Has this happened to you?
You pick up the latest pick for your book club, start reading it right away because we love books, and……..
.
.
.
.
you hate it.
It’s a terrible read.
It could be dense writing, limited discussion topics, unrelatable characters, or glaring potholes. Sometimes bad books happen to good book clubs.
Don’t let the bad book ruin your book club meeting. Here’s what you do:
1 – Don’t retreat into a shell like a turtle and hide from the club meeting. Show up and be prepared to shrug off the bad and spark a conversation about what you didn’t like.
2 – Don’t cancel the meeting alltogether. Your friends want to see each other, so don’t send around an email saying, “I couldn’t read this, so let’s just not do it.” Keep your regular meeting time – or at the least suggest a silent reading party.
3 – If you have writers in your group, this is the perfect opportunity to discuss what went wrong with the book and how to avoid those elements in your own work.
4 – Let the bashing happen – freely offer opinions that are negative and see who agrees and disagrees.
5 – Take a look at how your club selects books and what research needs to be done before the next pick is announced.
AND FINALLY –
6 – Relax. This is book club not heart surgery. Realize that even bad books can give the right bookworm friends a good time.
