Found out my old book club in Akron only had 4 members who finished the book, and we debated 12 of them anyway
I was digging through a box of old meeting notes from my book club that ran from 2009 to 2013 in Akron, and I counted up the sign in sheets out of curiosity. Turns out on average only 4 people out of 11 actually finished the pick, yet we still argued for two hours like everybody read it, and nobody ever admitted it out loud. Did your group have a quiet rule about faking it, or did someone finally call it out?
4 out of 11 in Akron matches my old group in Toledo pretty close, and honestly I don't think it's faking. People read the first chapter or two and still get plenty out of the talk, so the debate isn't really a lie. Calling it out would've just made folks feel bad and quit showing up.