Read-Think-Talk

(Refer to this handy chart as you read your book)

• Are the characters convincing? Do they come alive for you? How would you describe them — as sympathetic, likeable, thoughtful, intelligent, innocent, naive, strong or weak? Something else?

• Do you identify with any characters? Are you able to look at events in the book through their eyes — even if you don’t like or approve of them?

• Are characters developed psychologically and emotionally? Do you have access to their inner thoughts and motivations? Or do you know them mostly through dialogue and action?

• Do any characters change or grow by the end of the story? Do they come to view the world and their relationship to it differently?

• Is the story plot-driven, moving briskly from event to event? Or is it character-driven, moving more slowly, delving into characters' inner-lives?

• What is the story’s central conflict—character vs. character...vs. society...or vs. nature (external)? Or an emotional struggle within the character (internal)? How does the conflict create tension?

• Is the plot chronological? Or does it veer back and forth between past and present?

• Is the ending a surprise or predictable? Does the end unfold naturally? Or is it forced, heavy handed, or manipulative? Is the ending satisfying, or would you prefer a different ending?

• Who tells the story—a character (1st-person narrator)? Or an unidentified voice outside the story (3rd-person narrator)? Does one person narrate—or are there shifting points of view?

• What does the narrator know? Is the narrator privvy to the inner-life of one or more of the characters...or none? What does the narrator let you know?

• What about theme—the larger meanings behind the work? What ideas does the author explore? What is he or she trying to say?

• Symbols intensify meaning. Can you identify any in the book—people, actions or objects that stand for something greater than themselves?

• What about irony—a different outcome, or reality, than expected. Irony mimics real life: the opposite happens from what we desire or intend...unintended consequences.

(Read-Think-Talk by LitLovers. Please feel free to use, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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• Character
• Plot
• Point of View
• Symbolism
• Irony
• See the full list