That time I picked a 'classic' book for my club and it bombed with 6 out of 8 people

Honestly, I suggested Moby-Dick for our Austin book club last fall thinking it'd be a big hit. Only 2 of us actually finished it, and everyone else said they quit around page 200 because it was just too dense. Learned the hard way that newer and shorter picks get way better turnout, has anyone else had a classic flop like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim_hart78d ago

... and see that's the thing, I used to be the person who was like "no you HAVE to read the classics, they're important" but honestly this post kind of changed my mind. I mean, if nobody's actually finishing the book then what's the point? It's supposed to be fun, not a chore. Maybe it's just me but I think there's a middle ground where you can pick something that's still quality but not so intimidating that people give up. Like short stories from classic authors or something. idk, I'm definitely rethinking my own suggestions for our group now.

elizabeth2207d ago

I read something the other day about how Moby-Dick actually sold poorly when it first came out and pretty much killed Melville's career as a popular writer. So I mean, if it bombed back then too, why do we keep acting like everybody has to love it? You mentioned a middle ground with short stories from classic authors and I think that's actually the smartest thing I've heard all week. People join book clubs to connect with each other, not to suffer through 500 pages of whale anatomy descriptions. Maybe the real classic is the fun we had reading shorter stuff together all along, right?