Questions · Book club

Book club icebreakers that work with any book

Questions for a book club meeting: while people arrive and pour drinks, a warm-up before the discussion, personal questions for when the book touches something real, and a round before choosing the next title.

  • 16 questions
  • EN + TL on every card
  • Free in the app
Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Kumustahan is a bilingual conversation card app: 1,200 questions in English and Filipino across 7 decks, with a short reflection on the back of every card.

Icebreakers№ 49

When did you last change your mind after hearing a good reason?

Kailan ka huling nagbago ng isip dahil may narinig kang magandang reason?

Tap to flipkumustahan
A note

Try an optional before-and-after: "I thought..., but now..."

Kung gusto mo: "Dati, akala ko..., pero ngayon..."

Tap to returnkumustahan

The questions

16 book club questions

Every question in English and Filipino/Tagalog, word for word from the Kumustahan decks. Open “Back of the card” for the reflection printed on the other side.

While people arrive

5 questions

Light questions for the first fifteen minutes and the people who didn’t finish.

  1. For one month, you can have music or movies, but not both. Which do you keep?

    Kung isa lang ang puwede mong ma-enjoy sa loob ng isang buwan, music o movies ang pipiliin mo?

    Back of the card

    Name the first song or movie you would return to when the month ends.

    Anong kanta o movie ang una mong babalikan pagkatapos ng buwan?

  2. Which kind of task makes you lose track of time?

    Anong klaseng task yung nakakalimutan mong oras kapag ginagawa mo?

    Back of the card

    The tasks that make time move fast can reveal what absorbs you, energizes you, or quietly fits how your mind works.

    Yung tasks na nagpapabilis ng oras pwedeng clue kung ano ang kumukuha ng focus mo, nagpapagana sa'yo, o bagay sa utak mo.

  3. What day from the past would you like to watch?

    Anong araw sa nakaraan ang gusto mong mapanood?

    Back of the card

    Pause on one scene from that day. Which detail would you want to look at longer?

    Huminto muna sa isang eksena ng araw na iyon. Anong detalye ang gusto mong tingnan nang mas matagal?

  4. Which language would you learn instantly if you woke up fluent tomorrow?

    Kung paggising mo bukas ay marunong ka na ng isang bagong language, ano ang pipiliin mo?

    Back of the card

    Choose the first person you would like to talk to in that language.

    Piliin ang unang taong gusto mong makausap gamit ang wikang iyon.

  5. On a free day, what activity do you enjoy even if nothing gets done?

    Sa free day, anong activity ang enjoy gawin kahit wala kang natatapos?

    Back of the card

    Not every good thing needs to be useful. Some activities are good because they give the day room to breathe.

    Hindi lahat ng magandang gawin kailangang useful. May mga bagay na okay dahil binibigyan lang nila ng luwag yung araw.

Warm-up before the book

4 questions

Questions about values and changed minds that set up a good discussion.

  1. When did you last change your mind after hearing a good reason?

    Kailan ka huling nagbago ng isip dahil may narinig kang magandang reason?

    Back of the card

    Try an optional before-and-after: "I thought..., but now..."

    Kung gusto mo: "Dati, akala ko..., pero ngayon..."

  2. Who is someone you respect for the way they live, even in small things?

    Sino yung taong nirerespeto mo sa paraan ng buhay niya, kahit sa maliliit na bagay?

    Back of the card

    Respect often begins with small, steady things. A simple habit can show a lot about how someone moves through life.

    Madalas nagsisimula ang respeto sa maliliit pero consistent na bagay. May simpleng habit na maraming sinasabi tungkol sa isang tao.

  3. Pick one value you want to show up in your week.

    Pumili ng isang value na gusto mong makita sa week mo.

    Back of the card

    A value becomes real in small choices. One week is enough space to practice it gently.

    Nagiging real ang value sa maliliit na choices. Sapat na ang isang week para i-practice siya nang gentle.

  4. In an adventure story, would you be the guide, cook, builder, storyteller, or someone else?

    Sa adventure story, anong role ang pipiliin mo: guide, cook, builder, storyteller, o iba pa?

    Back of the card

    Your character has one familiar object in their bag. What is it?

    May isang pamilyar na gamit sa bag ng tauhan mo. Ano iyon?

When the book hits close to home

4 questions

For the moment a character’s choice turns into a conversation about your own.

  1. Which fear has been making decisions for you lately?

    Anong takot ang parang nakikialam sa decisions mo lately?

    Back of the card

    Fear can sound practical when it wants control. Noticing its voice helps you decide with more freedom.

    Minsan practical pakinggan ang fear kapag gusto niyang kontrolin lahat. Kapag napansin mo siya, mas may freedom kang pumili.

  2. Name one truth about yourself that is becoming harder to ignore.

    Magsabi ng isang truth tungkol sa sarili mo na mas mahirap nang i-ignore.

    Back of the card

    A truth that keeps returning may not be trying to shame you. It may be asking for honest attention.

    Yung truth na paulit-ulit bumabalik, baka hindi ka pinapahiya. Baka humihingi lang siya ng honest na pansin.

  3. Which part of this season asks for more patience from you?

    Anong part ng season na ito ang humihingi ng mas mahabang pasensya sa'yo?

    Back of the card

    Patience is not always passive. Sometimes it is the steady work of staying kind while something takes time.

    Hindi laging passive ang patience. Minsan trabaho rin siyang manatiling mabait habang may bagay na mabagal talaga.

  4. Name one choice you keep repeating that you want to understand better.

    Magbanggit ng isang choice na paulit-ulit mong ginagawa at gusto mong mas maintindihan.

    Back of the card

    Repeated choices are quiet storytellers. Looking closer can help you ask what they are protecting, feeding, or avoiding.

    Tahimik magkuwento ang paulit-ulit na choices. Kapag tiningnan mo nang mas malapit, makikita mo kung ano ang pinoprotektahan, pinapakain, o iniiwasan nila.

Before the next book

3 questions

Curiosity and time, for choosing what to read next.

  1. Recall the last time you tried something new just because you were curious.

    Ikuwento ang huling beses na sumubok ka ng bago dahil curious ka lang.

    Back of the card

    Would you try it again, or was once enough?

    Susubukan mo ba ulit, o sapat na ang minsan?

  2. What fun activity would you like to introduce your friends to?

    Anong masayang activity ang gusto mong ipakilala sa friends?

    Back of the card

    Imagine their first try going wrong in a harmless, funny way.

    Isipin na may simpleng sablay sa unang pagsubok nila na puwede ninyong pagtawanan.

  3. What would you like to make more time for this month?

    Ano ang gusto mong bigyan ng mas maraming oras ngayong buwan?

    Back of the card

    Imagine an extra afternoon opens up. Would you spend it all on this or leave some time free?

    Isipin na nabakante ang isang hapon. Ilalaan mo ba lahat ng oras dito o magtitira ka pa ng libreng oras?

How to use them

Before you ask

Book club icebreakers solve a familiar problem: half the group finished the book, a few skimmed it, and everyone needs fifteen minutes to settle before discussing anything. Questions that aren’t about the book let everyone join, including the member who only read the first chapter.

A good warm-up also prepares the discussion. Ask about the last argument that actually changed someone’s mind, or someone you respect for how they live, and the group is already thinking about character and choice before the book comes out.

The best book club meetings eventually leave the book behind. When a character’s decision reminds someone of their own, the personal questions give the moment somewhere to go: the fear that has been making decisions, the truth that’s getting harder to ignore. Let the book open the door and the questions walk through it.

Good for

  • Monthly book clubs
  • New book clubs where members are still strangers
  • Library and bookstore reading groups
  • Online book clubs on video calls
  • Church and campus reading groups

Tips

  1. Ask the arrival question before anyone admits they didn’t finish.
  2. Rotate who brings the warm-up question each month.
  3. Don’t push the personal questions. Let the book get there.
  4. Keep a list of answers; they often suggest the next book.
  5. For any group discussion, see how to lead a small group discussion.

Decks for this

How to fit questions into a book club meeting

Most book clubs follow the same arc: arrive, eat and chat, discuss the book, choose the next one. Questions fit at three points without taking over.

  • Arrival (10 minutes): one light question, answered around the room while people settle.
  • Before the discussion: one warm-up question about values or changed minds, to switch from chatting to thinking.
  • During: keep the personal questions in reserve for when the book naturally leads there; don’t force them.
  • Wrap-up: a curiosity question to help choose the next book.

Book club

Frequently asked questions

What are good icebreakers for a book club?

Questions that work regardless of the book: music or movies for a month, a task that makes you lose time, a day from the past you’d like to watch. They let everyone join, even those who didn’t finish.

How do you start a book club discussion?

Warm up with a question about values or changing your mind, then move to the book. It shifts the group from chatting to thinking without a formal opening.

How do you get a quiet book club to talk?

Go around the room with one easy question first, so everyone has spoken once. People who have already talked are much more likely to join the book discussion.

Bring a better question to the table.

Free on iPhone and Android. 420 cards free, no account, works offline.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play