Almost got kicked out of a library book club for suggesting a different edition

I went to a meetup at the downtown public library last Tuesday where they were discussing the same classic novel everyone reads. When I mentioned the newer annotated version has better footnotes and a clearer translation, this older lady got real defensive. She said the old edition was the only 'real' one and called my suggestion disrespectful. Has anyone else run into people treating a specific book edition like it's sacred?

3 comments

3 Comments

wade_hall1mo ago

That old lady probably hasn't read a new book since 1985. People get weirdly territorial about the version they first read.

rivera.henry1mo ago

Have you ever actually tried bringing in your own copy and just leaving it there as a quiet backup? I've been in a similar situation where the group got stuck on one person's preferred edition, so I started bringing a second copy I had lying around. Nobody said anything but after a few weeks a couple people switched over. Sometimes the best move is just to let the new edition win by slowly replacing the old one socially. People get used to it if you give them time.

the_sean1mo ago

Man, that's rough. Getting defensive over footnotes of all things is a new one, people really do get attached to their specific copy. You'd think a book club would be open to different editions, that's kinda the whole point of discussing a book in the first place. Good on you for suggesting the annotated version, sounds like a more useful way to read it.