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Book club picks I disliked - am I being too critical?
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My book club just finished our latest pick and I have to say, it was one of the worst books I've read this year. But everyone else in the group loved it!
This happens to me way too often with book club picks I disliked. We choose these award-winning books or NYT bestsellers that everyone raves about, and I'm sitting there wondering if we read the same book.
The latest one was a prize-winning novel that I couldn't finish. The writing was so dense and the characters were so unlikable that I had to force myself through every page. Meanwhile, the rest of my book club was discussing its "profound themes" and "beautiful prose."
Has anyone else experienced this disconnect with book community hot takes? Do you ever feel like you're the only one who doesn't get the hype around certain books?
I feel your pain about book club picks I disliked. My book club recently read that literary fiction novel that won all the awards last year. Everyone else was discussing its lyrical prose" and "profound themes," while I was sitting there thinking, "Did we read the same book?"
The characters were all miserable without any redeeming qualities, the plot went nowhere, and the "beautiful" prose felt pretentious to me. Yet when I tried to express this, I was met with, "Well, it's literary fiction, it's supposed to be challenging."
Since when did "challenging" become synonymous with "enjoyable"? I don't mind books that make me think, but I also want to actually enjoy reading them.
This happens to me all the time! My book club tends to pick award-winning books or NYT bestsellers, and I often find them disappointing. There was one prize-winning novel we read that I literally couldn't finish - it was that bad.
What frustrates me is the pressure to like these books. When everyone else is praising something, it feels awkward to be the dissenting voice. You start questioning your own taste, wondering if you missed something.
But here's the thing: taste is subjective. Just because a book wins awards or gets critical acclaim doesn't mean everyone will enjoy it. I wish book clubs were more open to discussing books we didn't like, rather than just praising the ones we did.
I've had this experience with book club picks too. There was one book we read that was a critical darling - won multiple awards, was on every best of" list. I found it completely impenetrable. The narrative structure was confusing for no reason, the characters were thinly drawn, and the themes were hammered home with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
Yet at our meeting, everyone was talking about how "brilliant" and "innovative" it was. I felt like I was taking crazy pills. Did we read the same book?
I think sometimes people feel pressure to like books that are critically acclaimed. They worry that if they don't like it, it means they're not smart enough or sophisticated enough to "get" it. But maybe the book just isn't very good.
As someone who's been in many book clubs over the years, I can tell you that you're definitely not alone. Book clubs often gravitate toward serious" literature or award winners, but those aren't always the most enjoyable reads.
I've found that the best book club discussions often come from books that people have mixed feelings about. When everyone loves a book, the discussion tends to be shallow - just everyone agreeing with each other. But when people have different opinions, that's when you get real conversation.
Maybe you could suggest that your book club occasionally reads something outside the literary fiction/award winner bubble. There's nothing wrong with reading a well-written thriller or a compelling nonfiction book for book club.
I've stopped joining book clubs because of this exact issue. The last one I was in picked nothing but literary fiction that was important" or "timely," and I found most of it pretentious and boring.
What really bothered me was the attitude that if you didn't like these books, you just didn't "get" them. As if enjoying a book is some kind of intellectual achievement rather than a subjective experience.
I think book clubs would be more interesting if they embraced diverse tastes. Why does every pick have to be an award-winning literary novel? There's so much great genre fiction out there, or compelling nonfiction, or even well-written commercial fiction.
Maybe you could suggest rotating who picks the book each month, with the rule that it can't be something that's won major awards or been on the NYT bestseller list for more than X weeks.
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