Book Club Night Kit

Blockers

Michael Lewis

Cozy night

Michael Lewis turns his warm, character-first lens on the Department of Government Efficiency era, telling the story through six public servants who quietly kept showing up. It is a book about ordinary people and the work nobody thanks them for, which makes it unexpectedly tender club reading.

Pot Pie, Cider, and Six People Who Kept Showing Up

Come read Michael Lewis's Blockers with us, in sweatpants, on the good couch. There will be pot pie, warm cider, a crumble in the oven, and gentle conversation about the people who quietly hold things together.

Reading level: Moderate

Best for: A club that likes nonfiction with a pulse and does not mind getting a little misty about people doing their jobs well.

Discussion

Warm-up

1.Settle in with your mug first. Which of the six people did you find yourself quietly rooting for, and what small detail made you fond of them?
2.Was there a moment in the reading where you put the book down and just sat with it for a second? What were you feeling right then?

Digging in

1.Lewis is drawn to people doing unglamorous, essential work. Who in your own life does that kind of work, and did this book make you want to say something to them?
2.Reading about public servants, did you feel more tender toward government, more worried about it, or both at once? No wrong answer here.
3.The word efficiency gets thrown around a lot in this story. When has someone tried to make something in your life more efficient in a way that quietly cost something you cared about?
4.Lewis has a gift for making you care about a person within a page or two. Which portrait felt the most like meeting someone real, and did it remind you of anyone you know?

Going deep

1.Several of these people stayed in jobs that got harder and lonelier. Without saying how things turn out, what do you think kept them there, and have you ever stayed somewhere for reasons you could not fully explain to people?
2.Lewis clearly loves his subjects. Did that warmth comfort you, or did you sometimes wish he had held them at more of a distance, and what does your answer say about what you want from a book like this?

On the table & to sip

To eat

Deep-dish chicken pot pie, cut into generous squares

The ultimate unglamorous essential dish: homely, built from humble parts, quietly holding everything together. Bake one big one in advance and serve warm in bowls.

Government-issue snack board, upgraded

A loving tribute to the break room: good sharp cheddar, saltines and butter crackers, deviled eggs, pickles, pretzel sticks, a bowl of honey-roasted peanuts. Zero cooking, maximum nostalgia.

Warm apple crumble with a pitcher of cream

An unfussy civic-potluck dessert that rewards reading about people who do the steady work. Assemble ahead, bake while the warm-ups run, serve it mid-discussion when energy dips.

To sip

Bottomless break-room coffee, done properly (no alcohol)

Non-alcoholic. A real pour-over or a big thermal carafe with cream, cinnamon sugar and a little brown-sugar syrup on the side. A nod to every late shift and long-haul meeting in this book.

Hot spiced cider with a cinnamon stick (no alcohol)

Non-alcoholic and the easiest thing on this list: cider, orange slices, cloves, a slow simmer that perfumes the whole room. Set out a bottle of bourbon beside it for anyone who wants to make it a toddy.

Civil servants' hot toddy

Bourbon or rye, honey, lemon, hot water. Unpretentious, restorative, the drink you make for someone who had a long week and did the right thing anyway.