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Book club fight over "The Midnight Library" made me want to quit the group
We were at Beth's house last Tuesday and it got heated. I said the book was kind of predictable and this lady Linda goes off on me saying I missed the whole point. Then Dave jumps in saying the whole concept of alternate lives was lazy writing. Next thing I know people are almost yelling about whether it's a five star or a three star. The host ended up cutting the discussion short. I drove home annoyed. Like its just a book right? Has anyone else had a book club debate get way too personal?
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sean_foster5215d ago
Honestly, the last time my book club got that heated was over "Where the Crawdads Sing". I said the ending felt a bit rushed and this guy Mark threw his book on the coffee table and said I probably never finished a novel in my life. Tbh I'm a slow reader and I mostly finish audiobooks while folding laundry so he wasn't totally wrong. Ngl it stung for a week and I almost quit too. But then I remembered we once spent 45 minutes arguing about whether the main character in "The Great Gatsby" was actually a good person or just rich. Like, Jay Gatsby is not real. None of them are real. We are all just choosing sides in a fake fight.
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jesse_barnes3715d agoProlific Poster
People get way too defensive about their takes on books like they personally wrote them. The Gatsby argument is a perfect example, you're right. Here's the thing nobody brings up: we argue about characters because it's easier than talking about how they make us feel about ourselves. When Mark got mad at you about Crawdads, he wasn't mad about the ending. He probably saw something in that book he didn't want to admit about his own choices.
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