Reading for the plot cover

Reading for the plot

by Peter Brooks

A book with a very formal and academic style which uses examples from novels and plays to discuss plot and how it works in stories. From the Preface: This is a book about plots and plotting, about how stories come to be ordered in significant form, and also about our desire and need for such orderings. Plot as I conceive it is the design and intention of narrative, what shapes a story and gives it a certain direction or intent of meaning.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?