Navigating Book Group

Keeping My Opinions To Myself

I belong to two book groups. One is newer, and consists of members who discuss the books we read at length (“at length” being defined as approximately 10 minutes). The other group is older (going on two decades) and we talk about the book for thirty seconds before we get distracted by someone’s sandals and suddenly we’re talking about bunion surgery.

I like both groups, because I like the women in them, and it’s fun when we get together. The whole book aspect of it, though…that’s way more nuanced. I am a less-than-ideal book group member, as I am what you (or even I, myself) would call judgmental. This is because I am a writer who teaches writing. I am laser-focused on the shit that writers get wrong, and I can’t help but call it out.

The same thing happened years ago with tennis, a sport I once loved. Tragically, I coached two high school teams over the course of eight years, effectively sucking all the pleasure out of the game. I became excruciatingly aware of my own faults on the court. I was critical of my friends, watching their form and strategy. Also, when playing competitively I couldn’t stop hitting balls directly back to my opponents because I’d spent years feeding my team balls during practices. Tennis went from a fun pastime to a purgatory I couldn’t escape. And that’s kinda where I am with book group.

I mostly try to keep my mouth shut, because I can’t stand how full of myself I sound. Why would any non-pedant care about inadequate character development, uneven pacing, or embarrassingly inauthentic dialogue? It’s pretentious and annoying, and I’m sorry.

I’ve decided to try to take everything down a notch and just have fun with both my book groups. I figure I enjoy movies and TV series, both of which I know nothing in terms of crafting, and therefore am able to opine baselessly and ad nauseum. There’s a glorious freedom in being so ignorant of the art form’s construct and construction that parsing is impossible.

Newer book group is coming up and I’ve already read the book. To be honest, I couldn’t stand it. There wasn’t one character I cared about, and though the premise was mildly intriguing, the structure of the narrative (the chapters alternating between past and present) felt like a gimmick which effectively reduced rather than ratcheted up the drama. The end was corny, and there were gratuitous details that went nowhere, plus a few big unanswered questions that were never resolved.

Essentially, it was a fucking waste of the eight hours spent reading it, but hey, it’s admirable to support literature and my fellow writers, though this particular writer should hightail it back to writing school because she sucks.

I’m telling you this, but at book group, I will simply say the book wasn’t my cup of tea, to which I will add, man, am I glad summer is here! and yes, thanks, I’d love a beer.