Book Club Kit for Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty includes book club discussion guide and party menu.
In December of 2014 I was driving home from preschool drop off when the idea for the Peanut Blossom Book Club for Recovering Readers hit me like a ton of bricks.
I launched our club late that month on a total whim and was blown away by the immediate response to my first pick Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty in January of 2015.
When I heard that Liane Moriarty had a new book out, I thought it would be just the perfect way to kick start 2017!
So this January we will be reading Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty for our monthly pick!
Peanut Blossom Book Club
This book was our official January 2017 pick for the Peanut Blossom Book Club.
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What is Truly Madly Guilty About?
Check out the full book description for Truly Madly Guilty:
"In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty turns her unique, razor-sharp eye towards three seemingly happy families.
Sam and Clementine have a wonderful, albeit, busy life: they have two little girls, Sam has just started a new dream job, and Clementine, a cellist, is busy preparing for the audition of a lifetime. If there’s anything they can count on, it’s each other.
Clementine and Erika are each other’s oldest friends. A single look between them can convey an entire conversation. But theirs is a complicated relationship, so when Erika mentions a last minute invitation to a barbecue with her neighbors, Tiffany and Vid, Clementine and Sam don’t hesitate. Having Tiffany and Vid’s larger than life personalities there will be a welcome respite.
Two months later, it won’t stop raining, and Clementine and Sam can’t stop asking themselves the question: What if we hadn’t gone?
In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty takes on the foundations of our lives: marriage, sex, parenthood, and friendship. She shows how guilt can expose the fault lines in the most seemingly strong relationships, how what we don’t say can be more powerful than what we do, and how sometimes it is the most innocent of moments that can do the greatest harm."
Go grab a copy of Truly Madly Guilty here.
Truly Madly Guilty Book Club Questions
I believe the best book club questions to spark a lively discussion in your group help readers make personal connections to the story.
You can read about how to write the best book club questions on your own here, but hopefully these will get you started!
Question 1:
What did you think of this month's pick? Would you have picked it up on your own?
Question 2:
I just assumed the "Guilty" part of the book title inferred a murder mystery of some sort. How wrong I was!
All the characters carried such guilt for different reasons.
Should they have? Were some characters more justified in their guilt than others?
Question 3:
Erika’s psychologist tells her:
“You’ve got to get this idea out of your head about there being some objective measure of normality . . . This ‘normal’ person of whom you speak doesn’t exist!”
Do you agree? Why or why not?
Question 4:
Which character did you identify with the most?
Was there a particular plot line that intrigued you more than the others?
Question 5:
Did you find yourself judging Tiffany for her past?
What would you think if you met her in person?
Question 6:
Let's talk about Clementine and Erika's relationship.
Would you classify it as a friendship? Or were they more like sisters as Tiffany observes?
Did you get the impression that they truly enjoyed each other's company?
Question 7:
What did you think of Erika's request that Clementine donate her eggs?
How about Clementine's response?
Have you been through infertility treatments? What do you think of how this was portrayed in the book?
Question 8:
Did anyone else get a major urge to purge after reading about Sylvia's hoarding?
I was really struck by this line:
“Her mother loved things so much that she had nothing.”
What did you think of Sylvia and her home?
Question 9:
Did you expect Harry's plot line to end up the way it did?
Or were you surprised by his final turn of events?
Does your neighborhood (now or as a child) have a "Harry"?
Question 10:
Do you think the impact of the barbecue on Sam & Clementine and their relationship was realistic?
Have you faced (and avoided) a similar scare with your children?
Question 11:
What did you think of Clementine's mom's response at the hospital?
Did her reaction mimic your own response or were you shocked?
Book Club Party Menu
For the book club party menu, why not play off of one of the main character's names??
In honor of Clementine, serve a simple citrus salad with homemade crostini.
For dessert, my orange chocolate bundt cake is perfect and easy!
Toast to your group with simple blood orange mojitos.
You May Also Enjoy
If you enjoyed this book, you'd likely enjoy these other fun book club picks from through the years:
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