Gleb Zaitsev Studio / Free reader resources
A little structure for your next book-club meeting
A conversation needs room to wander, but a blank page can make hosting feel harder than it needs to. Use this small kit to agree a spoiler boundary, choose a few questions and leave with a next step.
Download the free two-page kit
Page one is a host plan with a flexible 60-minute agenda and space for your meeting notes. Page two has eight original fiction discussion prompts and room for short responses. Both paper sizes contain the same content.
Print at actual size / 100%. No signup, email address or purchase is required. Use it for your own group; keep the studio credit when sharing blank copies. The prompts are general, rather than an answer key for a particular book.
A warm-up when everyone has read a different book
Shelf Signals is a separate free guessing game for 2-6 readers. A spotlight reader privately chooses A or B, the others guess, and everyone reveals together. Twelve original cards open a short conversation about reading tastes, with no book trivia or required spoilers. Passing is always allowed.
Choose Run game on itch.io to play on one shared device: private choices and guesses stay hidden on screen until the group reveals together. No printing or installation is needed. The original US Letter and A4 PDFs are also available; both are four pages with rules, twelve cards and an optional group score sheet. A session is estimated at 10-25 minutes, with live group playtesting still pending.
The browser game and PDFs are hosted directly on itch.io with No payments. Browser play is pass-and-play on one shared device, not separate online rooms. This activity is optional; the original meeting kit above remains free and complete.
A quiet start before the discussion
Give readers a few minutes with any book they brought. Start at a bookmark or a page they want to revisit, then write one place, feeling or question to keep. Invite one short thought from each person; anyone can pass. No common title or finished chapter is needed.
Our separate One quiet chapter card has three short prompts and space for a note. The one-page US Letter PDF makes one 5 x 7 inch card. Print at actual size and trim the dotted border; check the print preview if using A4.
Read the prompts on screen and see the printing instructions.
An optional activity from Gleb Zaitsev Studio, with original text and layout developed with AI assistance. No signup or purchase. It is separate from the meeting kit and from every physical shop product.
Before everyone arrives
Write down the book and author, meeting details, and how far the group plans to discuss. This matters if some readers have not finished. Ask people to bring one scene or detail they would like to revisit; a chapter reference can work better than a page number when editions differ.
Choose three prompts as a starting point, rather than assigning all eight. You can move to another question when a thread runs out, or stay with a good disagreement. Let people pass without having to explain why.
If members have reached different chapters, our six questions for a spoiler-aware book-club meeting offer a separate 25-minute plan. Agree the reading boundary first; save the general kit's ending question for a finished-book discussion.
Six question cards for an agreed section
For a group at different chapters, choose a shared stopping point first. Print one page and cut out six discussion cards, or read from the sheet. These separate cards do not use the longer kit's ending question.
Download US Letter question cards Download A4 question cards
Original AI-assisted prompts and layout from Gleb Zaitsev Studio. No signup or purchase is required. The free sheets are separate from every physical shop product.
The worksheet is designed for fiction. A nonfiction group can adapt the character questions to the people, claims or choices described in its book. The timing is only a suggestion: shorten the plan for a small group or leave more time for a larger one.
A 60-minute meeting plan
| 0-5 min | Arrive and set a spoiler boundary Agree how far the group will discuss. Anyone may pass on a question. |
|---|---|
| 5-15 min | A first-response round Give each person a brief turn: one reaction and one detail they want to revisit. |
| 15-40 min | Choose three questions Use page two as a menu. Follow interesting differences rather than finishing every prompt. |
| 40-50 min | Return to the text Compare one scene or chapter. Note page or chapter references; editions may differ. |
| 50-60 min | Close and agree the next step Share one changed thought. Decide the next book, host and meeting details together. |
Eight questions to choose from
Try a question about something concrete before moving to a larger interpretation. Where readers disagree, ask what detail led each person there. Nobody needs a perfect answer.
- Where did your first impression of a character change? What caused the shift?
- Which small detail kept returning? What did it add beyond the main events?
- Choose a difficult decision. What other choice was possible, and what might it cost?
- What did the setting make possible or difficult for the people in this story?
- What is left unexplained? Offer two interpretations before choosing one.
- Whose point of view would change the story most? Describe one scene from that angle.
- After the ending, which early scene would you read differently? Point to a detail.
- Which view from another reader helped you notice something you had missed?
Keep a useful note after the meeting
You do not need a transcript. Write one interpretation you want to revisit, a scene the group noticed, or a question that stayed open. Use the last fields on the host sheet for the next book and meeting details so a good conversation does not end with an unclear plan.
If you would also like a personal reading record, our free reading log and book-notes kit has a 12-book list and a separate notes page for one book. It is a different worksheet from this group-meeting kit.