My club argued for 40 minutes about a book half of us never finished, and that's the real problem

Claire Ramirez · 2026-10-10T06:25:04.248008+00:00

Last Tuesday at our meetup in the back room of Rosie's Diner here in Sacramento, we burned 40 minutes on whether the ending of our pick was earned, and then Dana admitted she bailed at chapter 6. That's when it hit me: most book club fights aren't about the book, they're about people faking their way through it. I've been in this club for 3 years and I can count on one hand the times everyone actually finished. We used to just go around and share what stuck with us, no grades, no pressure, and the talks were way better. Now somebody always shows up with a printout of discussion questions they found online and it turns into a test. The folks who didn't finish go quiet, and the loud ones just repeat whatever the back cover says. So what do you all do about the half readers? Do you push them to finish or just let people come as they are?

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My club argued for 40 minutes about a book half of us never finished, and that's the real problem | Book Club Debates - HW Forums