Book group snobbery

[Starlight]

The book club on here is the first experience of a book club Ive had. My friend goes to one but there seems to be total snobbery and completely misleading titles being chosen.

S is a fan of well chick lit Id say and every month the choice of book at the club is pretty heavy going. God love her shes struggled through them but my word some have been awful.

Shes spoken to a few girls in the group on a one to one basis and all have admitted that they struggle and the genre isnt the type theyd chose to read but when it comes to 'their month' to chose not one of them has the gumption to chose a light chick lit type, which is their usual choice of reading.

Is this kind of thing common in book groups. Would you or are you put off fessing up to and choosing your favourite type of book incase its looked down on??

 

[jacsprat]

I've never belonged to a book group either but the thing I would like about them is being introduced to different genres and authors. However if I was really struggling to enjoy the books every month I doubt I would keep going.

Having spoken to a few others at the group I think your friend (or one of the others) should be brave and pick something they like. It may open up the floodgates and everyone will stop trying to impress each other with the highbrow books.

 

[Mrs_CakeyBun]

I have experience of this happening a lot unfortunatly....I supply books to book groups all around the area I cover and some of them repetidy pick the most boring highbroww tosh and Im sure its one-up manship I wanted to pick a book for here that would appeal to a range of readers as I think thats vital to any book group...you should never be made to feel uncomfortable or anything like that...it basically amounts to a form or bullying if you ask me!

Suggest your friend looks around for another group to join most areas have several and she could ask at her local library as they often lend books in bulk to local book groups.

 

[BlackRose]

What dictator has a hold over this book group?? Since your friend knows she's not alone she should speak up! Her opinion is as valid as anyone's!

And anyways, who determines what's good literature and what's not?

I've done an English Degree, I'm about to start an MA in Renaissance Lit, but let me tell ya I've read and enjoyed many a 'chick lit' (hate that term btw lmao) book and many and bloody Mills & Boon too!!

If you truly love reading, snobbery shouldn't enter into and the choice of book shouldn't be that much of an issue.

What if she suggests, every third or fourth book is one the big smobby wade-through-treacle jobbys??

 

[rainbow]

Ive just enrolled so to speak in a book club, it starts in a couple of weeks......... am kinda looking forward to it, but am also nervous that the afore mentioned kinda happens! will be defo promoting my kinda book though. Luckily for me its a new formed group and the session in two weeks is the first session - start as you mean to go on is what Im thinking!! x

 

[Strawberri]

I've been in two books clubs totally differing..

First one was about 5 years ago and the person in charge made us all read Mills and Boon Urrrgghhh dont get me wrong a nice romance is good but one a week every week for a year arrrrrgghh i quit that group

Second one was about 6 months ago and was sooo boring I think i may of fallen asleep it was all jane eyre and olver twist..
all good books but I dont want to re-read things i did at school I quit that too

 

[Sulleyp]

Late to the thread sorry.

I will never join a book group. I have observed 2 in my lifetime. My mother joined one briefly and my hosuemate held a couple of meetings in our lounge at uni.

They are just groups for people trying to show everyone else how intellegent they are. Reading a book is a very personal thing for me. I have no problem telling people how great a book is or whether its worth reading or even a brief outline of it. But the feelings and thoughts books stir up should be a personal thing.

I recently read a book on a sensitive subject and there is no way I would sit in a group and tell them what I thought the author was thinking and how I felt reading it. You could tell the author wrote it in the depths of misery. You don't need a group to tell you that.

With regards to finding new authors and genres..... Thats what Amazon is for. I have found 2 ways of finding new books and authors:

1- Go to amazon and scroll down the bessellers for each genre
2- Anytime an old 'classic' is referenced or mentioned in films/tv/news...... read it. The amount of times I heard The Great Gatsby mentioned before I read it was ridiculous.

BTW...... I do realise my post was very snobby

 

[Andys74]

I joined a bookgroup as an old friend was running it and wanted another man to support the lone man already there. I have to say I really enjoyed it - there was a mix of highbrow stuff but we also read 'chick' lit and had a real laugh - the one-upmanship only showed itself in the bringing of baked goods. Up til midnight making chocolate brownies ... not gonna be doing that again. A nearly all women environment leaves men for dust in terms of competitiveness!! I think it really depends on the mix of people, but what I really appreciated was other people sharing how moved they had been over something. I also became a devotee of Amy Tan and Alexander McCall-Smith through it, which previously I would avoided because of none too clever prejudices.

 

[Munchasaur]

Am in a book club and sometimes the books we get to read are completely off the wall - only once has a book defeated me though and I've had to admit defeat and give up. The point of our book club is to meet new friends, talk about something we've got in common ( a love of reading) and eat and drink loads - in fact there's more eating and drinking going on than discussing the books. The books we are given to read are chosen from a list provided by the local library. We pick the books we are going to read through the year from this list. If there's nothing inspiring on the list, I guess you have to decide whether this is the sort of thing for you. Am still waiting for vampires, werewolves and witches to make an appearance on our list. Our current book under discussion? The Accidental by Ali Smith - can't make head or tail of it and am reluctantly thinking that this might be no 2 book I give up on without reading...