Humor Me Book Club Kit 02b

Aug 26, 2026

Upload by Quinn

Humor Me Book Club Kit 02b provides structured discussion questions and author interview material for the novel Humor Me. The prompts examine how Presley Fry’s friendships develop, how romantic relationships can reshape intimacy, and how grief and emotional vulnerability are navigated. It also explores humor’s functions—joy, comfort, coping, and vocation—within the characters’ lives. The kit additionally connects the story’s entertainment-industry setting to the #MeToo reckoning and includes reflections on narrative perspective and comedy research.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLifestyle

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time11 min

AccessFree to download

Discussion Questions

Friendships and romantic change

Humor, grief, and emotional vulnerability

#MeToo context and character decisions

Movie adaptation casting

An Interview with Cat Shook

Single point of view

Personal comedy experience and research

Friendship as the core theme

BOOK CLUB KIT “Shook turns a lighthearted rom-com into a complicated exploration of romantic love—and, more importantly, friendship... Charming, optimistic escapism with a more serious undertone of feminist solidarity.” —KIRKUS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1 Presley develops and strengthens two strong female friendships throughout the book. How are those two friendships similar? How do they differ? Are there certain aspects of female friendship that transcend generations? 2 Presley struggles to accept how a romantic relationship can change a friendship. How do you believe Presley feels about this idea by the end of the novel? How do you imagine Presley, Isabelle, Julia, and Clark coexist after the book ends? 3 Were you expecting Presley and Adam to get together? Do you think she ends up with the right guy? 4 Humor plays different roles in the book: it’s a source of joy, a sense of comfort, a coping mechanism, a vocation, and more. What do you think humor meant to each character? What does it mean to you? 5 Presley has a consistent support system in her grandparents and Isabelle, but she still struggles with her grief. When did you notice a shift in her mourning? Was there anything specific that you feel helped her make this transition? 6 Presley has difficulty expressing emotional vulnerability, not only with others but also to herself. How do Isabelle, Susan, and Clark each encourage her to open up about her emotions? 7 Were you expecting the story Susan shared about how Patty saved her life? What was the impact of this moment between Presley and Susan on their shared grief, their memory of Patty, or their sense of closure? DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 8 This novel takes place during the height of the \#MeToo reckoning, particularly in the entertainment industry. How does Presley’s job in late-night TV impact how she views the \#MeToo movement? How does she deal with the news about Thomas, and how does that change as she gets close to people who know him well? Suggested by The Ugly Sweater Book Club (Wauwatosa, WI) 9 How did you feel about Susan’s decision about Thomas at the end of the book? Did you expect her to make that choice? 10 Roger, Susan’s doorman, has many ideas about people he thinks Presley resembles. Who would you cast in a movie adaptation of Humor Me? If you decide to adopt Humor Me for your book club, we would love to hear about it! Please let us know by emailing us at [reader@celadonbooks. com](reader@celadonbooks. com) or post on social media using the hashtags \#CeladonBookClub and \#HumorMeBook. AN INTERVIEW with CAT SHOOK CAT S HOOK graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016 with degrees in Creative Writing and Mass Media Arts. Born and raised in Georgia, she now lives in Brooklyn. She is the author of If We’re Being Honest, a GMA Buzz Pick, and Humor Me. Humor Me is told from the perspective of one main character—New York City–based TV show assistant Presley Fry—in contrast to the ensemble cast of characters in your first novel, If We’re Being Honest . Why did you decide to write this book from a single point of view? The simple answer is that I wanted to try something different… plus, I liked Presley’s ’tude and wanted to write the whole book with her voice for my own fun. The more boring, technical reason is that despite my outlining this book before I started writing it, I didn’t know until I got to the very end whether or not Susan, one of the main characters, was going to forgive her husband, who had been caught in a “Me Too”–like scandal. Even though the characters in If We’re Being Honest are going through something I haven’t been through, I never struggled to understand what any of them might be feeling in any given moment . Susan remained a mystery to me until the end, so I figured her out from Presley’s perspective as I went along, instead of strongarming a narrator’s way into her perspective too early. Presley is deeply involved in New York’s comedy scene

FAQs

How do the book’s discussion questions compare Presley’s friendships with changes in her romantic life?

The kit asks how Presley develops two strong female friendships and how they support her across the story. It contrasts this with Presley’s struggle to accept how a romantic relationship can alter a friendship, culminating in questions about how these dynamics coexist after the novel ends.

What different roles does humor play according to the discussion prompts?

The questions frame humor as a source of joy, comfort, a coping mechanism, and even a vocation. They ask what humor meant to each character and what it means to the reader.

How does the novel’s entertainment-industry setting affect how the characters engage with the #MeToo movement?

The kit focuses on late-night TV and Presley’s job as shaping her view of the #MeToo movement. It also prompts discussion about how she deals with news involving Thomas and how that perspective evolves as she gets close to people who know him well.

Aug 26, 2026

Upload by Quinn