Question about book club debates - my group fell apart over a historical fiction pick

I pushed for a historical fiction novel about a labor strike in 1920s Pennsylvania about a month ago. Figured it would spark some good conversation about workers' rights and how things were back then. Instead, two members got into this heated argument about whether the author got the timeline right on some minor event. One guy brought printed sources from the library to prove his point. Books got slammed on tables. Another member actually walked out. I tried to steer it back to the bigger themes but nobody was listening. The whole thing collapsed and we haven't met since. Has anyone else had a choice ruin their book club dynamic like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

uma_ellis21d ago

Those library receipts are wild... I used to love debate but that sounds exhausting honestly.

young.kim21d ago

My sophomore year I had a 47 page debate brief on school funding and I still remember the headache from trying to read it all in one weekend. The worst part was losing a round because I couldn't find a single citation I needed buried somewhere in that stack. Definitely not the kind of fun I'd want to revisit anytime soon.

amy97421d ago

Wait, was that brief 47 pages or 47 pages per side? Usually novices learn on 25 page briefs and varsity goes up from there, so 47 sounds about right for a sophomore though. @uma_ellis you should've seen the seniors with their 80 page monsters, that's when you really start questioning your life choices. I still have a scar on my thumb from paper cuts during one of my JV tournaments.