why i need to give up my book group

[ewein2412]

this is the pile of books on my coffee table that I am ACTIVELY "In the Middle Of." It is not my "to read" queue. It does not include the dozens of books piled around my desk and bed that I'm ALSO in the middle of but haven't picked up for 6 months.



It is beginning to depress me, because every time I start to read something I LIKE I have to put it down and slog thru 50-pages-a-night of some pretentious second rate popular (or Scottish) novel for the next book group meeting. I just KNOW that The Devil's Footprints won't be as good as I Capture the Castle, but I am now going to have to stop in the middle of a book I'm really enjoying to read one I don't particularly want to read.

I love my book group. Maybe I will just go to the meetings without reading the books from now on.

I didn't mean to imply that all Scottish novels are pretentious and/or second rate. I really liked The Yellow on the Broom.

The implication that all second rate novels are pretentious stands, however.

ETA: tigertrapped, see that 2-inch pile of innocuous-looking newsprint near the bottom? that is a stack of Bunty from 1985 containing various episodes of "Catch the Cat." (and it cost me 45 p on eBay!)

Comments

[ewein2412]

the book group has read quite a few that I wouldn't have read otherwise and am glad I read. And occasionally we read something really GOOD that I've been wanting to read but haven't got around to. But the problem is that you're always on a DEADLINE and mostly it is DRIVEL.

[tiboribi.livejournal.com]

No, only half of my books are pretentious drivel. Some of them are quite good, but the good books seem to happen in the middle of the Olympics or other fantastic things that I'd rather be reading. One of the books I'm in the middle of is one I blew off months ago.

[ewein2412]

One of the books I'm in the middle of is one I blew off months ago.

i hear you. heh.

[tiboribi.livejournal.com]

I am also plotting a renegade book club with the other recovering Johnnie in my group. We are sick to death of pretentious Pulitzer nonesense, and have been discussing doing Newberies instead. Which I imagine might rapidly evolve into favorite young teen books.

[ewein2412]

i think a book club that reads nothing but newbery award books would be FAB.

I am in an on-line group on LJ called reading_wimsey--supposedly we are reading all the Peter Wimsey books in chronological order of publication but we sort of stalled a couple of years ago