Shoutout to the librarian who told me my book club was reading too fast and missing the point

She said we were blitzing through chapters like they were chores, so we slowed down to 20 pages a night for 3 weeks and actually argued about character motives instead of just plot points, has anyone else had a club member or outsider change how you approach a book?

3 comments

3 Comments

christopherh791mo ago

Yo that librarian really hooked y'all up. My old book club had this one guy who would always read ahead and drop spoilers without meaning to, so we started doing a "no talking about the last 50 pages" rule to keep everyone on the same page. Slowing down like that sounds frustrating at first but honestly makes the whole experience way richer, especially when you start digging into why characters act the way they do.

gavin3651mo ago

Wait, @christopherh79, didn't your book club ever try arguing about a character's favorite ice cream flavor (like I did, totally pointless but fun)?

keith_bennett1mo ago

Respectfully, I see it a little different. That slow read approach sounds like it takes all the spontaneity out of the experience. Half the fun for me is getting to the end and looking back, not pausing to analyze every little thing along the way.