Our group started picking books by voting on a theme instead of a title and it's way less stressful.

We used to spend half our meeting arguing over which specific novel to read next, and someone always got salty. Last quarter, we switched to voting on a theme like 'found family' or 'unreliable narrator' first. Then our moderator, Sarah, picks three options that fit and we choose from those. It cut our decision time down from like 45 minutes to 10. Has your club tried any tricks to make the book selection part smoother?

3 comments

3 Comments

betty_wells7d ago

Love this idea so much, we actually do something pretty similar. We pick a genre for the month, like historical fiction or sci-fi, and then each person brings one title that fits to the next meeting. We do a quick show of hands and the winner is clear in like five minutes flat. It completely stopped the whole "well I've already read that one" debate that used to drag on forever. Honestly, cutting out the title fight at the start was a total game changer for our group's mood.

violar357d ago

Our book club wasted a full 20 minutes last month just on whether to read a mystery or a romance. I always thought picking the exact book was the only fair way, but hearing how your group does it with themes first actually makes so much more sense. It keeps everyone focused on the kind of story they want instead of fighting over titles. I'm totally going to suggest we try this at our next meeting.

tara6426d ago

Actually, we pick the theme first, not the genre. So it's more like "books about family" or "stories set by the sea" instead of just mystery or romance. It gives way more options.