Tried a character-driven approach vs plot-first for my book club pick and the difference was night and day

For our last meeting I suggested we read a book where I focused on character arcs instead of the usual plot twists. Usually we pick thrillers and mysteries. This one was a slower literary novel. Half the group loved it because they actually cared about the people. The other half said it was boring and nothing happened. Has anyone else had a book club split like this over style vs story?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_thea1mo ago

Wait, have you tried alternating like @quinna89 mentioned? That totally saved my book club too lol. We did thriller one month then something character heavy the next and it stopped the whole "this book is boring" fight every time. Some people just need that plot to keep them hooked while others want to sink into the characters. It's funny how you can read the same book and have completely different experiences based on what your brain craves lol. The rotating schedule really helped us find a middle ground where nobody felt left out.

william_harris1mo ago

Oh man, you're totally right about rotating styles. My group did the same thing after we argued about "Piranesi" for like an hour straight. Some people loved the dreamy slow build and others were just staring at the page waiting for something to happen. The alternating really does help because nobody feels like they're stuck reading their least favorite type of book month after month. I will say though, we tried rotating genres too and that kinda backfired when we went from a cozy mystery to a super heavy literary novel about grief and everyone was in a completely different headspace.

quinna891mo ago

This exact thing happened with my book club when we read "A Gentleman in Moscow" vs our usual fast paced thrillers. Half of us were all in on the character growth and the little moments, the other half kept asking when "the action" was gonna start. It's wild how different brains work with books, some people need plot momentum to stay engaged while others just want to sit with the characters and feel things. Both ways are valid but man it makes picking the next book a nightmare. We ended up doing a compromise where we rotate styles every other month and it's helped a lot.