Can we talk about picking a book that's too short for a month-long club?

Our club in Denver chose a 150-page novella for our April read, thinking it would be a nice, quick break. We finished the discussion in under 25 minutes and spent the rest of the hour awkwardly trying to stretch the themes. Someone literally said 'So, the weather has been weird, right?' to fill the silence. I learned that page count matters more than I thought for giving us enough to actually debate. A thin book can leave a meeting feeling empty if there just isn't enough text to dig into. What's the shortest book length that has actually worked for a full, productive discussion for your group?

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jenny_jackson6mo ago

Our group once stretched a short book talk by debating the author's haircut on the cover, so I feel you.

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williams.sage6mo ago

Been there, done that (our Portland group had a 45-minute stare-down over a 120-page book once). The sweet spot for us is usually around 250 pages, but it depends more on how dense the writing is. A packed, complex novella can fuel a great talk, while a simple, longer book might not. Maybe try pairing a short book with a related essay or article next time, just to give the conversation a second gear when it stalls.

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