Our club went from three people talking to nine arguing, and the switch to a 40 page cap did it
Six months ago our book club in Boise was basically me and two friends nodding along, because nobody finished the 500 page picks. In March we agreed to cap picks at 40 pages and rotate who leads, and suddenly nine people are showing up to argue about a single chapter. The change was less about the page count and more that the leader has to bring two discussion points written down, so nobody sits there silent. I'm honestly not sure the 40 page cap works for novels though, has anyone found a middle ground that keeps the arguing going without turning it into a short story club?