My book club said I was picking 'too safe' novels and it stung but they were right

I used to only choose bestsellers or books with movie adaptations, thought that was the only way to keep everyone happy. At our meeting last month, Jen called me out and said we were stuck in a rut because of my picks. She pointed out we hadn't discussed anything weird or challenging in over a year. Now I'm trying to mix in more translated fiction and debuts, see if it changes the conversation. Anyone else get critique from their club that actually made reading better?

2 comments

2 Comments

wyatt_garcia12d ago

A guy who collects vintage erasers? That's wild.

lane.joel12d ago

Wait, did you say you only picked bestsellers and movie tie-ins? Because that's not just "safe", that's basically a marketing department picking your reading list. I did something similar when I first started my club, thought I was being considerate by choosing things everyone had heard of. But Jen had a point about the rut though, you really do miss out on the weird stuff that makes book club conversations actually fun. Like last year I brought in this translated Japanese novel about a guy who collects vintage erasers, and we spent two hours arguing about whether collecting is a form of art or just hoarding with better lighting. That kind of discussion never happens with a Reese's Book Club pick.