a sticky note with the page number where it finally got good, which was page 247. That feedback stung but it made me realize I always judge books by their vibe instead of pacing. So for our September pick I forced myself to read the first 50 pages of three different books before deciding. We ended up reading "Project Hail Mary" and nobody complained once about being bored. Has anyone else had their group totally change how they pick books after a bad choice?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
elizabethmason16d ago
Is it bad that my first thought was to put a sticky note on the book club snacks so people know which chips are actually good? I learned the hard way that if a book makes you check your watch more than once before page 50, just throw it back and try again with something that actually moves.
5
rubyk2617d ago
Feel you on this one honestly, my group had a similar moment when I picked "The Goldfinch" and half the members texted me passive-aggressive memes about slow books by page 80. It forced me to actually read the first chapter of every pick now instead of just going off goodreads vibes. Really does sting when you realize you accidentally made people slog through something they hated just to discuss it.
4