TIL that choosing the hardcover over the paperback for book club was a mistake

Last month I had to pick between the $32 hardcover of the book we're reading or the $15 paperback. I went with hardcover because it looks nice on my shelf. Showed up to the meeting and everyone else had paperbacks with dog-eared pages and sticky notes sticking out. They were all talking about specific passages while I was still flipping through pristine pages looking for the quote. The group leader said "oh you got the fancy version" and nobody asked to borrow mine. Next time I'm just getting the cheap one like everyone else. Anyone else pick the wrong format for their group?

4 comments

4 Comments

hernandez.gavin13d ago

yo @patricia_hill60 that's actually wild about the texture thing but it makes sense. my buddy mark picked the hardcover for his book club once too and same thing happened except he was late and everyone was already 3 chapters in. they kept referencing page numbers and he couldn't even keep up cause the hardcover had different formatting. worst part is he dropped it on his foot getting out the car and the corner dented the cover. dude showed up with a busted fancy book and a limp lmao.

jesse_smith1011d ago

Honestly, the real problem isn't the format itself but that nobody warned you the group has an unspoken rule about sticking with the cheap version. You became the outsider with the nice book and that changed the whole dynamic before you even opened it. Tbh, next time ask what everyone else is getting before you buy anything because the social price of being different is way higher than the $17 you saved.

patricia_hill6014d ago

Downloaded the ebook for my book club once and everyone got so quiet. They were all talking about how the paper texture felt on certain pages and I couldn't even join in. The weird thing nobody talks about is how the format actually changes how much you remember from the book. I swear I absorb less from digital copies than physical ones. Something about the weight in your hands and flipping pages versus scrolling just hits different in your brain.

pat_harris13d ago

Wait, say that again about the paper texture? People actually talk about how the pages feel? I'm sitting here trying to wrap my head around a book club discussion where somebody says "this page has a nice matte finish" and I'm just nodding along. That's a whole other level of book club I didn't even know existed. I barely remember the plot half the time, let alone what the paper felt like. And you're telling me there's people out there who can't finish a chapter without analyzing the grain of the paper?