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 Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life:
1. What does it mean to be a Drooling Fanatic? Are you one—and proud of it? Or a little embarrassed by your obsession?
2. To what does Almond attribute his passion for R&R? Why is the music so deeply wedged into his soul? And you—why are you hooked...and when did it happen? How much of Almond's story is your own?
3. As a follow-up to Question 2: how can/will rock save your soul? What is its spiritual hook?
4. What was your personal Nil Lara moment for R&R—the moment Almond describes as "the holy shit of all holy shits"?
5. What does Almond see as the difference between great rock artists and their songs...and today's pop artists?
6. Talk about the intersection, as Almond sees it, of the rock culture with the commercial/marketing/corporate culture. So you agree?
7. Which in the book did you enjoy or appreciate most: Almond's stories or his critical appraisals of rock and roll?
8. Talk about Almond's stalking certain rock artists—Reilly, Schneider and Dayna Kurtz—and involving himself in their offstage lives. What does he gain, or learn? Anything? Does he deepen his understanding of their work? Or does his attempts at closeness alter the critical distance he needs to write honestly about the bands' work?
9. How do you react to Almond's list of "Ten Things You Can Say to Piss Off a Music Critic"? Do you agree with some, most, or none of it? What about his other lists...do they add to the book, or are they simply "fillers"?
10. What parts of the book did you find hilarious...or insightful ...or moving...or even cruel?
11. Overall, does this book deliver? Is it funny and informative? Does it cohere and hold your attention? Or do you find it rambling and digressive? Are parts of it awkward or uninteresting, perhaps self-indulgent? What is your assessment?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)