What's the Deal with Book Clubs?

I have participated in several book clubs over the past 30 years and firmly believe that they all fall into one of two categories: social connection or cerebral combat. My first book club experience was with work colleagues, and I was very excited about our first meeting. I often read books and want to discuss the content or writing style with others. This first book club had selected The Lovely Bones and being a nerd, I had taken the time to flag several sections of the book that I wanted to discuss. I was interested in hearing their thoughts on the way the author had given a unique voice to the protagonist.

As I proudly walked into the room with my book decorated with little sticky flags, everyone looked at me in confusion. When asked, I explained the flags and was quickly informed that I was the only one who intended to actually discuss the book. In fact, I was only one of two who had actually read the book at all. I quickly learned that the plan was to eat, drink and socialize.... admittedly an activity that I usually embrace. I left the group a verified, but disappointed, nerd.

In the years that followed, I searched for a book club full of likeminded individuals but never found a good fit. I attended a few that, on paper, appeared to be serious group efforts to share thoughts and insights but found that these clubs often involved contentious exchanges and dueling opinions. There is nothing more insufferable than a reader who believes that they, and they alone, understand the author's intentions. I also found a group that, interestingly, took an approach that allowed each attendee to discuss whatever book they were reading rather than a shared, assigned book. I thought the approach had promise but quickly learned that folks have a lot of unwarranted feelings of superiority about the choices made by other readers.

This last time around, I selected a club with a focused interest in mysteries and true crime. Through Meetup, I was able to scan all the local book groups and was relieved to know that some groups openly share their intentions online. You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to know that thoughtful, in-depth book discussions rarely occur in a loud, busy bar. The book club was welcoming and, thankfully, actually read the books. The only challenge was that each meeting involved only about 20 minutes of book discussion. We never went in depth enough to satisfy me, but at least the leader made a sincere effort to keep us on topic. Perhaps, if I continue to crave fulfillment, I will add "Revolutionize Book Clubs" to my list of things to do.