My book club almost fell apart over a single chapter last month

We were at Sarah's place in Portland talking about 'The Overstory' and chapter three set off a huge fight. Two members said the tree science parts were boring filler, but our leader insisted they were the whole point of the book. It got so tense that one person said they were done with the group. I ended up texting everyone the next day to suggest we just skip ahead to chapter four for the next meeting, which most people agreed to. Has your club ever had to change the book plan to keep the peace?

3 comments

3 Comments

cora_scott773d ago

Actually, the tree science parts are kind of the point of that book. It's trying to make you see the world like a tree, so skipping that chapter misses a big piece. A better fix might have been to just talk about why those sections felt slow instead of cutting them out.

henderson.wesley1d ago

That chapter almost made me quit the book for good.

dakotawood3d ago

I used to be the person who would push to finish every book no matter what. Then my own group nearly broke up over a slog of a novel everyone hated. Now I see that keeping the group together is the real goal. Skipping a chapter is a small price to pay for keeping your friends talking about books. Your text was the right move.