Book Club Night Kit
Oversharing
Cortney LaCorte
Cozy night
A warm, chatty, very online novel about a woman whose habit of telling everyone everything finally catches up with her. It reads like a long voice memo from your funniest friend, which makes it perfect for a group that likes to talk.
Come Tell Us Everything
We are reading Oversharing by Cortney LaCorte, so bring your softest sweatpants and your least guarded self. There will be hot chocolate, a potato bar, and absolutely no judgment.
Reading level: Easy
Best for: A club that treats book night as a soft place to land and tends to wander into personal stories anyway
Discussion
Warm-up
- 1.Before we talk about the book at all: what is the most harmless thing you have overshared with a stranger lately (cashier, dental hygienist, group chat)?
- 2.Where did you do most of your reading of this one, and did the voice feel like company while you read it?
Digging in
- 1.The book lives in that itchy space between being known and being exposed. Which one did you feel more of while reading, and did it make you want to curl up or hide your phone?
- 2.Was there a moment where the narrator said something you have thought but never admitted out loud? How did it feel to see it in print?
- 3.Every family and friend group has stories that belong to more than one person. Reading this, did you think about a story of yours that someone else might say was theirs to tell?
- 4.The humor in this book does a lot of quiet emotional work. Was there a funny bit that landed softer or sadder than you expected, and did you like being caught off guard that way?
Going deep
- 1.By the end you have been let very far into someone's head. Did that closeness make you more forgiving of her, or more tired of her, and what does your answer say about how you treat the oversharers in your own life?
- 2.Without giving anything away: think about where she is emotionally in the last stretch of the book. If you could sit her down with a mug of something warm, what would you want to tell her, and what would you want to ask?
On the table & to sip
To eat
Spinach and artichoke dip with warm sourdough
The classic pull-up-a-chair, everybody-double-dips dish. Communal, a little indulgent, and it keeps hands busy while people confess things.
Build-your-own baked potato bar
Comfort food with a confessional twist: everyone loads their own and quietly reveals their most embarrassing topping combo. Cheap, cozy, and almost no active cooking.
Boxed-brownie sundae tray with an excess of toppings
Deliberately unfussy and a bit too much, in the spirit of the title. Set out the pan, the ice cream, and six jars, and let people overdo it.
To sip
Slow-cooker hot chocolate with marshmallows and a peppermint stick (no alcohol)
The non-alcoholic anchor of the night. Warm mugs make people talk more gently and stay longer.
Boozy iced coffee (cold brew, a splash of Irish cream, lots of ice)
A nod to the caffeinated, slightly frayed energy of the narrator, softened into something you sip on a couch.
Spiced apple hot toddy in a mug
Warm, honeyed, and loosening in the best way, which is exactly the temperature this conversation wants to be.
Run of show
6:45
Door open, socks encouraged
Have hot chocolate already going and blankets on the arms of every chair. No greeting line, people just wander in.
7:00
Mugs and grazing
Dip and potato bar out. Let the first twenty minutes be pure catch-up chatter with zero book talk.
7:20
Overshare warm-up circle
Run the two warm-up questions. One harmless confession each, going around. This sets the permission level for the night.
7:35
Theme talk
Work through the four theme questions, but let tangents run. Personal stories are the point, not a derailment.
8:10
Brownie sundae break, then deep questions
Refill mugs, build sundaes, then bring the two deep questions to the couch. Sugar plus softer lighting equals more honesty.
8:45
Scorecards and a slow goodbye
Fill out scorecards, read the one-word answers aloud, and let people linger. Send leftover brownies home in foil.
Host tips
- Name the confidentiality rule out loud in the first five minutes: stories told tonight stay in the room. A book about oversharing earns a little protection.
- Do not chase the questions. If one person's family story eats fifteen minutes, that is a successful cozy night. You have eight questions and you only need five.
- Keep one low-effort escape hatch for anyone who does not want to share personally: let them answer about the narrator instead of themselves, no explanation needed.
Playlist
Soft-lit bedroom pop and warm acoustic confessionals: someone telling you everything at 1am and you do not want them to stop.
- 01 Motion Sickness - Phoebe Bridgers
- 02 Bags - Clairo
- 03 Nobody - Mitski
- 04 The Rip - Hatchie
- 05 Chinatown - Bleachers
- 06 Talk Too Much - COIN
- 07 Coffee - Sylvan Esso
- 08 Sweet - Cigarettes After Sex
Trivia
- 1.Who wrote Oversharing? (Cortney LaCorte.)
- 2.What broad genre does the title suggest and the book delivers: contemporary fiction with a comedic, confessional voice, or historical epic? (Contemporary fiction with a comedic, confessional voice.)
- 3.The word 'overshare' became common alongside which cultural shift? (The rise of social media and blogging, where personal disclosure became public by default.)
- 4.A story told closely from inside one character's head, in her own voice, is called what kind of narration? (First-person narration.)
- 5.What is the name for fiction driven more by a distinctive narrating voice than by intricate plot? (Voice-driven fiction.)
- 6.'TMI' is the internet shorthand for what phrase, and it is essentially a synonym for the book's title? (Too much information.)
- 7.Books like this are often shelved alongside which two adjacent categories in a bookstore? (Contemporary/women's fiction and romantic comedy.)
- 8.What do publishers call the short, punchy descriptive text on the back cover meant to hook a browser? (Blurb (or jacket copy).)
Bookmarks
Print, cut, and tuck one at every seat, a small keepsake from the night.
“Say the embarrassing part. Someone here needed to hear it.”
Oversharing
Cortney LaCorte
bookclubnight.com
“Warm mug, cold phone, one honest sentence at a time.”
Oversharing
Cortney LaCorte
bookclubnight.com
“Loved anyway, loud mouth and all.”
Oversharing
Cortney LaCorte
bookclubnight.com
Rate the book
Comfort factor☆☆☆☆☆
Made me laugh☆☆☆☆☆
Made me feel seen☆☆☆☆☆
Voice I wanted to keep listening to☆☆☆☆☆
Would press into a friend's hands☆☆☆☆☆
One word for this book: ______________________
The line I wanted to text somebody: ______________________
Read this with (a blanket / a drink / a friend): ______________________
That's a wrap
Thank you for coming
We hope the company was good and the conversation even better. Until the next chapter.