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!

The trick is to find proper books with meaning or are on a topic that prompts wider discussion that are still readable and not an effort to plough through. I can’t see how a book about shopping and getting a boyfriend would do that. The best ones we have had are
The circle - Dave eggsrs long discussion about use of internet most of us came off social media as a result!
We need to talk about Kevin - discussion about whether kids are born bad or if it’s parental input etc
Love our book club
What would you talk about prompted by Sophie kinsella?

I think its just trial and error until you find a group of people that you just ‘click with’. I’ve been in a few Book Clubs over the years, some too ‘high brow’ and some too ‘low brow’, neither is right or wrong but you just need a group of people that you feel comfortable with, I’ve now joined a lovely new group and whilst we don’t all like the books we enjoy the opportunity to try something new, even if we don’t finish it.

If anyone is looking for a book club recommendation btw I highly recommend ‘An American Marriage’ by Tayari Jones. It’s very readable but thematically dense, and the characters are well rounded. It’s been a decent favourite in my book club.

We take turns at choosing books and yes I guess some of the books we read are what you would call pretentious although I don't agree with that terminology. I would call Sophie Kinsella chicklit or a light read and would not volunteer it as my choice for book club as there is little depth to it or much to discuss. It is entertaining but the point of book clubs is to discuss and any discussion on lighter reads would be over in 5 minutes. I like the fact that I may be introduced to books I would never choose myself to read. At the moment it is Jean Claude Bauby, The diving bell and the butterfly. Not a light read by any description but not pretentious in my view. Start your own club with people who like similar books if you only want to read those but I think that defeats the object of a book club.

blanche I don't think we're necessarily disagreeing, I think we just have different ideas of what it means to talk about a book. I think you can do some literary analysis with SK, such as what is the narrative arc, does she structure her chapters to end with a cliffhanger to keep you turning the pages, that sort of thing. I agree that's probably quite limited. I'd be more interested in discussing whether, for instance, the shopaholic from a feminist point of view, is she a good female role model, if not why not and does it matter if the book are massively successful.

The American wife by Curtis stein field and the goldfinch by Donna tartt our favourites. Gripping, readable but lots to talk about. There is a huge middle ground between Sophie kinsella and Dickens

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying light fiction and there some very well written ‘chick/lit’ out there but imo those types of books are not as good for discussion because they don’t lend themselves to multiple interpretations as well.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t set up a group for your own interests though. Im sure they’ll be other like minded people out there.

Ps yes The American wife is a fantastic book. Really unexpectedly enjoyable.

Placemarking for all the book recommendations!

The Paris wife was good too. It made me dislike Hemingway - but then I never was a particular fan.

I am put off book groups for the same reasons. In some cases it just seems to be people trying to show off how smart they are and how sophisticated their tastes are rather than actually enjoying the books and sharing that with friends.

There's a balance between the enjoyable "froth" like Sophie Kinsella and something like War and Peace. Marian Keyes springs to mind - her books are classed as "chick lit" but are often about things like alcoholism, depression, domestic violence. Or "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" - very readable and modern, but lots to talk about.

Why? Dickens and Dumas wrote for pretty much the same readership as Sophie Kinsella et al do today. They published in the popular press and wrote deliberately page-turning books that made no claim to literary pretension. I think the parallels are pretty clear.

Dickens and Dumas wrote for men, women and families, Kinsella targets only young women.

Dickens was a social critic with high ideals of social justice, for which he also campaigned, and while he made no claim to literary merit he possessed it nonetheless.

Dumas novel, The Fencing Master, is about the December Revolt in Russia and was banned by the Tsar. Dumas was banned from Russia. Have any of Kinsella books had that kind of political impact?

‘Page turners’ are not all created equal.

In some cases it just seems to be people trying to show off how smart they are and how sophisticated their tastes are rather than actually enjoying the books and sharing that with friends.

I’m presuming that everyone slating book clubs on here has actually tried going to at least more than one? A lot of the comments on here seem to be about the perception of book clubs rather than the reality.

And it isn’t really about sharing views with your friends - if you wanted to do that you could just hang out with your friends! I would have thought it was about discussion with other people who aren’t (to start with) your friends, so you get a different perspective on things. I would say my fellow book clubbers (perhaps I should call them DBCs as it’s MN) are my friends now, but that’s after several years - I didn’t know them from Adam when I joined.

If anyone is looking for a book club recommendation btw I highly recommend ‘An American Marriage’ by Tayari Jones. It’s very readable but thematically dense, and the characters are well rounded. It’s been a decent favourite in my book club.

Loved it, I moved onto another of hers just after - about the man who has two families.

I am put off book groups for the same reasons. In some cases it just seems to be people trying to show off how smart they are and how sophisticated their tastes are rather than actually enjoying the books and sharing that with friends.

You're wrong.

Try this one

www.meetup.com/The-Bristol-Girly-Book-Club/

Yes a fair bit of inverse snobbery on display! What I love about book club is how it makes you have deeper and more interesting discussions with your friends. Yes it’s fun to talk about kids and everyday stuff but a good book makes you talk about all sorts of broader stuff. No “showing off” not at our book club anyway

I get you op and it weirdly seems to have hit a nerve with some people here. But if you are always being asked to the satanic verses or war and peace or jane eyre it can become pretentious. Book clubs are about enjoyment as well as discussion and loads of books offer discussion not just classics.

Example stephen king books offer loads of discussion and ive never been in a book club willing to read them. There should be a broad mixture of books to read not just the same vein.

I am part of a book group in Bristol. We look at a massive range of books. We started it a couple of years ago through my church, although it is not a church group - anyone is welcome and the books are not religious although we do generally look for some kind of spirituality (not necessarily Christian) in the books.

This year we have read The Life of Pi, The Master and Margarita (that was some weird shit) Cloud Atlas, Karoo (again, some weird stuff in that), Frankenstein, plus others I didn't read as I can't make it every month.

This month's book is This Perfect Day by Ira Levin which I am led to believe is Sci-Fi. I haven't read it yet though as it's a couple of weeks until Book Group Day.

So while we don't read the latest thrillers or Sophie Kinsella, we do read a massive range of stuff and if you didn't fancy that book that month, you just don't read it and miss the group. Feel free to pm me if you want to join us. We meet in a pub in South Bristol.

Question - are there "online book clubs"?

I'm currently experiencing a very bad bout of agoraphobia, but I miss reading and need motivation to start again.

I've just downloaded a sample of "the goldfinch" thanks to this & other threads recommending.

"Marian Keyes springs to mind - her books are classed as "chick lit" but are often about things like alcoholism, depression, domestic violence." I was just about to make a similar comment. She gets (understandably) quite irate at being called a "chick lit" author, her books are far more in depth than being about shopping or even just romantic relationships (should we start applying the bechdel test to novels?) they're imo an excellent study on human flaws and I've personally found the Walsh family novels are a good portrayal of toxic family relationships, no obvious abuse and a seemingly "good" family but actually the parents very definitely have favourites and scapegoats. She's also very good at writing humour which is imo extremely hard to do well. I can still remember laughing out loud on a flight reading about the timeshare leather pants! And getting some stern looks from my then husband as a result and of course my explanation completely making no sense to him.

"'Page turners’ are not all created equal." Exactly

An author I love despite myself is Jeffrey archer. He's not literary, and I certainly don't like the man himself or his politics, but he's a damn good storyteller! I particularly like his short stories and he's a cracker with twists.

I agree some people seem uncomfortable dealing with people who disagree with them. I think I'm something of an oddity as I LOVE being challenged on my opinions, it's partly why I love mn. But even in real life I have friends that have completely different politics and ethics to me.

There are of course limits, but I'm a veggie, teetotal (not by choice completely but not a big drinker ever), socialist, feminist, remainer, voted no in indyref, single mum with my own peculiar mix of pagan/Christian beliefs, lapsed Catholic. 😂

Yea weird

But I have friends who I love dearly who are: meat lovers, pro hunt, gin/wine whatever loving, Tory voting, no vehemently sexist ones but certainly query things like the gender pay gap, leave voting, yes & snp supporting, anti divorce (except where there's abuse), Catholic/numerous other faiths or no faith.

And we have at times lively even heated discussion on various topics including books. Doesn't make me love them or them me (I hope) any less.

In fact I struggle to understand people who can only cope with being friends with people who have almost exactly the same views as themselves. Is it not boring?

@Jayofthered I think we go to the same book club

What's a pretentious book? I would've thought it's a matter of personal preference? If a book club isn't reading the books you like, either join the one that does or organise one yourself. Simple.

I like all books but I don't think I could have a really good conversation about the latest thriller. That's the point of choosing the more obscure stuff that lends itself to different views and thoughts about why people acted a certain way throughout the book and their motivation.

The books which stick in the mind as provoking passionate debate and different views in book club have been The Slap, Chesil Beach (it made me so cross ), the good man Jesus & the scoundrel Christ and the Reluctant Fundamentalist

We universally loved AS Byatt and Wilkie Collins...never read either before....we found lots to talk about...and then there was then wine...and more wine 🍷

Yes there are on line Book Clubs, there have been several on a Mumsnet over the years as well. I used to belong to a postal book club, you read the book & then posted it off with a little notebook contains everyone’s views on the book. It worked well.

Graphista I totally agree on your comments about friendship, I would be bored senseless if my friends were just clones of myself. . And also agree that JA is a fine story teller.