At our recent men’s book club meeting, we delved into David Grann’s “The Wager.” Initial impressions were overwhelmingly positive; most members really enjoyed the book. However, discussions soon revealed a split in opinions regarding Captain Cheap and Buckley’s decisions, with the group evenly divided between the two sides. We concluded that Byron served as the literary device for readers to immerse themselves in the story.

Adding a cinematic twist, we fancast the movie adaptation: Captain Cheap as Leonardo DiCaprio, Buckley as Tom Hardy, Byron as Tom Holland, and Anson as Miles Teller. Our members also shared their individual ratings: Zach, Nick, and Tyler awarded it a solid 7.8, Shaun a 6.7, Adam a 6, Chris a 7.1, Martin an impressive 8.4, and Jude a respectable 7.2. Overall, we collectively ranked it at 7.35. Looking ahead, Chris proposed “Dark Matter” by Blake Crouch as our next read. Until our next gathering, happy reading!