Be Prepared

• Finish the book before your club's discussion. Search online to see if there are any prepared book discussion questions for the book you read. If you don't find any, prepare eight to ten thought-provoking questions. Think of open-ended questions that are specific to certain portions of the book — avoid questions with "yes" or "no" answers. Write down page numbers for the portion of the book that goes with each question, in case you want to quote a section.
  
  

Begin the Meeting

• Give the group attendees time to socialize with each other before presenting the questions. This will help the group stay on topic once the discussion begins. Before you present the questions, remind the attendees to be courteous to each other in their comments and to avoid dominating the discussion. Ask for initial thoughts on the book, and see if anyone's comments lead into any of your prepared questions. If they do, begin with that question.
  
  

Present the Questions

• Ask each question, then allow the attendees to answer first. People may need a little bit of time to think about their answers, especially if the question is a philosophical one. Don't feel like you need to jump in and answer the question yourself. Listen to the comments and see if any of them lead into any of your other questions. If they do, ask that question next; don't worry about asking your questions in order. Try to keep the conversation on topic. If someone begins going off on a different topic, get the conversation back on track by asking your next prepared question.
  
  

End the Discussion

• Don't worry about getting through all of your questions. If you don't have time for all of the questions, it means that your discussion was a success and people were offering thoughtful answers. When the discussion time is over, wrap up by asking each member to rate the book and offer any final comments. This will end the discussion and also give the members a chance to offer any comments that they weren't able to get in during the discussion. End the meeting by announcing the title of the next book and the date of the next meeting.