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Run a book club without doing the homework
Questions that start an argument, and something for the person who didn't finish it.
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Updates as you typeI'm hosting a discussion of Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. The group: Seven of us, mixed. Two read closely and will have notes, three read it on the commute, and at least one will not have finished it. It usually turns into chat after 20 minutes. Time: an hour What I want to get into: I want to talk about whether Klara is actually reliable and nobody else seems bothered by it Build me a guide I can run from, not an essay. Give me: 1. An opening question that anyone can answer, including someone who read it distractedly. Not "did you like it". 2. Eight questions, grouped into two or three sections, with a rough minute count on each section so I can keep us moving. 3. At least two questions where reasonable people in the room will actually disagree. Mark them. These are the ones that save the evening. 4. One passage or scene worth reading aloud, with a line on why it's the one. 5. A closing question that gets everyone to say something short. Rules: - No question with a correct answer. If the answer is a fact from the book, it's not a discussion question. - Nothing that needs anyone to have read criticism or know about the author's other work. - Give me one question that works for someone who only got halfway, and say which it is. Then, in a couple of lines and kept separate from the questions: what this book is usually about, so I have something to say if the room goes quiet.
What you get: Timed sections, two questions people will argue over, and a fallback for when the room goes quiet.
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No question with a right answer
That rule is the whole guide. "What does the sun symbolise" has an answer, someone gives it, and the conversation stops. Questions people can disagree about are the only ones that fill an hour.
The half-finished reader question is there because there's always one, and they'll sit silent all evening unless you hand them a way in.
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