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.

 

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. 
• LitLovers – Over 3,500 reading guides that include summary, author bio, book reviews, and discussion question.
• 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

• Hachette
• HarperCollins Canada
• Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Macmillan’s Reading Group Gold
• New Society Publishers
• Penguin Random House Book Club Resources
• Penguin Random House Canada Classics 
• Penguin Random House Canada Literary Fiction 
• Penguin Random House Science Fiction & Fantasy
• Simon & Schuster
• WW Norton

Discussion Questions (generic, and genre)

• Generic
• Fiction
• Non-Fiction
• Memoirs
• Mystery
• Science Fiction
• 15 of the Best Book Club Discussion Questions for Any Book
• 25 Thoughtful Book Club Questions for Any Novel
• 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
• 60 Great Book Club Prompts for When Your Group Gets Stuck
• 77 Book Club Discussion Questions (For Any Book)
• 85 Best Book Club Questions to Get The Conversation Flowing
• 100 Generic Book Club Questions For Any Book
• 101 Comprehensive Book Club Questions
• 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)