Our book club split on reading order, now we can't agree on anything

Last month we finally read a trilogy that's been on our list for ages. Half of us read book one then two then three in release order. The other half jumped straight into the prequel first because one member swore it made the story hit harder. At our meetup last Tuesday, the two groups had completely different opinions on a major twist, and now people are saying we should have voted on the order before starting. I've been in this club for 4 years and we've never clashed this hard over a single choice. Do you decide reading order as a group ahead of time, or let each person pick their own path? I'm genuinely curious if this has wrecked anyone else's discussions.

2 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

2 Comments

fiona3321mo ago

Is it really a bad thing that people read it differently, though? Honestly, that sounds like the best book club meeting you've had in years, since nobody sat there nodding along. I mean, if everyone reads the same order, you get the same take, and then what's the point of meeting up? The twist debate is the fun part, not the problem. I've seen clubs fall apart over snack choices way faster than a reading order fight. Maybe lean into the split, do a second meetup where each side defends their order, and see who convinces who. That's how you get people fired up about books, not by making everyone read the same way.

8

harper_murphy1mo ago

Disagree with you there, the whole point is we all read the same story.

3