You don't have to be a literary expert to belong to a book club. You just have to enjoy the fellowship of others.

Some members of my book club could probably hold their own as literary critics. Then there's the rest of us. Well, me.

Our group has been meeting for 10 years, and while I cherish their company, not every monthly book selection is appealing. A recent choice, selected by that month's host in preparation for an evening gathering at her house, wasn't working for me.

Despite being a best-seller widely praised for its "emotionally resonant" storytelling, "complex character work," and "sharp, witty and moving prose," I wasn't succeeding in getting wrapped up in the plot or the characters. After several attempts to get interested in the story, I retreated to my literary comfort zones: Haruki Murakami novels I've already read ("Norwegian Wood," "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle") and the trashy pleasures of crime and detective fiction, including Michael Connelly's Harry........

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