What are good book club discussion questions for The Digital Delusion?

Spoiler-free questions to get the conversation going: Where did you do most of your reading of this book, and did a favorite chair, blanket, or mug become part of the ritual?; Was there a page that made you set your phone face-down and just sit for a moment? Tell us about that little pause; The book celebrates slower, analog ways of learning and remembering. What is one low-tech comfort (a paper notebook, a real map, a printed photo) that the book made you feel newly tender toward?; As you read about how screens pull at our attention, which of your own everyday habits felt gently seen rather than scolded?; The book suggests our devices can crowd out quiet togetherness. When has putting a screen away made an ordinary evening feel warmer for you?.

What food and drinks should I serve at a The Digital Delusion book club?

Food: Slow-baked mac and cheese, Warm apple cinnamon crumble in little bowls, and A shared board of soft cheeses, crackers, and honey. Drinks: Spiced hot cocoa with marshmallows, Chamomile and honey tea, and Mulled red wine.

Cozy night

The Digital DelusionBook club questions, food & host guide

Jared Cooney Horvath

#9 New York Times Bestseller 1 week on the list

A cozy book club night for The Digital Delusion by Jared Cooney Horvath. Includes 8 spoiler-free discussion questions, food and drink pairings, a playlist, and a host guide, ready to print and share.

a club that loves cozy nonfiction and heart-to-heart chats about how we actually live

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A neuroscientist gently pulls back the curtain on our screens, asking whether all this digital convenience is quietly costing us the deep focus, memory, and connection we love. It is the perfect pick for a night of unplugging together.

Why it works for clubs

Everyone at the table has a personal relationship with their devices, so no one runs out of things to say
It invites warm confessions about habits, comforts, and small changes people have tried
The brain-and-tech ideas are approachable, not jargon-heavy, so all readers feel welcome
It naturally sparks talk about analog joys like paper books, handwritten notes, and slow evenings

Themes & mood

reflective unplugged brain-and-tech gentle nonfiction modern life

Reading level

Moderate

Warm-up questions

1 Where did you do most of your reading of this book, and did a favorite chair, blanket, or mug become part of the ritual?
2 Was there a page that made you set your phone face-down and just sit for a moment? Tell us about that little pause.

Digging in

1 The book celebrates slower, analog ways of learning and remembering. What is one low-tech comfort (a paper notebook, a real map, a printed photo) that the book made you feel newly tender toward?
2 As you read about how screens pull at our attention, which of your own everyday habits felt gently seen rather than scolded?
3 The book suggests our devices can crowd out quiet togetherness. When has putting a screen away made an ordinary evening feel warmer for you?
4 Which idea from Horvath do you most want to carry into your daily life, not as a strict rule but as a small kindness to yourself?

Going deep

1 By the time you closed the book, did you feel more hopeful or more wistful about our relationship with technology, and what moment tipped you that way?
2 The book asks us to notice what we may be trading away for convenience. Looking back over the whole read, what is one thing you feel quietly moved to protect or reclaim?

On the table

Slow-baked mac and cheese

The ultimate analog comfort food, warm and unhurried, perfect for a screens-down night that celebrates slowing down.

Warm apple cinnamon crumble in little bowls

Homey and a touch indulgent, it rewards patience and fills the room with a cozy, unplugged scent.

A shared board of soft cheeses, crackers, and honey

Meant to be grazed slowly while you talk, encouraging the lingering, present togetherness the book champions.

To sip

Spiced hot cocoa with marshmallows No alcohol

A nurturing childhood-comfort mug that invites everyone to cradle a warm drink and settle in.

Chamomile and honey tea No alcohol

Calm and screen-soothing, a gentle nod to winding down and resting tired, over-scrolled eyes.

Mulled red wine

Warm, fragrant, and slow-sipped, it matches the book's invitation to savor the analog and unhurried.

soft, unplugged, and lamplit, the sound of a phone left in another room

Tap a track to play it. Full songs play when you're signed into Spotify.

You're invited

Screens Down, Blankets Up

Come unplug with us for a warm, low-key night of cocoa, comfort food, and gentle talk about The Digital Delusion. Wear your softest sweater and leave the notifications at the door.

Trivia

1

What is the profession of author Jared Cooney Horvath that shapes this book?

Answer: He is a neuroscientist and educator who studies the brain and learning.
2

The book's core concern is our relationship with what kind of technology?

Answer: Digital and screen-based technology.
3

Is The Digital Delusion fiction or nonfiction?

Answer: Nonfiction.
4

Horvath's work often focuses on which two brain-related processes highlighted in the book?

Answer: Learning and memory.
5

Besides writing, Horvath is known for translating brain science into advice for which everyday setting?

Answer: Education and classrooms (how people learn).
6

The book frequently contrasts digital habits with which older, hands-on alternatives?

Answer: Analog methods like paper, print, and handwriting.
7

What word in the title signals the author's skeptical stance toward our screen assumptions?

Answer: Delusion.