Readers’ Guides

  • The Distance Between Us

    The questions that follow are intended to enhance your group's reading and discussion of THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US by Masha Hamilton. Questions 1. The essence of this book is in its title. Distance exists in the political landscape of this novel as well as in Caddie's life. What are some [...]

  • The Egyptologist

    The questions that follow are intended to enhance your group's reading and discussion of THE EGYPTOLOGIST by Arthur Phillips For Discussion 1. Why do you think Arthur Phillips used an epistolary structure for The Egyptologist? Would it have been possible for him to structure it differently? What effect do the [...]

  • The Girl in the Garden

    The questions that follow are intended to enhance your group's reading and discussion of THE GIRL IN THE GARDEN by Kamala Nair Questions 1. Compare Rakhee’s home in Minnesota with the Varma house in India. What aspects of each home are comforting to her? What aspects are upsetting? How is [...]

  • The Healing

    THE HEALING by Jonathan Odell will be a perfect citywide read during the upcoming 4-year anniversary of The Civil War. Here are a few topics for group discussion: Questions 1. How does Polly Shine’s approach to medical treatment differ from that of the white doctors who previously treated the Satterfield [...]

  • The Interpreter

    The questions that follow are intended to enhance your group's reading and discussion of THE INTERPRETER by Alice Kaplan Questions 1. For French writer Louis Guilloux, being an interpreter was much more than just a wartime profession. What did serving as an interpreter mean to him, and how did he [...]

  • The Jewel Trader of Pegu

    The questions that follow are intended to enhance your group's reading and discussion of THE JEWEL TRADER OF PEGU by Jeffrey Hantover. Questions 1. Abraham is faced with the conflicting demands of heart and religious law: “Why do the law and one’s heart not always point in the same direction?” [...]

  • The Kitchen Boy

    A Penguin online reader’s guide to THE KITCHEN BOY by Robert Alexander A Conversation with Robert Alexander Your book is the product of some extraordinary research. Was there any information that was particularly hard to find? If you could have just one missing document, what would it be? First of [...]

  • The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott

    The questions that follow are intended to enhance your group's reading and discussion of THE LOST SUMMER OF LOUISA MAY ALCOTT by Kelly O'Connor McNees Questions 1. Have you ever read a poem or book that profoundly challenged or changed your worldview? How might the events of the novel have [...]

  • The Madonnas of Leningrad

    The questions that follow are intended to enhance your group's reading and discussion of THE MADONNAS OF LENINGRAD by Debra Dean. Questions 1. The working of memory is a key theme of this novel. As a young woman, Marina’s remembering of the missing paintings is a deliberate act of survival [...]

  • The Night of the Comet

    The questions that follow are intended to enhance your group's reading and discussion of THE NIGHT OF THE COMET by George Bishop Jr. Questions 1. The Night of the Comet features the Broussard family: Alan; his wife, Lydia; their daughter, Megan; and their fourteen-year-old son, Alan Junior, the narrator. With [...]