Got into it with my book club because I said 'chapters' are not the same as 'parts'

I know this sounds super nitpicky but the whole thing blew up at our last meeting. We were talking about The Goldfinch and someone kept saying "the first chapter" when they meant Part 1. I pointed out that chapters break up a narrative in smaller chunks while parts are bigger structural sections. One person got all defensive and said I was being pedantic. Another person backed me up. Now half the group thinks I'm a jerk. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of terminology debate in their group?

3 comments

3 Comments

miam7523d ago

That's rough, I feel for you on this one.

owens.cameron23d ago

You say 'that's rough' like it's the end of the world. @miam75 what's the actual big deal here? Probably just a hassle, not life or death.

phoenix_thompson421d ago

Oh man, I've been there. @miam75 is right, that's rough. Best thing I ever did was start calling them "structural sections" or just letting it go and saying "Part 1" myself whenever someone messed it up. Saves way more headaches than trying to win an argument.