At Habitat Press, we publish fiction with purpose, stories with solutions. Our aim is to inspire change through compelling storytelling, and we publish stories for both adults and children.
Our books are great for discussion, and we’re happy to offer discounts to book clubs interested in reading our publications – just drop us an email at info@habitatpress.com
We’ve compiled conversation-starting questions for all our publications. Scroll down to read questions for all our Habitat Press books. Enjoy!
| The Assassin | Defying Futility |
| Dirt | Fairhaven |
| Habitat Man | The Last Plastic Fork |
| No More Fairy Tales: Stories to Save our Planet | The Philosopher and the Assassin |
| Stories From the Microbial World | Visco |
The Assassin by Denise Baden
Discussion Questions
- Which climate policy would you vote for?
- Were you aware of citizens’ assemblies? Assuming there’s not murder, would you like to be part of one?
- Do you think citizens’ assemblies should be given more power? There’s a campaign to replace the House of Lords with a House of Citizens, would you support such an idea?
- Were you inspired by any of the policies mentioned? For example, did it make you more likely to repair, travel by bus, borrow rather than buy etc?
- Most whodunnits keep readers guessing, but sometimes it’s more fun to let the reader know at some point before the end. Do you think the author intended readers to guess correctly before the reveal? Did you guess who the assassin was before the end?
- Did you scan the QR code at the back to find out more?
If you liked the book, please consider leaving an honest review. Whether you write a sentence or two or just take a second to click a star rating, it helps other readers discover us and supports our work as a small indie publisher. Please encourage your book club friends to review us too! You can review The Assassin on Amazon here or other review sites here.
Alternatively, click here for a short survey and you’ll get a free mini anthology to download as a thank you.
Defying Futility by Steve Willis and Jan Lee
Discussion Questions
- What did you most enjoy about the book?
- What did you think of the range of locations, situations, cultures and historical settings?
- Do you remember any of these disasters?
- Did you find the arguments for how they could have been prevented plausible?
- At the end, the authors sum up how we can do our bit to avert future disasters. What would you add as suggestions?
- The authors finish by writing: After you read these stories, we ask you to consider, ‘What if I take action now?… how different our future will be!’ Have you been inspired to take any action?
If you liked the book, please consider leaving an honest review. Whether you write a sentence or two or just take a second to click a star rating, it helps other readers discover us and supports our work as a small indie publisher. Please encourage your book club friends to review us too! You can review Defying Futility on Amazon here or other review sites here.
Alternatively, click here for a short survey and you’ll get a free mini anthology to download as a thank you.
Dirt by Laura Baggaley, winner of Best Book for Teenagers in the Wishing Shelf Awards
Discussion Questions
- Would you prefer to live in the town of Newbeck or Home Valley? Why?
- Who is your favourite character in the book? Why?
- How did Sam and Avril’s changing relationship make you feel?
- Did you learn anything new from reading Dirt? Did it make you think differently about anything?
- In Newbeck, they have a Library of Things. Have you heard of this before? Would you want to use one? Why do you think the town has set this up?
- In Home Valley, they use advanced technology for soil monitoring, among other things. What other roles do you think technology could play in agriculture and what do you think of this?
- Who would you choose to play Sam and Avril in a film?
If you liked the book, please consider leaving an honest review. Whether you write a sentence or two or just take a second to click a star rating, it helps other readers discover us and supports our work as a small indie publisher. Please encourage your book club friends to review us too! You can review Dirt on Amazon here or other review sites here.
Alternatively, click here for a short survey and you’ll get a free mini anthology to download as a thank you.
Fairhaven by Steve Willis and Jan Lee
Discussion Questions
- How do you think the future depicted in Fairhaven will match or not match the real future?
- Do you suffer from climate anxiety? If so, how do you address it?
- Fairhaven depicts people taking action to address the climate crisis. What action could you take in your own work or life? If you haven’t done it already, what’s stopping you?
- At the beginning of Fairhaven, there is a major internet failure. How would you cope? What do you think would happen after a day? A week? Or more?
- Early in Fairhaven, Grace’s young relatives say that they’ve learned about climate change in school. What did you or your own children learn about climate change in school? Do you think it should be taught – and why or why not?
- Who would you choose to play Grace, Hans and other characters in a TV adaptation?
If you liked the book, please consider leaving an honest review. Whether you write a sentence or two or just take a second to click a star rating, it helps other readers discover usand supports our work as a small indie publisher. Please encourage your book club friends to review us too! You can review Fairhaven on Amazon here or other review sites here.
Alternatively, click here for a short survey and you’ll get a free mini anthology to download as a thank you.
Habitat Man by D.A. Baden, finalist in the Wishing Shelf Awards
Discussion Questions
These questions avoid spoilers – for more, check out Denise’s webpage!
- Would you like a friend like Jo? In Chapter 1, Tim admits he can’t tell if Jo has his back or is just exploiting him. What do you think? Did your views change over the course of the book?
- Did you learn anything about green solutions or environmental issues? Did this book lead to any changes in your own behaviour such as gardening for wildlife, eating seasonal food or make you aware of greener options such as car sharing, home composting, composting toilets, natural burials, etc.?
- Lori expresses a distrust of men who call themselves feminists. Is this fair?
- Many books are set in glamorous locations, but Habitat Man makes a point of showing how beauty and ecology can be attained in an ordinary terraced back garden. Do you think the choice of Southampton as a location worked?
- Who would you choose to play Tim, Lori and Jo in a TV adaptation?
If you liked the book, please consider leaving an honest review. Whether you write a sentence or two or just take a second to click a star rating, it helps other readers discover us and supports our work as a small indie publisher. Please encourage your book club friends to review us too! You can review Habitat Man on Amazon here or other review sites here.
Alternatively, click here for a short survey and you’ll get a free mini anthology to download as a thank you.
The Last Plastic Fork and Other Green Epiphanies edited by Rananda Rich
Discussion Questions
- Which characters and stories do your book club members resonate with the most and why?
- What did you think of the different ways writers experimented with the flash fiction form?
- Were you most drawn to humorous, emotional or dramatic stories?
- Has anyone in your group changed their mind about a topic after reading about it here?
- Have you ever experienced an epiphany in your own life, green or otherwise?
- Did you enjoy reading such short stories? Do you prefer longer-form fiction? What do you think shapes your preference?
If you liked the book, please consider leaving an honest review. Whether you write a sentence or two or just take a second to click a star rating, it helps other readers discover us and supports our work as a small indie publisher. Please encourage your book club friends to review us too! You can review The Last Plastic Fork on Amazon here or other review sites here.
Alternatively, click here for a short survey and you’ll get a free mini anthology to download as a thank you.
No More Fairy Tales: Stories to Save Our Planet edited by D.A. Baden and Steve Willis
Discussion Questions
- Which were your favourite and least favourite stories? Why?
- Whose writing style did you most enjoy?
- The stories cover a range of genres, including romance, sci-fi, whodunnit, poetic prose and humour. Which do you prefer and why?
- The stories by Kim Stanley Robinson and Denise Baden are both extracts from full novels, The Ministry For The Future and Habitat Man. Are you tempted to go on to read the complete books?
- Did you learn anything from any of these stories? Did any of them change your mind about things?
- Which climate solutions or sustainable practices could you put into practice right now in your life?
If you liked the book, please consider leaving an honest review. Whether you write a sentence or two or just take a second to click a star rating, it helps other readers discover usand supports our work as a small indie publisher. Please encourage your book club friends to review us too! You can review No More Fairy Tales on Amazon here or other review sites here.
Alternatively, click here for a short survey and you’ll get a free mini anthology to download as a thank you.
The Philosopher and the Assassin by D.A. Baden
Discussion Questions
- What did you think about the structure of the novel which interweaves philosophy with the whodunnit and Iris’s attempt to build a new life in a new faculty?
- Did you think Iris was too harsh with her son’s girlfriend, Martha? What difficult conversations have you had (or avoided) with people about subjects you care about deeply?
- Did you learn anything new that interested you?
- Did any of the moral or environmental arguments change your attitudes or behaviours? In what way?
- What genre would you class this as? Can you think of any books similar to The Philosopher and the Assassin?
- What are your views on the central dilemma? Should the Director Public Prosecutions prosecute or not?
You can share your view via this link or the QR code below and see how others voted:
If you liked the book, please consider leaving an honest review. Whether you write a sentence or two or just take a second to click a star rating, it helps other readers discover us and supports our work as a small indie publisher. Please encourage your book club friends to review us too! You can review The Philosopher and the Assassin on Amazon here or other review sites here.
Alternatively, click here for a short survey and you’ll get a free mini anthology to download as a thank you.
Stories From the Microbial World edited by D.A. Baden
Discussion Questions
- Did this change your view of bacteria?
- Which was your favourite story?
- Whose writing style did you most enjoy?
- The stories cover a range of genres. Which do you prefer and why?
- Two of the stories, The Pitch’ and ‘The Polyamorist’ are adapted from the novel Habitat Man by Denise Baden. Are you tempted to go on to read the complete novel?
- Did you learn anything new that interested you?
- Will you make any changes in your life as a result of reading these stories?
If you liked the book, please consider leaving an honest review. Whether you write a sentence or two or just take a second to click a star rating, it helps other readers discover us and supports our work as a small indie publisher. Please encourage your book club friends to review us too! You can review Stories From the Microbial World on Amazon here or other review sites here.
Alternatively, click here for a short survey and you’ll get a free mini anthology to download as a thank you
Visco by David Fell
Discussion Questions
- Would you like to live somewhere like Visco?
- Did you feel the premise of how it arose was plausible?
- What did you think to a festival for carers? Is that something that would be feasible to do in your community?
- Did you empathise with the characters? Who was your favourite?
- What did you make of the relationship between Jo and Miranda? How important was their friendship to the development of Visco?
- The novel is set in the ‘here and now’. Did its world feel like the one you live in? Or did it feel more like a fantasy?
- Visco has an unusual structure – did the story flow for you?
- Was it the sort of book to read at bedtime, or on the beach, or on the bus? Was it a page-turner?
- Was it too long, too short, or about right? Did the author get the balance right between explaining things and allowing the reader to work it out for themselves?
If you liked the book, please consider leaving an honest review. Whether you write a sentence or two or just take a second to click a star rating, it helps other readers discover us and supports our work as a small indie publisher. Please encourage your book club friends to review us too! You can review Visco on Amazon here or other review sites here.
Alternatively, click here for a short survey and you’ll get a free mini anthology to download as a thank you.