Rant: A book club member told me my questions were too simple

At our meeting last month for 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo', I was leading and asked stuff like 'Did you like the ending?'. Sarah from Portland said, 'Your questions feel safe, like we're just agreeing. Push us to argue about the characters' choices.' She was right. Now I prepare two 'debate starter' questions, like 'Was Evelyn's final choice selfish or brave?' for our next book. It totally changed the vibe. Has anyone else gotten advice that flipped their book club talks?

4 comments

4 Comments

michaeltorres3mo ago

Sarah from Portland actually said that to your face?

olivia_moore3mo ago

Reminds me of the time @michaeltorres got told his coffee order was "objectively wrong" by a barista in Seattle.

ellioth373mo ago

Feel like Sarah from Portland would roast my book club questions too, @olivia_moore.

milam481mo ago

My book club has a Sarah too, she's the one who called my pick "aggressively beige" last month. It was a perfectly nice memoir about a woman who hikes the PCT, very standard book club fare. Three people actually cried reading it, so maybe her coffee order being "objectively wrong" tracks with her whole deal. She also told my baked brie was "underseasoned" at the last meeting, like we were on some cooking show. Honestly I just started taking notes, her roasts are better than most of the discussion questions.