Looking for reading and discussion guides for your next book club meeting? Here are 3 resources for leading a great book discussion with your book club. Depending on your group’s dynamic and discussion depth, any one or a combination of any of these book discussion resources can help.
Back-of-the-Book
When preparing to lead a book discussion with your club, the back of the book is probably the first place you look. Often there is a Reading Discussion Group Guide or some variation thereof included at the end of books. These guides are typically tailored to the book and specific characters, themes and plot points from the book.
The questions tend to be detailed, longer form and multi-part. The format often recalls the portion of the book it is referring to and frames a thoughtful question for your group to discuss. These guides can be great for deep, more structured discussion especially for detailed readers.
What if your book does not contain a reading discussion group guide at the back? What if you’re looking for more organic and less structured conversation around the book? Then check out the next two book discussion resources below.
Publisher Sites
If your book does not include a reading discussion group guide at the end of the book (or maybe you returned the book before capturing the questions), try the book publisher’s website. Common book publishers are HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Putnam, Graywolf Press and more.
A quick Google or search of the [author name] + [book title] + ‘publisher’ should return the book listing on the publisher’s website within the first few results. This will include an image of the book cover and possibly links to purchase options as well as a resources section with a link to a publisher supplied reading guide.
What if the book publisher’s site doesn’t have a reading discussion guide either? Still looking for great book club discussion material? Try the third resource recommendation below for a more organic and less structured approach to guide any book discussion!
BCR General Book Discussion Guide
For a less structured approach to a book club discussion, try the BCR General Book Discussion Guide. What’s great is this guide works for any and all books. It’s a go-to list of questions that may seem pretty basic but can lead to a more organic conversation. This BCR General Book Discussion guide is also a great supplement to the above resources. These questions can be a nice start to the discussion and provide a segue into more detailed prompts from the back-of-the-book reading guides.
- Did you finish the book?
- How did you read the book?
- Did you like the book? How would you rate it?
- Favorite / least favorite character?
- Favorite / least favorite part?
Those are our top 3 resources for leading a great book discussion. What other resources do you use? Let us know in the comments below.