In “Teen Summer Book Club,” Episode, #235, Meredith Curtis has a challenge for teens before summer ends: have a summer book club with friends and/or family. Just choose and read a book for pure enjoyment! Make it more exciting by discussing it with friends while you eat yummy food! Reading excellent literature for fun works out your brain, stretches your vocabulary, increases your attention span, cultivates compassion, and builds character. Plus when you read for fun, you release endorphins and add joy to life!

Bringing Homeschool Joy to Families Everywhere!

“I read that book with a flashlight under the covers so I wouldn’t wake my sister!”

“I figured out who did it.”

“I thought I figured out who did it, but the ending shocked me!”

One summer in high school when boredom was encroaching, I made a list of classics I’d never read.

• Pride & Prejudice
• War & Peace
• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
• The Deer Slayer

How about you?

Are there books that interest you, but you’ve never read them?

Maybe childhood classics your friends talk about.

• Little Women
• The Five Little Peppers and How they Grew
• GA Henty Adventure Novels

Do you have friends or family members who feel the same way?

Why not choose 1 book that everyone reads. Set a date and plan a book club. You could meet when everyone finishes the book or meet a couple times during the reading (after chapter 10 and after chapter 15).

• Beach
• Ice Cream Parlor
• Lake
• Park
• Family Room at Someone’s House
• Backyard, Deck, Screened Porch
• Restaurant
• Tree House

• A book
• A discussion leader
• Everyone to read the book and bring the book with them (or chosen chapters)
• A comfortable place to sit where everyone can see each other (circles work great!)
• Yummy food
• Yummy drinks

So, how do you get the discussion going?

I start every book club with this question, “Did you like the book? Why or why not?” This often starts lively discussions because people have different opinions about the same book.

Another one of my favorite questions is “Was the ending satisfying?”  So many times we have ended up with folks sharing a new ending and others standing firm that the original ending is the best! It’s such fun when the discussion gets lively!

• Did you like this book? Why or why not?
• What was your favorite part of the book and why?
• Who was your favorite character and why?
• Did anything happen in the story that surprised you? Why did it surprise you? How did the author work things together to make it surprising?
• Does any character in the book remind you of someone in your family or one of your friends?
• Was there anyone in the book you didn’t like? Why didn’t you like them?
• Was the ending satisfying?
• What character did you relate to the most? Why?
• What message do you think the author was trying to get across? Do you agree with that message?
• Is there a quote from the book that was meaningful for you? Please share it. Why was it meaningful?
• If this book were made into a movie, who would play the lead roles?
• Would you recommend this book to other people? Why or why not?

Here are some things I like to cover in book clubs:

• Plot
• Characterization
• Setting
• Mood/Tone
• Theme
• Worldview
• Foreshadowing

I don’t try to cover all of those topics in each book club. I will usually keep the discussion going by asking the questions, “What did you like about this character?” followed up by, “Why?” Then I will ask the kids who they didn’t like and why.

Rabbit trails are the best part of book clubs.

Books can be like treasured friends because people and events remind us of our life. Or there are characters we’d love to be friends with or adventures we’d love to experience.

One time we were talking about our favorite characters in Little Women and we realized that most of us chose the character that we related to because we had similar personalities. This led to a whole discussion about personalities.

Historical fiction is fun because it make a time in the past come alive. This can lead to discussions on food, sanitation, transportation, fashion, customs, religion, etc.

Differing opinions is an important part of life. In America, we value freedom of speech. However, free speech doesn’t mean being crass, ugly, or rude. We share our opinions politely and we respect people’s opinions that are different from us. The exception is that the Bible has the final say.

The Blessings of Book Clubs

If you enjoy reading a book and discussing it with friends and/or family, you might ask to add book clubs to your English (Language Arts) classes.

We started a book club years ago when we were reading a challenging book in our homeschool co-op. We had so much fun and we realized that we learned so much more from literature and good books when we discussed them together.

As we discussed the elements of literature (plot, setting, characters, theme, point-of-view, voice) in a natural way, these things became easier and easier to understand and talk about. My teens loved discussing foreshadowing because it was like solving a mystery.  Symbolism was another fun topic because everyone brings a fresh perspective.

Yes, we loved sitting in comfortable chairs to talk about books and eat cookies, but we began to enjoy literature at a deeper level. Book clubs have enriched my children’s education and enjoyment of literature! All our English courses offer book clubs.

What Shall I Read?

Check our reading lists for every age imaginable:

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