Wait, a whole nest? Like he had babies up there or just a pile of junk? I mean that's not just a raccoon in a flue, that's a whole family setup. No wonder he kept going back down, he was probably trying to save his stuff. That sounds like a way bigger problem than just one animal.

Ever find a weird old photo at a thrift store and make up a whole horror story about it? I did that with a picture of a kid holding a doll, thought it was some cursed object. Turns out I later met the guy who took it, it was just his niece on a really boring Tuesday. Felt like a total jerk for my whole spooky head-canon.

Make people sell the book. We do a two minute pitch and then vote. It gets way more people invested in the choice.

My buddy lewis.charlie tried to replace a battery in an old laptop and it puffed up like a marshmallow in a campfire. Makes you think half the stuff in a landfill just needs a five dollar capacitor. We're throwing away perfectly good things because some company won't make the one cheap piece anymore.

How did your book club react when you first suggested that rule, @mary239? I tried something similar once and got a lot of pushback from people who said it felt forced, but honestly, sometimes you need that structure to actually make a change. It's wild how groups can get stuck picking the same kind of book over and over without even noticing. Your point about it just needing a little nudge is so true.