WellRead’s July 2022 selection was This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub, an utterly absorbing reading experience that is as much fun as it is thought-provoking and poignant. Bonus points for '90s pop culture references galore. As one review described it, "it fizzes like pop and goes down easily while offering nutritional literary value".
Use these discussion questions to engage with the book further, whether in a book club with friends, or just on your own as you digest the story.
Reading questions for This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub:
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Can we talk about how old the cat was?!
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Why do you think time travel books and shows are suddenly everywhere in 2022?
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How does Alice characterise the younger version of her father versus the older one? What does she learn about the types of love we feel for our parents at different ages?
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“What a very long time one had to be an adult, after rushing through childhood and adolescence.” Did this sentence hit hard for you like it did us?
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A review suggested that the book teaches us the lesson of letting go. "Live life well, and then let it go, our own and the lives of our loved ones - and that's the best we can do." Do you agree?
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Did the novel make you reflect on time and how you spend it?
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Let's chat about Alice’s awakening as a teenager. What does she learn by going back to her teenage self? What does she do differently, and what does she want to stay the same?
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When Alice visits the psychic on the day after her fortieth birthday, she asks, “How do I know if I’m living the right life?” Do you think she has answers by the end of the novel? How do you think you know if you're living the right life?
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Of course we had to ask, if you could take a trip to your past, what day would you choose to relive? Is there anything that you would do differently?
Please note, these questions were written and distributed in July, 2022.