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Picked a book for my club based on its Goodreads score and it was a total flop
Our group in Austin chose 'The Midnight Library' because it had a 4.0 average with over 500k reviews. The meeting turned into a 90-minute argument about whether the main idea was deep or just lazy writing. I learned that a high rating doesn't mean a book will spark a good talk, it just means a lot of people liked it quietly. What's a book with a mid-level score that actually led to a great debate for you all?
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jadeg813mo ago
Honestly that sounds like a pretty successful book club meeting to me. Getting people to argue for 90 minutes means the book actually made them feel something. Maybe the problem is expecting a "good talk" to be polite agreement instead of a messy debate. My group read a book with a 3.2 rating about a failed expedition and people were yelling about who was to blame.
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elizabetht5610d ago
Absolutely agree with both of you. My group picked a book about a messy divorce with a 3.4 rating. Thought it would be a calm talk. Nope. People were practically yelling about who was the bad guy. Had to call a 5 minute cool down. @jessicaw11 you're spot on - that loud debate was the best meeting we ever had. Even the quietest member finally spoke up to argue. That's a win.
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jessicaw113mo ago
Jade's got a point about a messy debate being a sign of success. It shows the book hit a nerve and people cared enough to fight about it. Maybe we put too much pressure on picking a universally loved book instead of one that makes people react strongly. Our group read a book with a 3.5 rating about a family secret and the argument over who was right got so heated we almost needed a referee. What book made your group get loud?
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