Questions to ask about a book

Start with your first reaction

Before you analyze anything, notice what the book did to you. These questions work for any book:

• What stayed with you a day after you finished?
• Where did you want to put the book down, and where could you not stop?
• What surprised you?
• Which passage would you read aloud to someone?

There are no wrong answers here. A first reaction is often where the more interesting questions start.

Questions about a novel

• Whose choices drive the story, and what does each choice cost?
• Which character changes the most, and what changes them?
• Who tells the story? What can the narrator not know, or not say?
• Why does the book open where it does?
• What does the ending settle, and what does it leave open?
• How would the story change if it happened today, or in your town?
• What does the title mean to you now that you have finished?

Questions about non-fiction

• What is the author’s main claim, in one sentence?
• What evidence supports it, and where is it weakest?
• What did you believe before reading, and did the book change it?
• Who would disagree with the author, and what would they say?
• What one thing from the book will you try, and when?

Questions about you and the book

• Why did you pick up this book now?
• Who would you give it to, and what would you tell them first?
• Is there a moment in the book you recognized from your own life?

Answer in writing, even briefly

An answer you only think through is easy to skip. Write two or three sentences per question; you do not need an essay. When an answer rests on a passage, note the page, so you can find it again.

Written answers also help a book stay with you. The guide on how to remember what you read explains why. In Pagetime, an answer in your own words fits a Thought, and the passage it rests on fits a Quote.

Use the questions in a book club

• Open with a question, not a summary: everyone has read the book.
• Ask where in the book people see what they claim. A page number keeps the talk on the text.
• Let disagreements stand. Nobody needs to win.
• If someone has not finished, agree in advance how far you will discuss, and leave the ending for last.

Keep your questions and answers in Pagetime

Save a question in the book’s notes and add the page number. After reading or meeting with your book club, return to the note and write your answer. Save the passage you refer to as a separate quote.

The free version holds up to 5 books and includes 20 page scans with text recognition in total. Deleting a note does not restore a used scan. Notes and the timer work offline without an account; sync is free after signing in. A subscription removes the book and scan limits and unlocks your full stats history, year in review and folder export. Pagetime is coming to iPhone and Android; you can leave your email below to hear when it is available. Until then, a pencil and one question per chapter will do.

This independent guide is published by Pagetime and is not authorized, sponsored or endorsed by Apple Inc. or Google LLC.