DEAR MISS MANNERS: Our book club selects books to read in the following way: The person whose turn it is to host suggests two or three choices, and we vote on them.
On several occasions, members have proposed, and we have selected, books by friends or acquaintances. Sometimes a member even suggests that the author attend the meeting at which we discuss the book.
This feels very awkward to me. I feel that the books should be chosen on merit alone, and that this criterion is receding into the background. Sometimes I think the member proposing the book is doing so with an eye to increasing sales. (Some of these books are self-published and are "struggling to find an audience," shall we say.)
More important, we try to have frank discussions of the books we read for this group, and frank discussion seems much less likely when the author is a friend or acquaintance. Having the author actually present for the discussion seems even more likely to inhibit our discussion.
What is your view of the matter? And how can I delicately explain my position to the group?
GENTLE READER: Suggesting to the group that you avoid authors known by members of the group, as it will inhibit the kind of free discussion that the group prizes, should be easy enough. So long as you omit the part about selecting books only on quality, Miss Manners sees no impediment to raising the issue even with an author present.