To not want to read pretentious books in book club

[bookswinebookswine]

I have joined many book clubs over the years and each time we read something super pretentious that I would never choose to read but want to be in a book club so go with it. I'm moving to Bristol and want to find/create a book club that reads GOOD books! I want the read the latest crime thriller/Sophie kinsella/ who dun it book and talk over wine! I adore books but I cannot join another book club that reads a super old "classic"! join my book club and talk about good current books! Or tell me about yours and I'll join!

Which books do you consider pretentious?

Your definition of ‘good’ seems to be ‘light’ which is fine, but not necessarily something that would lend itself to discussion. Book clubs tend to choose books which have different possible interpretations so that there is plenty to talk about.
YABU for saying classics are pretentious whether they are your cup of tea or not.

So, just trying the get a feel for what you are saying. Is Jane Austin pretentious?

So anything other than Sophie kinsella or crime thrillers is ‘pretentious’? That’s a hell of a lot of books you’re dismissing there.

In our book club we take it in turns to choose a book and host. We have therefore had a wide range of genres and complexities. So you could try this. What do you mean by pretentious though?

I get you OP. I’m not sure pretentious is quite the word I’d have used though 😂
My SIL goes to a book club where it’s all Booker nominees / winners and the like with a boy is Salman Rushdie thrown in for good measure. She absolutely hates it because that’s not what she enjoys reading but she won’t leave in case all her friends think she’s a thickie!

And where that ‘ with a boy ‘ came from I’ll never know 😂
It was meant to be ‘ with a bit ‘

You'd hate the book club I'm in. We read Rita Sackville-West and things published by Little Toller. Also, we dress like hippies.

I agree OP. Book clubs tend to eschew bestsellers in favour of more literary fare. We don't all want to discuss the merits or demerits of Finnegans Wake when the new Harry Bosch is out.

Salman Rushdie is why I left! maybe pretentious was the wrong word but I felt like they were all reading what they thought should be read in book club where yes I want to read lighter books.

Bristol's a big city OP - I bet you'll get enough interest to run a book club if you make clear the type of reading.

I tend to prefer sci-fi to Booker winners personally, but I don't call lit fic pretentious - it's a different genre. The more variety the better IMHO.

Just start your own! Bill it as popular books and wine and stick a list of books you like on there to choose from and see if there is any interest. They are popular for a reason.

Not in Bristol, but can I suggest you go to your local big library and ask about book clubs they look after - ask if any are looking for new members and what sort of book styles do they go for. You might be able to get the reading list for the next 6 months and get an idea if it's your type of book club.

Ours has different genres each month, so while we do have a 'classic' book, that's usually only once a year, but then we did 'chick lit' month earlier in the year, and you might have been fooled into thinking every month would be like that if you'd only seen that one book before joining us.

6 months worth of books should be enough to give you an idea of the normal type and libraries are pretty good at supporting book clubs to avoid everyone having to buy the books. (Mind you, ours needs 2 months notice to ensure they can get the 20 copies we need each month, and we tend to try to give them 6 months worth at a time, so library supported book clubs are probably not going to cover the "this month's buzz book that everyone's reading on the train" type you are after.)

I’d quite like to join a pretentious book club. I like light reads sometimes, but if we’re going to talk about the book I want something deeper. Maybe current ones but meatier stories, I do read some of the various prize nominees.

Not everyone reads literary fiction because they’re ‘pretentious’, or because they think they ought to, though - some people actually enjoy it.

If you lived in the Midlands you could join our book club!!! We have lots of wine and whoever hosts chooses the book so lots of variety.

A friend did this and met lots of friends through it when they moved somewhere new and met new friends

Like PP I think YABU for writing off classic books as pretentious and imagining you an authority on what books are "good".

YANBU for wanting to start a more casual book club which reads light fiction and has a chat about it over wine. It sounds fun!

I think I know what you mean.... You don't always want to read something that's hard work, you want something nice and light that you can still chat about and relax. I love the sound of your kind of book group. You should start your own - or even an online one via messenger or something if you get enough interest on here! I'd be in it 😊

Can I join yours cali?
I’m having an E.M. Forster moment lately.

Seems clear though that the OP just picked poor wording in her original post and has nothing against Booker prize readers as long as they don't make her read Rushdie too.

Ours is run by the library. We get a list to choose from once a year. If books are shit, we spend 10 mins saying 'well I didn't vote for this shit'.

Can you find a library Readers Group? They have max 15 members and we get to vote for a list of 12 books from about 30 each year.

Sorry, but you lost me at pretentious, read what you like but don't be so judgmental, I like reading crime novels, but I like what you call "pretentious", too, and I certainly don't do it because I feel I should or to impress anybody and you should not assume that, just because you like light does not mean that everybody else also likes light and just pretends otherwise

This hit a nerve for me, until I found my people (and yes, we also do book club) I always had to defend my choices and tastes from people like you who assumed it was pretentiousness, it's unfair, and for me lead to many years feeling I had to apologise for who I am, it can be quite nasty

I have said I chose the wrong wording, I forgot how sensitive people were and I apologise. Thanks for all your suggestions! I will head down to library and online one is good idea too!

How much discussion do you think a Sophie Kinsella book might generate? Not much. And that's the whole point. She's fine and the book is a good beach read but there's nothing to dissect or disagree over. I think there's plenty good reads which can also be book club worthy without being desperately high brow.