workaday Wednesday

Inaugural meeting of the workplace book club: achieved. It was not what I expected. I was sort of thinking that of the 50 or so people who initially signed up, maybe two dozen would gather in one room (with food, naturally) and engage in a lively discussion of topics including (but not limited to) what we liked and didn’t like, literary moments of note, and takeaways from the book.

Not so much, really.

*The room had about ten people in it. Most people joined “remotely,” so they were either in their car or at their computers. (Which is fine, I mean, more free coconut custard for the rest of us.)

*There was food! It was not the *most* delicious food that work has ever provided, but it was free, which counts for a lot in my book.

*There was not, however, lively discussion. First we got a 15 minute intro presentation, then the author of the book (also joining remotely) gave a 20 minute talk about the concepts of the book. A few people had questions. Each question seemed to involve a very long answer, but to be fair I had largely stopped paying attention by then. It felt a bit like a lecture in school where you’re not sure why you showed up, because the teacher isn’t telling you anything that wasn’t in the reading, and none of the questions will be on the test.

*It did wrap up in the allotted hour and a half, as scheduled! A big point in its favor.

*Everybody who spoke seemed united in their love of the book, the concepts of the book, the author of the book, etc. I did not love it. It was fine. Some parts were more interesting than others. I’m curious if the other people who did not say anything (most of us, honestly) were also less than enamored of the book.

Mirrored from The Marci Rating System.