Easy Questions Your Book Club Will Actually Want to Answer

Let’s be honest, most book clubs are primarily about getting together with friends and, er, a little less about actually discussing the book that you may or may have not read. That doesn’t mean that you don’t occasionally want to dig into a book together, though.

For those times when you maybe didn’t quite make it to the end of the book, a list of all-purpose book club discussion questions can help you be ready to start off a meaningful chat about any fiction book, no matter the content! Gone are the days where you need to Google specific book names and hope a list of questions exist — I’ve got you covered no matter the book!

Questions that are too difficult or require too much thought can sometimes make your book club discussions feel like homework — and that’s the last thing you want. But if you pick questions that are too easy, the discussion just feels fluffy and sometimes a little silly — cue those cringy feelings of social awkwardness. To help prevent this, I’ve developed a simple formula that guides you through a book club discussion that’s both thought-provoking and fun!

I’ve found the trick is to start things off with more open-ended questions that don’t require a specific wrong or right answer and don’t focus on a certain aspect of the book too closely. Then, once the book club discussion is flowing a little more smoothly, you can dig into questions that look at the characters, writing style, plot, themes, author strategies, etc. Finally, bring your conversation back to light-hearted and social by adding in a few “just for fun” questions that invoke imagination. Open-ended + specific + playful = your recipe for book club fun!

Icebreaker questions

These are great questions to start off your book club discussion because they are low-pressure and open to any type of answer. Examples of book club icebreaker questions include things like:

1. Is this a genre you typically read?

2. Do you think the book was overhyped?

3. Does the title feel like a good fit?

4. Did you like how it ended?

5. Did the book cover draw you in?

Character questions

Now that everyone is thinking about the book in general terms, or about their reaction to it overall in a broader sense, it’s time to get specific. Character questions invite readers to engage with the book through the lens of the “players” on the stage — the main characters and their supporting characters. A few easy and fun book club questions in this category might include:

1. Did the characters and their actions feel genuine and believable?

2. Which character has had experiences like yours, or feels the most similar to you?

3. Did you find any characters particularly lovable or frustrating?

4. Who did you feel was the best supporting character?

Critical thinking questions

After looking at the characters on face-value, I love digging deeper on the structure of the book itself. This can include looking at the plot structure, any messages or themes the author might have been trying to convey, and any questions that came up for me as I was reading it. Sample book club discussion questions from this category might include things like:

1. What did the author do best — compelling plot, character development, or setting?

2. What were some of your favorite scenes in the book?

3. Did the book change your opinion on anything?

4. Did you feel like the author had a certain message or theme they were trying to convey?

Just for fun questions

Sometimes book club discussions can get a little heavy or argumentative, so to bring everyone back to being friends with a lighthearted and social vibe overall, I like to end with some questions that are more “what if” and imaginative rather than analytical. Some examples of this are:

1. Which character would you most want with you in a crisis? On a night out?

2. If you were going to cast this book as a movie, which actor would you put in the starring role?

3. Just for fun: give awards to each of the main characters — “most likely to” (fill in the blank)

Of course, this is just a sampling of questions to get you started. The best book club discussion questions are the ones that fit your group, so feel free to take any of these as inspiration for creating the kind of conversations our book club loves! It’s always a good idea to have a starting place on hand for your book club discussion “emergencies” (also known as awkward silences), so download my complete book club discussion question list, download my free PDF here. It’s packed full of book discussion questions that can easily be applied to any fiction book, no matter the content. Enjoy!