Welcome to my blog post on general questions and areas to focus on to kick-start discussion after reading my novels (or any novel for that matter) although I’m sure you will have plenty of your own too!
- How did you experience the book? Were you engaged immediately, or did it take you a while to “get into it”? How did you feel reading it—amused, sad, disturbed, confused, anxious, excited…?
- Describe the main characters—personality traits, motivations, and inner qualities.
Why do the characters do what they do?
• Are their actions justified?
• Describe the dynamics between the different characters (in a marriage, family, or friendship).
• How has the past shaped their lives?
• Do you admire or disapprove of them?
• Do they remind you of people you know?
- Are the main characters dynamic—changing or maturing by the end of the book? Do they learn about themselves, how the world works and their role in it?
- Discuss the plot:
Is it engaging—do you find the story interesting?
• Is this a plot-driven book—a fast-paced page-turner?
• Does the plot unfold slowly with a focus on character?
• Were you surprised by complications, twists & turns?
• Did you find the plot predictable, even formulaic?
- Talk about the book’s structure.
Is it a continuous story…or interlocking short stories?
• Does the time-line move forward chronologically?
• Does time shift back & forth from past to present?
• Is there a single viewpoint or shifting viewpoints?
• Why might the author have chosen to tell the story
the way he or she did?
• What difference does the structure make in the way
you read or understand the book?
- What main ideas—themes—does the author explore? (Consider the title, often a clue to a theme.) Does the author use symbolsto reinforce the main ideas?
- What passages strike you as insightful, even profound? Perhaps a bit of dialog that’s funny or poignant or that encapsulates a character? Maybe there’s a particular comment that states the book’s thematic concerns?
- Is the ending satisfying? If so, why? If not, why not…and how would you change it?
- If you could ask the author a question, what would you ask? Have you read other books by the same author? If so how does this book compare. If not, does this book inspire you to read others?
- Has this novel changed you—broadened your perspective? Have you learned something new or been exposed to different ideas about people or a certain part of the world?
With thanks to LitLovers for permission to use this fabulous list of questions!
http://www.litlovers.com/run-a-book-club/questions-for-fiction
