Book Club Questions for Book Lovers by Emily Henry

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Book club questions for Book Lovers by Emily Henry examines this romance between a literary agent and a book editor. There will be spoilers so for more context about the book, check out my spoiler-free review first.

This is a really enjoyable and just overall, a great novel to read. I had been looking for something lighter but still with depth and this more than fit the bill. Emily Henry is becoming an auto-buy author for me!

While I enjoyed the romance, I also thought the family dynamic was intriguing and engaging. I wasn’t sure where some of it was going and was a bit surprised at some of the revelations. The sister dynamic is quite strong in the novel as well.

The Synopsis

Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

Book Club Questions for Book Lovers

1. Emily Henry said she wanted to write a novel from the ex’s point of view—the person who is left behind in those Hallmark Christmas movies. What are your thoughts about this and Nora as a protagonist?
2. We meet Nora just as she’s being broke up with—her boyfriend is leaving her for a small town romance. And we eventually learn that this a trend for Nora. Why do you think this kept happening to Nora?
3. Oftentimes, these characters are stereotyped as workaholics. But there’s more than meets the eye with Nora. And we learn that while yes, she does love the literary world, part of her obsession with work is to make sure she can always provide stability for both herself and especially for her younger sister, Libby. Why did Nora feel such intense pressure to protect Libby like this?
4. Let’s talk about the first meeting between Nora and Charlie. Now what is your impression of their romance overall? Do you think they are a good fit?
5. Libby convinces Nora to take a vacation to a small town in NC and live out her own type of a Hallmark movie romance. While on surface, it appears that everything is going against Libby’s plan—Nora falls for Charlie, a city guy—in what ways did Book Lovers end up with a similar story to those Hallmark movies? And in what ways did it differ?
6. Charlie leaves behind his career and life in the city to take care of his ailing father. But he never fit in with the town and is constantly uncomfortable. What are your thoughts about Charlie’s struggle with the town? How did Nora help provide a calming presence?
7. What was your favorite scene with Nora and Charlie?
8. Nora has glamorized her mother and living in the city with her. But it becomes more apparent that her mother put a lot of pressure on Nora that wasn’t appropriate as Libby eventually points out. What was your take on the differing memories of their mother?
9. We eventually find out the real reason why Libby wanted Nora to take this trip—Libby and her family are moving to the town and she hoped Nora would fall in love with it as well. What were your thoughts about this and Nora’s reaction?
10. Nora eventually realizes it’s time to stop serving as Libby’s guardian but be her sister, instead. What type of impact does this have on Nora and her direction in life?
11. What are your thoughts about the ending? What happens next for Nora and Charlie?
12. If they turn the novel into a film or TV adaptation, who would you like to see play the main parts?

Additional Recommendations

Hope you enjoyed book club questions for Book Lovers! Here are some recommendations along with links to book club questions.

Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together. 
  
Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since. 
  
Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees. 
  
Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?

You can order the book on Amazon here. Check out my book club questions here.

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results. 

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.  

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

You can order the book on Amazon here. Check out my book club questions here.

Happy reading!