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The great 'read the book first' debate in my group
For years, my book club in Austin had a hard rule: finish the book before the meeting, no exceptions. We'd even do pop quizzes, which sounds silly now. Then last fall, we picked 'Cloud Cuckoo Land' and half the group was still on page 200. The host just said, 'Let's talk about what we've read so far,' and it was the best talk we'd had in months. Now we actively encourage people to come even if they're only halfway through, because the talk is more about first reactions than final takes. Has your group relaxed its rules on finishing the book, or is that still a hard line?
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william_henderson2d ago
Our group in Denver actually went the other way last year. We found that letting people show up halfway through meant the whole conversation got stuck in the first act. Someone would bring up a plot point from later and half the table had to cover their ears. Talking about a book you haven't finished is like reviewing a movie after only watching the trailer. You miss how everything ties together. The best talks happen when everyone has seen the full picture and can talk about the whole journey, not just the opening steps.
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grace_allen14d ago
Our group ditched that rule too... way more fun to hear everyone's messy first thoughts.
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adams.linda14d ago
Our group tried the pop quiz thing once and I was the reason we stopped. I mixed up two characters so badly the host had to pull out a family tree chart. It's a lot less pressure now that we can just talk about the part we're in, even if it's just the first few chapters. You get to guess where the story is going instead of trying to remember every detail from the end.
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