Rant: That time I tried to speed-read a 500-page novel for book club and showed up with nothing useful to say

I thought I could cram The Goldfinch in three days before our meeting. Big mistake. I got through maybe 200 pages, skimmed the rest, and when they asked my opinion on the ending I just said "uh, it was fine" because I had no clue what actually happened. Everyone else had read it properly and had real thoughts. Now I just skip the meeting if I don't finish. Has anyone else shown up to book club totally unprepared?

2 comments

2 Comments

jasonallen1mo ago

Did you at least pretend to have an opinion by picking one random detail from the first 200 pages?

janah831mo ago

Uh, it was fine" sounds about right for skimming The Goldfinch actually... that book is so long I don't think anyone really gets it in three days. But you said you got through 200 pages and then skimmed the rest, which is kind of funny because 200 pages of that book is basically just the first week of the main character's life. I tried to speed read that one too and ended up mixing up two different minor characters because the names were too similar after page 400. Honestly book club should just let people admit they didn't finish without making it weird.