13 General Book Club Questions For Any Kind of Discussion

13 General Book Club Questions For Any Kind Of
Discussion
1. "What was your initial reaction to the book? Did it hook you immediately, or
take some time to get into?"
2. "Do you think the story was plot-based or character driven?"
3. "What was your favorite quote/passage?"
4. "What made the setting unique or important? Could the story have taken place
anywhere?"
5. "Did you pick out any themes throughout the book?"
6. Any "If/then" Questions
Use the "If... then..." model when it comes to formulating book-specific questions, like "If the
protagonist chose her other love interest, how might the book have been different?" or "If
So-and-So had lived, do you think the ending would have changed?" Your options are
limitless.
7. "How credible/believable did you find the narrator to be? Did you feel like you
got the 'true' story?"
Whenever you discuss a story from a book, its important to consider who told that story. Is it
a narrator who you can trust and rely on, or do they have ulterior motives in the way they tell
it? Unreliable narrators are among the most intriguing characters to discuss , so use this
question as a starting point to really explore them.
8. "How did the characters change throughout the story? How did your opinion
of them change?"
9. "How did the structure of the book affect the story?"
10. "Which character did you relate to the most, and what was it about them that
you connected with?"
11. "How did you feel about the ending? What did you like, what did you not like,
and what do you wish had been different?"
12. "Did the book change your opinion or perspective about anything? Do you
feel different now than you did before you read it?"
13. "If the book were being adapted into a movie, who would you want to see play
what parts?"
14. Do you try to read books that are recognized as classics? Why or why not?
15. Where is the best place to read? How long can you read for in one sitting?
16. What does “don’t judge a book by its cover” mean? Do you agree with this idea?
17. Did you think the characters and their problems/decisions/relationships were
believable or realistic? If not, was the author trying to make them realistic, and why did he
or she fail? Did the male/female author draw realistic male and female characters? Which
character could you relate to best and why? Talk about the secondary characters. Were
they important to the story? Did any stand out for you?
18. How was the book structured? Did the author use any structural or narrative devices
like flashbacks or multiple voices in telling the story? How did this affect the story and your
appreciation of the book? Whose voice was the story told in (f whose point of view)? How
do you think it might have been different if another character was telling the story?
19. Talk about the author's use of language/writing style. Have each member read their
favorite couple of passages out loud. (You might want to warn them ahead of time that
they'll be doing this so they'll be prepared.) Was the language appropriate to the story?
Was it more poetic or vernacular? Did it stand in the way of your appreciation of the story,
or enhance your enjoyment of the book? If poetic, did the characters speak in vernacular
language, or in the poetic language of the author? Was the dialogue realistic sounding?
Was there a rhythm to the authors style, or anything else that might be considered unique
about it?
20. Talk about the plot. What was more important, the characters or the plot? Was the
plot moved forward by decisions of the characters, or were the characters at the mercy of
the plot? Was the action believable? What events in the story stand out for you as
memorable? Was the story chronological? Was there foreshadowing and suspense or did
the author give things away at the beginning of the book? Was this effective? How did it
affect your enjoyment of the book?
21. What were some of the major themes of the book? Are they relevant in your life? Did
the author effectively develop these themes? If so, how? If not, why not? Was there
redemption in the book? For any of the characters? Is this important to you when reading a
book? Did you think the story was funny, sad, touching, disturbing, moving? Why /why not?
22. Compare this book to others your group has read. Is it similar to any of them? Did you
like it more or less than other books you've read? What do you think will be your lasting
impression of the book? What will be your most vivid memories of it a year from now? Or
will it just leave a vague impression, and what will that be? Or will you not think of it at all
in a year's time?
23. Talk about the location. Was it important to the story? Was the author's description of
the landscape/community a good one? Talk about the time period of the story (if
appropriate). Was it important to the story? Did the author convey the era well? Did the
author provide enough background information for you to understand the events in the
story? Why?
24. Finally, what else struck you about the book as good or bad? What did you like or
dislike about it that we haven't discussed already? Were you glad you read this book?
Would you recommend it to a friend? Did this book make you want to read more work by
this author?

13 General Book Club Questions For Any Kind of Discussion

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13 General Book Club Questions For Any Kind of Discussion

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What are some common questions used to discuss books in a book club?

How does the structure of a book affect the story being told?

13 General Book Club Questions For Any Kind Of

2. "Do you think the story was plot-based or character driven?"

3. "What was your favorite quote/passage?"

5. "Did you pick out any themes throughout the book?"

6. Any "If/then" Questions

9. "How did the structure of the book affect the story?"

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