The books aren’t all terrible. We’ve had some really good reads and some good conversations about terrible ones, but actually reading most of the books makes me want to pull my fingernails out.
The problem is this: years and years ago when they started the book club, they decided to use the library “book club set” books so no one had to pay for a book club book. This was fine for a few years when the options were plentiful, but the organizer says we’ve almost exhausted the city library and she’s going to get a card at the neighboring city library. We really are scraping the barrel, I guess.
So many of the books are a “book club book,” a genre that doesn’t just include questions in the back for discussion, but also a Woman With Relationship Drama whose story of divorce or moving to a new town or ex-boyfriend coming back into her life is interspersed with chapters about some Deep Historical Moment, like the Great Depression or the Holocaust or American slavery. By the end, the ghosts of the past will be comfortably laid to rest and our heroine will get laid. Or be liberated. Or both.
I don’t think I’m the only one in the group unimpressed with the books. The conversation after “what did you all think?” is strained, like someone asking what you think of a new son-in-law you don’t like. These are smart, educated, curious women and they don’t like being pandered to.
The problem is I’m a newcomer, so even if I have suggestions to improve the books we read (classic literature that’s in public domain! Something short so we can share copies! Just trusting our upper-middle-class group to spend $12 once a month), this group has more than a decade of history. Do I just go along because these are cool ladies and I like the conversation or do I stage a coup?
TLDR: my book club only uses the library book club sets, which consist of books that aren’t as smart and thoughtful as the ladies who read them— as a newcomer, can I suggest a change?
Edit: thank you for all the great, thoughtful suggestions! You’re a great bunch!
I realized I have another resource at hand— the book club doesn’t meet during summer (I think they started that rule when the ladies had kids in school to accommodate for summer vacations, although they are now mostly empty nesters), so it wouldn’t be an offense (I think) to start a summer-only book club and invite the same ladies, but have different rules and expectations. Even if we have 3-5 people instead of 8-15, that would make it easier to get books. I once belonged to a summer-only book club for a few summers and it was fun to have a short period to focus on one genre or idea for a few months.
by uselessfoster