See Netzer's reading guide here
1. The mothers in the story plan for their children to grow up to be soulmates. Is this a natural impulse best friends have for their children? Could arranged marriages like this really work in our society?
2. What is love? Is it a mystical connection based solely on emotion, or is it a rational decision based on compatibility? A combination of the two? Which is more important?
3. In the book, sleep is a practice for death, and dreaming is compared to the afterlife. Do you believe this? How does dreaming affect the characters’ waking behavior?
4. Characters in the novel can manipulate their dreams after they become aware that they're dreaming. Have you ever been able to control your dreams? Change the course of your dreams? How much investment do we have in virtual activities, like dreaming or gaming? What are the dangers in losing yourself in virtual reality?
5. Irene stands on "suicide bridges" as a way to come to grips with her mortality. Is this a morbid behavior? Or is this a positive gesture, a way to come to grips with her mortality in a healthy, life-affirming way? If someone you knew had this habit, would you feel an intervention was needed?
6. What do you know about Toledo, Ohio? What makes Toledo a good setting for this story?
7. Do you think that the ending, for Bernice, is fair? What about for Sally? Does either get what she deserves?
8. How did the way Bernice and Sally raised them affect George and Irene’s career choices and paths? How much do early childhood experiences shape the person you become? How much of your personality is based on nature and how much is based on nurture? What experiences have shaped your decision to attend VWU?
9. What responsibility do your parent(s) have to you and your happiness? What responsibility does any person have to any person’s happiness?
10. Do you believe in astrology? Do you check your horoscope? Why do people check their horoscopes?
11. What’s the relationship between science and love? Can love be scientific? Can love be factual? Is there an algorithm that could be designed to help someone find the right person? How are algorithms used in online dating sites or social media?
12. Will the two fields of science and belief always be at odds with each other, or is there a way for faith and science to coexist peacefully, in the same Toledo, in the same mind?
13. Would you say Bernice and Sally's storyline was a comedy or a tragedy? Would you say George and Irene's storyline was a comedy or a tragedy?
14. What do you think happened to George and Irene in the end? Do you think there are multiple ways to read this ending?
15. What was your favorite passage? Pick a passage that is one to three sentences long. What did you enjoy about this passage? How does it relate to the themes of the book? (Freshmen will respond to this group of questions for their first August orientation assignment.)
How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky includes explicit language and content some may find uncomfortable. Our discussions will cover these and other topics to better understand the novel as a whole. When challenging an idea, make your point in a respectful manner and remember that others in the class have likely had vastly different life experiences from you and may see the world very differently. Being uncomfortable is a crucial ingredient to learning.
Avoid "like" or “dislike.” Those terms aren't very helpful for moving discussions forward, and they can make others feel defensive. Instead, talk about your experience, how you felt as you read the book.
Support your views. Use specific passages from the book as evidence for your ideas. This is a literary analysis technique called “close reading.”
Take notes as you read. Jot down particularly interesting passages: something that strikes you or, maybe, that you don't understand. Take your notes to the meeting.
American Library Association. (2014). American Library Association: Book discussion groups. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/tools/atoz/book-discussion-grps