Book Club Night Kit
The Calamity Club
Kathryn Stockett
Cozy night
A Depression-era story of women quietly reshaping their lives when the world keeps knocking them down. It reads like a hand on your shoulder and a cup of coffee at the kitchen table.
Pull up a chair at the Calamity Club
Come read, eat, and lean in close. We're spending a slow evening with Kathryn Stockett's Depression-era women, with biscuits, warm drinks, and easy talk.
Reading level: Moderate
Pages: 657
Best for: A close-knit club that loves character-driven historical fiction and long, meandering conversations
Discussion
Warm-up
- 1.What was the first small comfort (a scene, a smell, a phrase) that made you settle into this book?
- 2.Where did you do most of your reading, and did the setting of the book start to color the rooms you were in?
Digging in
- 1.Which woman in the story did you find yourself quietly rooting for, and what about her felt familiar?
- 2.The Depression forced people to 'make do.' What stories from your own family (or your own life) came back to you while reading?
- 3.There are lots of little acts of kindness tucked into hard times here. Which one stayed with you after you closed the book?
- 4.Stockett writes women who lean on each other in unshowy ways. When has a friendship in your life felt like that?
Going deep
- 1.As the women each try to 'improve their circumstances,' which of their hopes moved you most, and why do you think it hit you where it did?
- 2.Without giving anything away, how did the book leave you feeling on the last page, hopeful, tender, wistful, and what do you think Stockett wanted you to carry away?
On the table & to sip
To eat
Buttermilk biscuits with sorghum butter
A humble Southern staple that would have stretched a Depression pantry, warm and hand-passed
Chicken and dumplings
Slow, nourishing, one-pot comfort that fits both the era and a cozy night in
Skillet peach cobbler
Sweet, forgiving, and unmistakably Southern, perfect for spooning into bowls on the couch
To sip
Sweet iced tea with lemon (no alcohol)
The unofficial drink of any Southern kitchen table, welcoming and non-alcoholic
Chicory coffee with cream (no alcohol)
A Depression-era stretch on real coffee, cozy in a chipped mug
Bourbon hot toddy
A little indulgence for a slow evening, honey, lemon, and a warm spoon
Run of show
6:30
Slow arrivals
Soft music on, biscuits out, hand everyone a warm mug at the door
6:50
Warm-up chatter
Ask the two warm-up questions while folks settle onto couches with blankets
7:15
Supper together
Ladle out chicken and dumplings, let conversation drift naturally into the themes
7:45
Guided talk
Move through the theme questions, one at a time, no rush, no raising hands
8:30
Cobbler and deeper talk
Bring out the cobbler and toddies, ease into the two deep questions
9:15
Bookmarks and goodbyes
Pass out printed bookmarks and scorecards, send everyone home with a biscuit wrapped in a napkin
Host tips
- Keep the lighting low: lamps and candles over overheads make cozy conversations happen on their own.
- Let quiet moments breathe. This vibe rewards pauses, not a tight Q and A pace.
- Have a stack of soft throws by the door so guests can grab one when they sit down.
Playlist
Soft porch-swing Americana, gentle strings and old radio warmth
- 01 Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? - Bing Crosby
- 02 Blue Skies - Ella Fitzgerald
- 03 Shenandoah - Sissel
- 04 Wayfaring Stranger - Emmylou Harris
- 05 Down to the River to Pray - Alison Krauss
- 06 Harvest Moon - Neil Young
- 07 The Nearness of You - Norah Jones
- 08 Landslide - The Chicks
Trivia
- 1.Who wrote The Calamity Club? (Kathryn Stockett)
- 2.For which earlier bestseller is Kathryn Stockett best known? (The Help)
- 3.In what U.S. state was Kathryn Stockett born and raised? (Mississippi)
- 4.The Great Depression, the setting of the book, began after the stock market crash of what year? (1929)
- 5.What large-scale federal program of the 1930s put Americans back to work under President Franklin D. Roosevelt? (The New Deal)
- 6.What severe environmental disaster of the 1930s deepened the Depression across the American plains? (The Dust Bowl)
- 7.The Help was adapted into a major motion picture in what year? (2011)
- 8.What broadcast medium was the main source of news and entertainment for families during the 1930s? (Radio)
Bookmarks
Print, cut, and tuck one at every seat, a small keepsake from the night.
Rate the book
Coziness☆☆☆☆☆
Characters you'd invite to dinner☆☆☆☆☆
Emotional warmth☆☆☆☆☆
Sense of place☆☆☆☆☆
Lingering feeling☆☆☆☆☆
One word for how this book made me feel: ______________________
The scene I'd curl up and reread: ______________________
A person this book made me think of: ______________________
That's a wrap
Thank you for coming
We hope the company was good and the conversation even better. Until the next chapter.