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Am I the only one who thinks the 'did you finish it' opener kills half of book club nights
At our Thursday meetup at the library on Oak Street last week, the first thing out of someone's mouth was "did everyone finish?" and you could feel six people shut down right there. The book was about 320 pages and maybe four of us were done, so the other eight spent the next hour nodding along instead of saying anything. I've been in this group for almost two years and I can point to at least five meetings where that one opener turned a good talk into a quiet room. What works better for us is leading with a scene or a feeling first, like "what part made you stop reading for a second," and the page-count stuff sorts itself out later. I get that people want to keep spoilers out, but there has to be a better way to start. How does your group get going without making the folks who didn't finish feel like they should leave early?
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alex82011d ago
Ha! Just ask "what part stuck with you" instead.
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