ACCORDING to a report in the Washington Post yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg’s new book club did not get off to a good start.

Of the 30 million people who were invited to join, fewer than 200 participated in the first live chat with Moisés Naím, author of The End of Power, Zuckerberg’s book of choice.

The chat was not, let it be said, of a particularly high quality. Of those who contributed, not many had actually read the book, as the comment from this fledgling Virginia Woolf testifies:

“Didn’t get the book yet but it definitly [sic] looks interesting.”

Another member of Zuckerberg’s virtual Bloomsbury Group offered the following:

“My question is… what time R U planning on having UR Q&A?? N what day… I live in a small town… my Library did not have the book… R it was out… when I call… they did have it on my Kindle… but U have 2 use UR credit card… I’m having problems with that NOW… once U give them it they can take money off It card without UR permission… once burn NOT ME… anyway also give us a week to find the book…then two weeks to READ!! DON’T HAVE EASY ACCESS… I’M SURE I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE!!!”

Others invaded the book club to ask for Zuckerberg’s help with technical problems: “Quick question for Mark: where to go on Facebook when I have a question or an issue???? Thanks, and sorry to intrude!”

I hope that our own book club comes off rather better.

Note: Mark Zuckerberg announced that he was starting a book club on 2 January of this year, with the following aperçu, which may well qualify as an entry for this year’s Idler Bad Grammar Award:

“I’m excited for my reading challenge. I’ve found reading books very intellectually fulfilling. Books allow you to fully explore a topic and immerse yourself in a deeper way than most media today. I’m looking forward to shifting more of my media diet towards reading books.”

ENDS