What are some good discussion starters for a book?

There’s really not much information here to help us answer the question. Are you looking for general questions that could apply to any book? Are you looking for questions with regard to a specific book? Why do you need discussion starters? Is this for a school project? Is it for a book discussion group? Something else?

What was the book? What was it about? Did you like it/learn anything from it? Would you recommend it to someone else? Why or why not? How does it compare to other books of this type that you have read? Why type of book (genre) does it fit in? Why did you read it? How did you hear about it? Do you think it should be made into a movie (if it hasn’t already been made into one)? Why or why not? Is it plot driven, character driven or language driven? Whatever drives the book, how would you characterize the driver? Did the author seem to know what they were talking about? Was it believable? Was it fantastic? What literary devices did the author use to get readers to see the underlying meaning of the book? How did they work? What did they tell you?

I mean, these things are all pretty obvious (unless, maybe you are in middle school—well, maybe ninth grade). If you use any of these questions, you must attribute them to me. You may not claim them as your own. That would be plagiarism. Even if you change them slightly, you must still attribute them to me. To do otherwise would be dishonest and underhanded. You realize that by asking this question, you have pretty much eliminated any chance of coming up with questions of your own, right? If you are working on a project for professional purposes, you must especially attribute the ideas to me, and if you make any money on this, the honorable thing to do would be to offer me royalties. Intellectual property, you know. If you don’t do these things, and I ever find out that you have used my ideas, I can sue you. So make sure it doesn’t get on the internet. I will be checking.

What @daloon said!

Why didn’t you read the book?

Did you think the teacher wouldn’t find out that you didn’t read the book?

4 more to go. I’m not doing half of your work for you.

@theichibun Are you a classmate of Fred931’s? If so, can you tell us what the book is and what the assignment is and what grade you are in?

1. What’s the point of view of the story? How is it important?

2. Describe the main character.

3. Where and when does the story take place? How is it relevant to the story?

4. Describe the author’s writing style.

5. Was the conclusion satisfying?

6. What are the main themes of the story?

@daloon Not a classmate at all, but it really rings as a do my work for me type of question doesn’t it?

Unless the book is Things Fall Apart there’s really no excuse for not reading it. That book is just shit on a stick.

All i needed was some discussion starters so I could write some essays, so, actually, almost every single one of Daloon’s questions is irrelevant.

And, yes, I have read the entire book. It was really quite good.

@Fred931 It would have helped if you had added more details. Why do you need to write essays? Why six essays? What are they for? What do “discussion starters” mean to you (I’m not quite sure how they are related to essays). Can you give us any clue as to what kinds of questions would be relevant? Why do you keep the title of the book a secret?

I wanted something more along the lines of something i could write 150–250 words about. The book is called The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Nighttime by Mark Haddon.

You can write 150–200 words about anything. What kinds of things would be relevant for you?

It doesn’t matter. You would go Divine-winded-lawyer on me anyway if you said a word.

Just sort of curious. Did you gain any better understanding or appreciation of folks with Asperger’s syndrome? Do you think Christopher will ever come to trust his father again? Did the alternation of chapters with a plot and chapters about Christopher’s inner life annoy you or seem forced? Did you try to answer Christopher’s A-level questions, and if so, how did you do?

I’ve already gotten all of those…

Its ok. thanks for…um… I know, probably… something.

@Fred931 Why do you ask questions you already have answers for? And seriously, I’m curious about the answers to those questions.

I’m just coming in to let you know that 150–200 words is not an essay. 150–200 words is something that can be scribbled out in the minute between getting to class and realizing you had work due that day.

Those are totally different things.

Haha I’m suprised by the slight hostility from the answers. Justifiable though, given the question wasn’t well stated and left a lot of room for suspicion i.e. homework assignment, purpose, etc.
Goodluck to that 150–200 word essay. And since it’s not that long, choose your statements wisely and make it count.

Wow, I don’t know what to make of someone who can’t write a tiny essay on their own. Is this for college? Since it is so tiny, how about taking the most crucial point of the book, mention it, then explain why you chose that point? Or take the most repeated phrase/statement/question and explain the significance behind mentioning it so often? Good luck, it sounds like you will need it.