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The book club fight over 'shocking' endings nearly split us in half
We were reading Gone Girl at the library last month. Half the group loved the twist ending. The other half said it was cheap and manipulative. Things got heated. One woman literally stood up and walked out. I had to step in and ask everyone to take a breath before we lost half the members. Has anyone else had a book tear your group apart like that?
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kim.zara4d ago
That "literally stood up and walked out" thing happened in my group too. With The Girl on the Train actually. I made everyone write down their reaction first on a sticky note before talking. Gave people a minute to cool off. Then we went around the circle reading the notes quietly. It helped because nobody interrupted each other and the loud voices didn't take over.
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Huh, sticky notes are an interesting idea but I gotta push back a bit here @kim.zara. Writing it down first just delays the real reaction people have. The whole point of a book club is the raw back and forth when someone drops a hot take. Taking that away makes it feel like a classroom assignment. I'd rather have someone storm out than sit there reading from a piece of paper. The anger is part of the fun honestly. If we all just nod quietly what's the point of getting together?
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