Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for The Big Year:
1. Talk about the personalities of the three characters—Sandy Komita, Al Levantin, and Greg Miller. What is it that drives each man to attempt The Big Year competition...and why their fierce desire to win it? Do you admire these men for their passion or raise your eyebrows at their fanaticism?
2. Talk about the physical dangers the men undergo, as well as the damage to their bodies ("warbler" and "binocular" neck)...even their poor dietary habits. Would you call this an "unhealthy" possession (physically or mentally)?
3. Mascik provides detailed explanations about birds, birding and the Big Year competition. Does his information enhance the book for you...is it interesting and informative? Or is it overly detailed...a distraction from an otherwise fast-paced narrative?
4. Is there a particular species—its habits and habitat—that caught your interest? Perhaps the ruby-throated hummingbird, the Baird sparrow, or Colima Warbler?
5. Talk about the different locales the men traveled to for their various bird sitings. Which would you have found the most difficult to endure...or which the most intriguing? Would you ever want to make any one of those treks?
6. What did you think of the"hokey pokey" (p. 151) or reference to the "Dukes of Hurl"? Did those bring a laugh? What other parts of the book did you find humorous?
7. Talk about the competition's ethical code, particularly the rarity of cheating. What impressed you the most about how the competitors adhered to the code of honor?
8. Were you a birder before you read this book? If so, what have you learned? If you weren't a birder before, does the book inspire you to take up the hobby?
9. Of the three characters, whom were you rooting for most? Did you have a premonition as to who would win...or did the author keep you guessing?
10. Have you seen the movie adaptation of The Big Year? If so, how does it compare with the book?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
