Why does picking a book feel like a team project at work now?

We used to just bring book suggestions to our club meetings and chat about them over drinks. Now we have online polls, scheduled Zoom calls, and it all feels too much like a work meeting. Am I the only one who thinks book clubs lost some of their fun when they got so organized?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_thea1mo ago

Seriously, it's like we need a project manager just to pick the next paperback. Last month we spent 45 minutes on a Zoom call debating the merits of historical fiction versus a memoir, and someone made a Google Doc to track votes. I miss when it was just "I read this great one, you should check it out" over a glass of wine. All the spreadsheets and deadlines take the joy right out of it.

phoenixh741mo ago

Actually, that structure helps when everyone's busy, @the_thea.

reese_bell22d ago

Ugh, I feel this so hard. My old book club turned into a whole thing with assigned discussion leaders and reading check-ins. We had a shared calendar just to track chapter deadlines. It started feeling like homework. I just wanted to talk about the characters, not update a progress tracker.