Choosing The Book

I probably take the responsibility far too seriously but given that buying the book-club book is almost an annual event it feels a little like buying a birthday present. You want it to be welcome (I’m assuming here that you actually like the other members of your book-club) If you’re keeping score you’ll also want it to be well received. The intensity of the desire will depend on how competitive (or insecure) you are. There are no universal rules. What you choose largely depends on the group itself. If yours endures then, over time, trends will crystallise.

These guidelines appear to work for us:-

NO FAVOURITES
If you choose a favourite book you are asking for trouble.
The very best outcome is group affirmation. It’s difficult to view anything less than this as anything but a sleight.

NO CLASSICS
As Chairman Mao once said “One swallow doesn’t make a summer”
Never-the-less the one occasion we chose a classic (“Moby Dick”) was for most of us one time too many.

NO CHEATING
If you’re ever tempted to choose a book you’ve already read in a bid to get a head start. Don’t. You may promise yourself that you’ll re-read it. In reality the siren song of Big Brother will seduce you and you will be caught out.

NO IRONY
Don’t attempt to fob off the book club with the latest from Katie Price with an oblique reference to post modern literary theory. It’s not funny, it’s not clever and it’s so 70’s.


Whatever the eventual choice, never be disheartened with a poor score. I’ve found that a degree of arrogance will help to offset any sleight felt. (I’ve used this to “defend” every one of my books that failed to make the top 10!)