20-40-60 Etiquette---Where is my book?
YOU ASK! WE ANSWER! YOU DECIDE!
QUESTION: I am in a book club. There are 12 members and we pass the book each month to someone on the list. The woman who passes to me is always one to two weeks late in passing her book to me, so I don’t have the same amount of time as the others to read the book.
I am a fast reader, but sometimes I would like to have the book on time. Do I tell the others in the club? How do I politely tell her? I don’t know her very well. Thanks for your help
CALLIE’S ANSWER: Just ask her! Don’t be rude, or annoyed, simply tell her that you need more time to finish the books. Ask her if she could try and get it to you earlier. It is simple and makes it looks as though you need more time, not her fault of being slow. Be pro active.
LILLIE-BETH’S ANSWER: Lately, the only book clubs that I’ve heard about are ones where everyone reads the same book at once in order to discuss it at a fun get-together. They either check the book out of the library or buy a copy. If changing the format of your book group is an appealing option, it would be one way to solve the problem.
But that’s not what you asked. I can’t imagine there would be too much trouble in asking the group politely if you could change the order of the book passing once a year or so. Perhaps you could phrase it in such a way that your proposal would let you get to know other members in the club and hear their thoughts on the books when dropping them off or picking them up. That way you’re not directly identifying the source of your frustration, and no single person is stuck forever getting the book several days behind schedule.
Follow
