Book Chat

Questions
GENERAL
1. Which genre(s) do you prefer and why?
2. What is (one of) your favourite book(s) and why?
3. Which type of books do you prefer: fiction or non-fiction? Why?
4. What is your preferred time and place to read and why?
5. Which is your preferred language to read and why?
6. Which do you prefer: hardbacks, paperbacks or ebooks? Why?
7. How do you choose books to read? How important is the cover in that process?
8. What do you prefer: reading the book, then watching the film, or vice versa? Why?
9. Why do(n’t) you reread books?
10. Would you read other books from the same author? Why (not)?
11. If this is the first book in a series, why do(n’t) you want to read the other ones?
12. What do(n’t) you like about the book? Why?
13. What do you think of the writing style?**
14. What has surprised you about the book? Why?*
15. What have you read or seen that is similar to this? Why is it similar?*
16. What was the theme or central message of the story?
17. What point of view is the story told from and how does this affect you as a reader?*
18. What do you think was the most important part of the story? Why?

AUTHOR
19. What do you know about the author?
20. What is the author trying to tell you in the book?
21. What did the author have to know/do/investigate to write the book?**
22. Who is (one of) your favourite author(s) and why?

CHARACTERS
23. What was the biggest piece of character development in the book?*
24. Who is your (least) favourite character and why?
25. How would you age up the story/characters? What would change?*
26. You have to take the place of a character for one week, who do you pick and why?
27. Are the characters realistic? Why (not)? How would you make it more realistic?

PLOT
28. Is the story realistic? Why (not)? How would you make it more realistic?
29. Give a short overview of the plot. Was it what you expected? Why (not)?
30. Problem/Solution. Who has a problem in the story. Describe the problem.**
31. Is the problem in the book realistic? Can it happen to you? Explain.
32. Style. What special words does the author use to help you hear/see in the story?***

English 4th year L. Mellaerts & S. Stroobants

 33. How did the story begin?
34. What happened in the middle?
35. How did the story end?
36. Can you think of another way this story might have ended?

SETTING
37. Describe the setting and the effect this has on the story.
38. Is the setting realistic? Why (not)? How would you make it more realistic?
39. Create a new setting you think would be better for the story and describe it. How does the
new setting change the story?**

NON-FICTION SPECIFIC
40. What questions do you still have on the topic?
41. Why did you choose to read a book on this topic?
42. What have you learned about this topic?
43. Who would you recommend this book to and why?
44. What is the main idea of the text?
45. How can you relate to the topic?
46. Was there information that you already knew?
47. Can you name 3 important details about the passage (chosen by the teacher)?**
48. Are there any ideas in the book that are/were unfamiliar to you?
49. Where would you look for more information about the topic of the book?**
50. Have you read books similar to the topic? How was it the same/different?
51. What facts did you enjoy learning most? Why?
52. Describe the language used by the author. Did you like it/dislike it? Was it difficult?**
53. Were there elements (diagrams, charts, pictures) that were important? Explain.**
54. What would you ask the writer about the book?
55. Does the book have any cultural relevance? In what area? Explain.***

English 4th year L. Mellaerts & S. Stroobants