Book Club Night Kit

Dungeon Crawler Carl

Matt Dinniman

Cozy night

A Coast Guard vet and his ex-girlfriend's impossibly glamorous cat get swept into a deadly dungeon crawl broadcast to the entire galaxy. It is loud, funny, surprisingly tender, and almost impossible to read alone without wanting to talk about it.

Bring A Blanket, We Are Crawling Tonight

The world ends, a cat gets famous, and we eat pot roast sliders about it. Come for cocoa, chili cheese nachos, and gentle talk about the funniest book you will ever cry in.

Reading level: Easy

Best for: A club that likes to laugh together, does not mind some gore, and secretly reads for the characters more than the plot

Discussion

Warm-up

1.Princess Donut is the most confident creature in any room. Which pet in your life (yours or someone else's) would survive the dungeon on sheer attitude alone?
2.Carl starts this whole thing in boxer shorts and no shoes. If your world ended at 2 a.m., what are you wearing and what is the one ridiculous comfort item you would grab?

Digging in

1.This book is funny in the middle of genuinely awful things. Was there a moment where laughing surprised you, and did it feel like relief or like armor?
2.Carl keeps taking care of a cat who did not ask to be rescued. What did that say to you about the people in your own life you look after without really deciding to?
3.The whole dungeon is a show with an audience. How did it make you feel to watch people perform while suffering, and did it remind you of anything closer to home?
4.Which small kindness or ordinary comfort in this book stuck with you most, and why do you think your brain held onto that one?

Going deep

1.By the end of your reading, had your sense of who Carl is softened or hardened? Talk about what shifted for you, without giving away how things land.
2.Carl loses almost everything familiar and has to rebuild a life out of whatever is in front of him. Was there a time you had to make a home out of unlikely pieces, and did reading this make that memory feel different?

On the table & to sip

To eat

Loaded chili cheese nachos, self-serve

The dungeon runs on convenience store calories and vending machine luck. Set out a tray of chips with warm chili, melted cheese, jalapenos, and sour cream and let people build their own.

Slow cooker pot roast sliders

Carl's great unspoken wish is a hot meal and five minutes of safety. Shredded beef on soft rolls with pickles is the most comforting hot food you can make with almost no active effort.

Tuna melt bites on crackers or toast points

A gentle nod to Princess Donut, and a dish that is both a little silly and genuinely delicious. Melt sharp cheddar over tuna on toasted bread, cut into small squares.

To sip

Spiked hot cocoa with a cinnamon stick

A warm mug for a story set in cold concrete stairwells. Add a splash of bourbon or coffee liqueur and top with too many marshmallows.

The Celestial Cocktail (bubbly with blackberry)

Fizzy, dark, and faintly ominous, like an announcement from a host who does not have your best interests at heart. Prosecco over muddled blackberries and a spoon of honey.

Honey vanilla steamer with sea salt (no alcohol)

Pure comfort, no alcohol, and it smells like the whole house is safe. Warm milk (dairy or oat) with honey, vanilla, and a pinch of flaky salt.