Overhead a librarian say most book club debates are just about who talks the most

I was at the library last Tuesday picking up my hold when I overheard two librarians talking. One said she's run the book club there for 8 years and 90% of the debates are just people fighting over who gets to talk first. She said the actual book discussion only happens for about 15 minutes of a 2 hour meeting. It hit me that my own club does the same thing - we spend way more time arguing over and talking over each other than actually digging into the story. Has anyone else noticed this pattern in their group?

2 comments

2 Comments

terry_hayes186d ago

Honestly, isn't that more of a loud-talker problem than a club problem?

danieljenkins6d ago

I read this article once about how most people join book clubs for the social stuff and not really for the books. It said something like 70% of club members don't even finish the book before the meeting. That matches what I see in my group where we have like three loud people who just want to talk about their own lives and one quiet person who actually has good thoughts about the story but can't get a word in. My friend's club tried a rule where everyone gets 5 minutes to talk without interruption and it apparently made things way better. Makes me wonder if most book clubs are just an excuse to hang out with the book being an afterthought.