Our club picked a 600 page fantasy novel over a short story collection and it split the group

For our April read, we had to choose between 'The Priory of the Orange Tree' and 'Her Body and Other Parties'. I pushed for the big fantasy book, thinking a long epic would give us more to talk about. Half the members loved the deep world building, but the other half couldn't finish it in four weeks. Now some people are saying we should only pick books under 400 pages. Has your club ever set a page limit rule after a pick went wrong?

2 comments

2 Comments

eric_ramirez671mo ago

Man, that's the exact same trap my old hiking group fell into. We always overestimate what we can handle in a set time, whether it's a book or a weekend project. Maybe a soft page limit is smarter than a hard rule, just to keep things moving?

oliviadixon1mo ago

My book club tried a 300 page cap last year and it just made people pick short, dense books that took forever. A soft limit with some wiggle room for longer picks keeps the pace up without stressing everyone out. It's about finding a rhythm, not hitting a word count.