Almost got my book club banned from the library over a single chapter

I pushed my group to read 'The Vegetarian' by Han Kang thinking it'd be a nice literary discussion. Three chapters in, and two members walked out during the meeting because of the graphic stuff. Our library host, Mrs. Chen, got a complaint from another patron who overheard us arguing about the eating disorder parts. I learned the hard way that not every acclaimed book fits a casual club setting, even if it's award winning. Now I always send a content warning email a week before we pick anything newer than 2010. Has anyone else accidentally picked a book that caused a scene in a public space?

2 comments

2 Comments

angelar5727d ago

Oh my god, I did the exact same thing with "My Dark Vanessa" at my neighborhood meetup and the librarian gave me the hardest side eye while three people were crying. Learned my lesson real quick about vetting content warnings beforehand lol.

caleb_thomas9327d ago

@angelar57 yeah it's rough when you realize halfway through that you should've checked if people were down for that kinda heavy stuff lol. i started just sending a quick group chat message with like a "hey heads up this book deals with xyz, any red flags?" and it saved me so much awkwardness. people actually appreciate the warning more than a surprise cry session.