Peck & Peck Book Club Questions and Discussion Guide

After the astounding success of Lessons in Chemistry, I have been eagerly waiting for Bonnie Garmus’s sophomore book. It is hard to believe that this is only her second book. There is so much to unpack in this 5-star novel. I made a list of Peck & Peck book club questions for you to use.

Garmus was inspired to write this book after a particularly bad day of work. She heard a poem on the radio, and it reminded her of her English teacher, who read a poem to the class every day. He said that “poetry will end up saving your life”. She had not kept up with poetry, but on that day, she decided to read a poem a day.

Batter Grey Batter was named after his family’s beloved dog; he is a twinless twin and a bit of a quirky, wandering soul, and always dreamt of being a poet. After struggling to finish university (he could never really find his niche), he finally finds a job at Peck & Peck, a poetry journal in NYC. He has visions of being an editor and collaborating with the great minds of poetry. What he finds instead is strange office politics combined with dysfunctional family drama.

Peck & Peck has always been run by a set of Peck twins. Now, the company, which temporarily shut down for two years, is back up and running with only one Peck twin at the helm. This Peck brother is different from his predecessor, who is not allowed in the building. Batter comes to understand himself, his friends, and his family in this character driven sophmore novel.

I also created this list of Book Club Questions (+PDF). These are universal questions you can use in addition to the specific ones below. I have tried to keep this as spoiler-free as possible, but I knew that specific Peck & Peck book club questions would be incomplete without some details. If you need to refresh your memory, head to the Summary of Peck & Peck for an in-depth review.

Peck & Peck Book Club Questions and Discussion Guide

1. The opening sentence in this novel is an unforgettable one: “I’ve been called a thief, a rebel, an upstart, a traitor, and – maybe this one won’t come as a surprise based on the others – Prisoner 83A0956.”, how did this shape what you expected from the book?
2. One of the first things Batter tells us is that he is a twinless twin. Peck & Peck has historically been run by twins. What do you think is the significance of twins in this book?
3. Poetry is a big part of this book. Do you normally read poetry? If not, did the talk of poetry enhance or detract from your reading experience?
4. Did you feel like you needed to enjoy poetry to enjoy this book? Why or why not?
5. Why do you think people do not respect poetry the same way they respect something like journalism?
6. The Peck & Peck building is a character in the book. Garmus describes the building as something that “did not belong but refuses to leave”. What did you think of that literary device?
7. What did you think of Batter? Did you like him? Do you think Batter is an antihero?
8. Batter decided to pursue his passion even when he was told it was impractical. Did you follow the practical path or pursue your passion?
9. Each story about Batter the dog is a bit of foreshadowing for something that happens later in the story. Did you pick up on that? What did you think about this technique?
10. Did you believe the stories about Batter the dog? Why or why not?
11. Rainey tells Batter the dog stories to highlight his courage. Other than the dog, who do you think was the most courageous?
12. Both Lessons in Chemistry and Peck & Peck have dogs as main characters. What did you think of this choice?
13. Do you think that Elizabeth Zott and Batter Gray have anything in common?
14. When we finally learn about Rainey’s story, we understand her so much more. Did your opinion of her change?
15. Peck & Peck burns rejected work to protect writers. Is that extreme? Think about how AI can access writing without permission.
16. Which character surprised you the most?
17. What was the most surprising thing that happened in this novel?
18. Peck & Peck is known for publishing work that is exceptional, yet they hire parolees to run the mailroom, people often written off by society. Is that a contradiction or does it make sense to you?
19. Throughout the book, almost nobody says Batter’s name correctly until the end. What changed: Batter, or the way people saw him?
20. Nearly every character in the book faced rejection. Who do you think handled it the best?
21. Rainey is a type designer, and Garmus mentions specific fonts throughout. What did you think about the mention of these details? (Impact pg. 2, Helvetica, pg. 11, Bembo, pg. 48, VAG Rounded, pg. 51) (1st edition, hardback).
22. Garmus mentioned that font type can improve reading speed by up to 20%. Have you ever thought about font type?
23. What message do you think readers should take away from this book?
24. In an interview at the end of the audiobook, Garmus states that poems give “tone and voice and story, rhythm, cadence, and meter,” all written with honesty. Have you ever thought about literature in terms of its honesty? How important do you think it is?

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Epilogue

Will you be using these Peck & Peck book club questions for your next book club? Let us know which one sparked the most conversation if you do!