Picking a political memoir for book club was our biggest blunder

I still can't believe we thought that dense political memoir was a good idea. Half the group came in ready to argue, not discuss. For example, when Mark said the author was biased, Lisa yelled that he wasn't reading it right. The whole night turned into a shouting match about real-world politics, not the book. Now, some people don't even show up, and the fun is gone. We should have stuck to fiction where the stakes are lower. In my view, book clubs work best when they focus on the story, not hot-button issues.

4 comments

4 Comments

victor7791mo ago

Talk about picking a book that's basically choosing a side in a fight. @mia_jones47, your friend's story about the senator's memoir is the perfect example of a club blowing up. I guess the real victim is always the fun of just talking about a story.

gracec169d ago

Wait they stopped TALKING over a book club pick? That's actually insane.

jade5171mo ago

Our book club read a political memoir two years ago and it went fine. I mean, we just talked about the author's journey instead of arguing over bills. Maybe setting some simple rules can save the fun.

mia_jones471mo ago

Yeah that "shouting match about real-world politics" part hits home. My friend's book club completely blew up over a memoir by a former senator last year. They had one meeting where two people got so mad about healthcare policy they stopped talking to each other outside the group. The whole thing just fell apart after that, no one could agree on a neutral book again. It really does suck the fun out when everything turns into an argument.