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Rant: My book club fight over 'The Midnight Library' got way too personal
Last Tuesday at the Maple Street Cafe, Sarah said the book was 'too simplistic' and I disagreed. She then told me I only liked it because I'm 'emotionally shallow' or whatever. Right in front of the whole group too. Has anyone else had a debate turn nasty like that over a character's choices?
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sage_green4d ago
Yeah, being called "emotionally shallow" for liking a book feels like a personal attack, not a book debate. I've noticed how people can't separate liking something from being a good person these days. It's like we forgot you can just disagree about a story without making it about someone's character.
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torres.thea4d ago
Yeah honestly I used to be like the other person and think people were just being too sensitive about this stuff, but @sage_green kinda made me rethink it. It's wild how quick people jump from "I don't like that book" to "you're a bad person for liking it," like we can't just have different tastes without it being some deep character flaw.
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laura_schmidt824d ago
Are people really that fragile these days? I mean, @sage_green, is it that deep? If someone called me emotionally shallow for liking a book, I'd just laugh and say "yep, guilty as charged" and move on. Last month my buddy told me I had bad taste because I love those cheesy action movies where the plot makes no sense. I didn't cry about it, I just said okay and we went back to talking about sports. Sometimes I think people get too wrapped up in defending their opinions like it's a matter of life or death. It's a book club, not a court case.
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evan_green524d ago
Get where you're coming from @laura_schmidt82 and I respect that. But I see it a bit different. When someone calls you emotionally shallow for liking a book, that's not a debate about the story anymore. That's them telling you who you are as a person. I've had a friend tell me I only liked a certain movie because I 'don't get real human connections' and it stung because it felt like they were dismissing me, not the film. Laughing it off works for some people, but for others that kind of comment cuts deep because it hits on something personal. It's not about being fragile, it's about expecting basic respect when you're just talking about a story.
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