Serious question, why did everyone at book club let me bring up that plot hole?

Last month at our group meeting at Carol's house, I pointed out that the main character's timeline didn't add up in chapter 7. Everyone just nodded and moved on. Now I found out three people had already noticed it but didn't want to be rude. I felt like an idiot spending 10 minutes explaining something they all knew was wrong. Has anyone else dealt with a book club that dodges the real debates?

3 comments

3 Comments

jackson.matthew8d ago

...and honestly @jana_scott, that's the exact question I had to ask my group after the same thing happened to me. I just pulled two of them aside before the next meeting and flat out said "why did nobody stop me?" Turns out they thought I was really into it and didn't want to kill my enthusiasm. So what worked for me was telling them beforehand that I actually love when people push back on stuff, even if they disagree. Now before we start a book, I'll literally say "hey if I go off on some weird timeline thing just cut me off, I won't be mad." It changed everything honestly, now we actually have real arguments instead of everyone just nodding along.

keith_rivera198d ago

Man yeah that is such a classic book club thing and honestly @jackson.matthew nailed it with what he said about letting people know you want the pushback. I think the real issue is that most groups are scared of awkwardness more than they are of bad discussions. Like everybody would rather sit through a ten minute ramble than risk making someone feel dumb for bringing something up. What I did with my group was similar to Jackson actually, I just started being super upfront about my own mood before we started talking. I'll say something like "okay I'm feeling spicy tonight so if I say something dumb please tell me" or "I'm tired so just nod along if I talk too long." It makes it so much easier for people to know when they can actually engage versus when they should just let you talk. Once you break that ice everyone gets way more comfortable calling stuff out and the debates actually start happening.

jana_scott9d ago

Oh wow, that is such a book club vibe right there. But here's what I'm wondering - did you ever actually ask them why they let you go on like that?