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Which place in the book would you most like to visit?.If the story could be told by one of the other character’s, which character’s perspective would you prefer to hear? Why?.Did the story unfold the way you expected? If not, what surprised you?.Here are some questions to help facilitate that experience. When we discuss fiction with our friends, we not only immerse ourselves deeper in the story, we learn a lot about our friends. Depending on our backgrounds, values, and belief systems, each of us is drawn to different aspects of those worlds. Do you believe the topic was covered adequately in the book? If not, what do you wish had been explained more?įiction transplants us into a new world.Did you agree with the author’s point of view?.Did you detect any bias in the way the information was presented?.Did you end up doing extra research on anything presented in the book? If so, what did you find?.What was your biggest takeaway from the book?.Here are some questions to guide your group through a discussion about a nonfiction book. Hearing other’s perspectives on facts and how data is presented can help us absorb material in a much deeper way. Some of the best book club reads are nonfiction titles. Did you learn something you didn’t know before?.Do you have a new perspective as a result of reading this book?.Is the book different in any way from the books you usually read?.Did you like it more or less than other books in the same genre?.How does this book compare to other books you’ve read? If the book is already a movie, are you happy with the representation? Do you prefer the book or the movie?ĩ.Who would you cast to play the main characters?.What changes/decisions would you hope for if the book were turned into a movie? Would you read another book by the same author?Ĩ.What do you think about the author’s storytelling ability?.What do you think about the author’s writing style?.Does the story seem to fit with what you know of the author?.How do you picture the characters’ lives after the end of the story?ħ.Is anything left unresolved or ambiguous?.Were you satisfied or disappointed with how the story ended?.What were the main points you think the author was trying to make?.Were there parts of the book you thought were incredibly unique, out of place, thought-provoking, or disturbing?ĥ.Are there any quotes, passages, or scenes you found particularly compelling?.
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Which parts of the book stood out to you?
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Did you like them? Were they believable?.What did you think about the main characters? Did it jump around too much or hold you in suspense?ģ.Do you wish it had been told from a different perspective?.Did it start too slow or end unresolved?.How do you feel about how the story was told? Did you have to force yourself to get through it or were you unable to put it down?Ģ.Were you amused, upset, bored, angry, intrigued?.The book club questions below can guide your group through a meaningful discussion about almost any book. Enables members to share differing perspectives and opinions.Encourages a closer look at details in the book.I looked for these characteristics to identify good discussion questions: I used both my experience as a book club member and my background as an English major to guide my decisions. What Makes a Good Book Discussion Question?īefore we get to the list, I should probably explain the criteria I used to choose the questions.
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The questions below work just as well for a mystery with an unexpected twist, a time period romance, memoirs of interesting people, or even a scientific non-fiction book. I decided to come up with a generic list of book club questions to compel us to dig deeper than “Did you like the book?” and “Why or why not?” without tying us down to traditional book club books or classic literature. Our 2-3 hour meetings are primarily a social gathering with a mere 10 minute discussion about the book snuck somewhere in the middle. My current book club group is much more casual, but perhaps too much so.
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