Literary Fiction · Free kit
Small Things Like These
In the weeks before Christmas 1985, coal merchant Bill Furlong makes his rounds in a small Irish town — until what he finds at the local convent forces him to see what everyone has agreed not to see. A spare, devastating Booker-shortlisted novel about conscience, complicity, and the cost of doing one right thing.
“Was there any point in being alive without helping one another?”
Complete free book club kit
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Plan your meeting
Small Things Like These Hosting Guide
A free, printable-minded plan for hosting Small Things Like These.
Invite hook
“A short Booker-shortlisted novel about conscience in a town that looks away — come ready to talk.”
The question you’re arguing about: What’s a small thing you’ve seen that everyone treated as normal? Let’s read Claire Keegan together.
Shopping list
- □Strong tea + simple biscuits (parlor echo, kept humble)
- □Something warm to drink for a winter-mood meeting
- □Candles or low light — keep it quiet, not gloomy-party
- □Printed content-note card at the door (abuse / Magdalene laundries)
- □Tissues within reach
- □Optional: a small dish for “tips” labeled as a conversation starter (then donate any coins)
- □Pens for bingo
Day-of timeline
- 0–10 minWelcome, care note, gentle icebreakers
- 10–20 minLight trivia (setting/facts) — skip hard spoilers if anyone’s behind
- 20–50 minMain discussion — complicity, Eileen, Bill’s choice, title
- 50–60 minOne speed debate OR quieter Would You Rather (moral set)
- 60–70 minOne-word reactions, rate the book, next-book vote
Surprise touch
Place a sealed envelope on the table labeled “Christmas tip.” Mid-discussion, open it to a card that says: “What silence is this buying?” — then donate any real tip jar money to a relevant cause your group chooses.
Wrap-up
- □One-word round (no explanations required)
- □Optional 1–5 stars — honor that some won’t “enjoy” this and still found it important
- □Vote on next month (maybe something lighter on purpose)