Getting Started with Online Services & Databases

Reading guides or discussion guides can assist with a book discussion or planning a book club meeting. Primarily useful as a facilitating tool, they can help navigate the featured title under discussion, providing prompts for further discussion and encouraging member participation.

 

In addition to the book sites and publisher sites, the author’s own site may have discussion guides for their books.

Sites for Reading Guides, Discussion Guides, etc.

Books Sites

• Alcove Press – Book Discussion Guides for book clubs that include author contacts and bio, author chat, and discussion questions.
• Book Browse – Over 1,700 free reading guides covering selected fiction and non-fiction titles published in the past 20 years. Each discussion guide includes reviews and BookBrowse’s Beyond the Book articles that explore a historical, cultural or contextual aspect of each book
• BookClubbish – Discussion questions, author interviews, and fun extras.
• Book Clubs – Search for discussion guides by title or author.
• The Booker Prizes – Reading Guides that will help enhance reader’s understanding of Booker-nominated titles. The guide contents include synopsis, comments from Booker judges, author bio,/interview main characters information, reviews, discussion questions and points, as well as resources and further reading and read-alikes. 
• Bookmarked for Book Clubs – Reading Group Guide on selected titles includes author bio, discussions questions and ‘a conversation with the author’. 
• LitLovers – Over 3,500 reading guides that include summary, author bio, book reviews, and discussion question.
• NoveList – Discussion guide includes summary, author bio, discussion questions, read-alikes/further reading.
• O’s Reading Room – Discussion questions for the books featured recently in Oprah’s Reading Room.
• ReadingGroupGuides – Find a guide by title, author, or genre. The guides has information about the book, excerpt, discussion questions, and author bio.

Publishers Sites

• Algonquin –  Reading Group Guide that includes questions, author essays, and author Q&As.
• Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• The Crown Publishing Group
• Hachette
• HarperCollins Canada
• Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Macmillan’s Reading Group Gold
• New Society Publishers
• Penguin Random House Canada Classics 
• Penguin Random House Canada Literary Fiction 
• Penguin Random House Science Fiction & Fantasy
• Simon & Schuster
• Workman Publishing
• WW Norton

Discussion Questions (generic, and genre)

• Generic
• Fiction
• Non-Fiction
• Memoirs
• Mystery
• Science Fiction
• Ten Questions to Kickstart ANY Book Club Discussion
• 15 of the Best Book Club Discussion Questions for Any Book
• 25 Great Book Club Questions to Help Spark a Stellar Discussion
• 25 Thoughtful Book Club Questions for Any Novel
• 35 Best Book Club Questions to Get the Conversation Flowing
• 50 Great Book Club Discussion Questions for Any Book
• 50 Great Book Club Questions for a Meaningful Discussion
• 50 Book Club Questions for Any Selection
• 77 Book Club Discussion Questions (For Any Book)
• 100 Generic Book Club Questions For Any Book
• 101 Comprehensive Book Club Questions
• 109 Printable Book Club Questions to Discuss Any Book
• The Best Book Club Questions to Spark Discussion
• The Best Questions for Book Discussion
• Discussion Resources (from Knopf Doubleday) covering Books into Film, Fiction, Memoir, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry
• Thought-Provoking Book Club Questions that Work for Any Book

Book Club Resources (starting a book club, tips, best practices)

• Book Club Central, BookBrowse
• Book Club Picks from Library LoveFest, HarperCollins
• Book Club Resources, Libro|Manics
• Book Club Resources (How to Start/Run; Discuss a Book; Ideas, etc.), LitLovers
• Book Discussion Groups: History and General Resources, ALA
• Getting Started: How to Start a Book Club, Penguin Random House
• Guide To Reading Group And Book Club Resources, SuperSummary
• How to Start a Book Club: The Complete Guide, Readers’ Digest, Sarah Jinee Park, Apr 26, 2023
• How to start a book club that doesn’t suck, Book Riot, Rebecca Renner, Aug 9, 2017
• NoveList Plus (Book Club Resources under Quick Links)
• Reading Group Centre, Knopf Doubleday (Start or Join a Reading Group; Tips for Meetings; Choosing Books and Organizing Great Meetings)