Loading…
36
My old book club has had the same fight for 5 meetings and I finally see why nobody wins the annotated vs plain text argument
We started meeting at a cafe in Ann Arbor, Michigan back in 2018, and every single round we end up arguing about whether people should read the annotated version or just the plain text. The thing everyone gets wrong is treating it like a right or wrong answer, when really it depends on why the group picked the book in the first place. Last month we did a short story collection and one member brought in her annotated copy with 40 pages of margin notes she had made over a decade. Half the room felt shut out because they had read the plain version and missed a ton of context, and the other half felt like her notes gave away interpretations before anyone could form their own opinion. I get why it happens, because when you love a book you want to share every layer, but a group read is not the same as solo reading. I have watched this exact fight kill the momentum of 4 discussions in a row, and it usually comes down to one loud voice dominating with background info nobody asked for. So here is my real question: does your group set a rule up front about annotations, or do you just let it play out and hope it does not turn into a lecture?
0 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In0 Comments
No comments yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this discussion.