Book Club Night Kit
Communion
bell hooks
Cozy night
A warm, wise invitation from bell hooks to rethink how women give and receive love, this slim book reads like a heartfelt conversation with a trusted friend.
Come Share Some Love and a Warm Bowl
Join us for a cozy evening of soup, cocoa, and heartfelt talk about bell hooks's Communion. Bring your softest sweater and an open heart.
Reading level: Moderate
Best for: A close-knit club that loves heart-to-heart talks and gentle self-reflection over cozy nights in
Discussion
Warm-up
- 1.Settle in with your warm drink: what is one small act of love, given or received lately, that made you feel truly cared for?
- 2.Which passage felt like a soft hand on your shoulder, the kind you wanted to reread and sit with?
Digging in
- 1.hooks writes about learning to love ourselves first. What did reading that stir in you, and where in your own life did it land?
- 2.The book explores friendship as a form of deep love. Did it make you think of a friend you want to hold closer, and why?
- 3.When hooks talks about the difference between being needed and being loved, did anything feel comforting or gently challenging to you?
- 4.Which of hooks's ideas about care and honesty made you feel most seen, and how did it move you?
Going deep
- 1.By the final pages, what did this book leave you wanting to nurture in your own relationships, without giving anything away for others still reading?
- 2.hooks invites women to keep evolving in how they love. As you closed the book, what quiet shift did you feel taking root in you?
On the table & to sip
To eat
Slow-simmered vegetable and bean soup
A nourishing, tend-to-yourself bowl that mirrors the book's message of care and self-love
Warm cornbread with honey butter
Comfort rooted in the Southern kitchen traditions of hooks's Kentucky upbringing
Fresh-baked oatmeal cookies
Homey, shareable, and a little indulgent, perfect for passing around a circle of friends
To sip
Honey-chamomile tea (no alcohol)
Soft, soothing, and made for slow, open-hearted conversation
Spiced hot cocoa (no alcohol)
A cup of pure comfort to hold while you share and listen
Mulled red wine
Warm and gently spiced, a mellow companion for a relaxed evening
Run of show
7:00
Warm welcome
Greet everyone with a hot drink and let them wrap up in a blanket or comfy chair
7:20
Soup and settle
Serve soup and cornbread while people ease into gentle small talk
7:45
Warm-up questions
Open the circle with the two warm-up prompts to soften the room
8:10
Heart of the conversation
Move through the theme questions at a relaxed pace, no rush
8:45
Deeper reflections
Bring out cookies and cocoa for the two closing deep questions
9:10
Cozy wind-down
Share bookmarks, fill in scorecards, and linger as long as it feels good
Host tips
- Keep the lighting low and warm with lamps or candles to set an intimate tone
- Remind everyone there are no wrong answers, only feelings worth sharing
- Let silences breathe; cozy nights thrive on unhurried, gentle pauses
Playlist
Gentle, soulful, and warm, like candlelight and an unhurried heart
- 01 A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke
- 02 The Nearness of You - Norah Jones
- 03 Feeling Good - Nina Simone
- 04 Lovely Day - Bill Withers
- 05 River - Corinne Bailey Rae
- 06 Come Away with Me - Norah Jones
- 07 Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
- 08 Home - Aretha Franklin
Trivia
- 1.bell hooks intentionally spelled her pen name in lowercase. Why? (To keep the focus on her ideas and work rather than on herself.)
- 2.What was bell hooks's birth name? (Gloria Jean Watkins.)
- 3.Communion is part of a trilogy by hooks about love. Which earlier book began it? (All About Love: New Visions.)
- 4.In which U.S. state was bell hooks born and raised? (Kentucky.)
- 5.bell hooks took her pen name from a beloved relative. Who? (Her great-grandmother, Bell Blair Hooks.)
- 6.Beyond love, bell hooks was widely known as a scholar of which two subjects? (Feminism and race (cultural criticism).)
- 7.What is the full title of this book? (Communion: The Female Search for Love.)
- 8.In what decade was Communion first published? (The 2000s (2002).)
Bookmarks
Print, cut, and tuck one at every seat, a small keepsake from the night.
“Love yourself gently, then let it overflow to others.”
Communion
bell hooks
bookclubnight.com
“Come as you are; there is room by the fire.”
Communion
bell hooks
bookclubnight.com
“The heart grows when we tend it slowly.”
Communion
bell hooks
bookclubnight.com
Rate the book
Comfort factor☆☆☆☆☆
How much it moved me☆☆☆☆☆
Warmth of ideas☆☆☆☆☆
Made me reflect☆☆☆☆☆
Would share with a friend☆☆☆☆☆
One word for how this book made me feel: ______________________
A line I want to carry with me: ______________________
One person I want to love better after reading this: ______________________
That's a wrap
Thank you for coming
We hope the company was good and the conversation even better. Until the next chapter.