TIL a book club debate can change your mind about a whole city...

Three years ago, my club in Portland read a novel set in Detroit that made it sound pretty grim. We argued for an hour about whether the author was being fair. Then a member who grew up there brought in photos and told stories that completely flipped the script for me. I ended up visiting last year because of that talk. Has a book club argument ever made you want to go somewhere you thought you'd hate?

2 comments

2 Comments

stone.jesse1mo ago

Ever have a book make a place seem so awful you'd never go? My club read this mystery set in Cleveland that made it sound like the most depressing city on earth, all rust and rain. We got into it about whether that was just a cheap setting or real. Then my friend's aunt, who lives there, sent us a bunch of links to these amazing food markets and art parks by the lake. Totally changed my view. I went for a long weekend last fall and had a blast, ate way too much. It's crazy how one person's story can rewrite a whole place in your head.

blake3021mo ago

Honestly that book might have been onto something though. Some places just earn their reputations for a reason. A few nice markets don't erase decades of real problems that authors are often pulling from. Maybe the grim setting was the most honest part.