How to lead a book group discussion

1. Toss one question at a time out to the group. Use
    our Book Discussion Resources for help.  

2. Select a number of questions, write each on an     index card, and pass them out. Each member (or
    team of 2 or 3) takes a card and answers the     question.

3. Use a prompt (an object) related to the story. It
    can help stimulate members' thinking about some
    apsect of the story. It's adult show & tell!

  —maps, photograpahs, paintings, food, apparel, a
     music recording, a film sequence

4. Pick out a specific passage from the book—a     description, an idea, a line of dialogue—and ask     members to comment on it.

   —How does the passage reflect a character...or the
      work's central meaning...or members' lives or             personal beliefs?

5. Choose a primary character and ask members to     comment on him or her. Consider:

   —character traits, motivations, how he/she affects       the story's events and characters, or revealing       quotations.

6. Play a literary game. Use one of our Icebreaker
    activities. They're smart and fun—guaranteed to
    loosen you up and get your discussion off to a     lively, even uproarious start.

7. Distribute hand-outs to everyone in order to
    refresh memories or use as talking points. Identify
    the primary characters and summarize the plot.

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Book discussion resources
Any one of these resources can help you find or develop questions for a good book club discussion.

1. Generic Discussion Questions for any book
    Fiction or Non-fiction.

2. Discussion Questions for a specific book
    Reading Group Guides     

3. A handy Reference Chart to tuck inside your book
    Read-Think-Talk About a Book

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How to participate in a book discussion

1. Avoid "like" or "dislike." Those terms aren't     very helpful for moving discussions forward, and
    they can make others feel defensive. Instead, talk
    about your experience, how you felt as you read
    the book.

2. Support your views. Use specific passages from
    the book as evidence for your ideas. This is a
    literary analysis technique called “close reading.”

3. Read with pencil. Take notes or jot down particu-
    larly interesting passages: something that strikes     you or that you question.

4. Use LitLovers resources

   —Look for your title in our list of Reading Guides.

   —Use our Read-Think-Talk chart as a handy
      guide for reading and thinking about a novel.

   —Take a free LitCourse to deepen your understand-
      ing of fiction. They're short—and lots of fun.