Inside: The Rosie Project book club discussion questions
The Rosie Project is the official book club selection for February in the Happy Simple Mom Book Club.
This book is a quirky pick for romance, which is a great theme for February! It had be laughing and cringing, throughout the whole book as we follow Don on his quest for love.
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Happy Simple Mom Book Club February 2024 Pick
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February 2024 Pick: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Length: 295 pages
Audio Length: 7 hours and 32 minutes
Publisher’s Description:
The art of love is never a science: Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially inept professor of genetics, who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers.
Rosie Jarman possesses all these qualities. Don easily disqualifies her as a candidate for The Wife Project (even if she is “quite intelligent for a barmaid”). But Don is intrigued by Rosie’s own quest to identify her biological father. When an unlikely relationship develops as they collaborate on The Father Project, Don is forced to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie―and the realization that, despite your best scientific efforts, you don’t find love, it finds you.
Arrestingly endearing and entirely unconventional, Graeme Simsion’s distinctive debut “navigates the choppy waters of adult relationships, both romantic and platonic, with a fresh take (USA TODAY). “Filled with humor and plenty of heart, The Rosie Project is a delightful reminder that all of us, no matter how we’re wired, just want to fit in” (Chicago Tribune).
SPOILER ALERT!!! The following discussion questions WILL give away things from the book. Read at your own risk.
The Rosie Project Book Club Discussion Questions
Question 1:
What’s your personal experience with Asperger’s? Do you know anyone with Asperger’s or anyone on the autisim spectrum?
Question 2:
Don has some really bad dates. What’s the worst date you ever had?
Question 3
Have you ever had any meal planning system that mirrors Don’s standardized meal plan?
Question 4
Do you like operating on a strick schedule like Don or do you prefer to go with the flow like Rosie?
Question 5
Have you ever gone on a vacation with zero plans? Or do you like to plan out all the events day by day?
Question 6
What do you think of Gene and Claudia’s relationship? Have you ever known a couple with an open marriage? Do you think it could work?
Question 7
Don says his happiest day is going to the Natural History museum? What’s your happiest day?
Question 8
Did you ever have a list of criteria for potential partners? Was it limiting or did it help you find the right match?
Question 9
The book mentions several romantic movies. What’s your favorite romantic movie?
Question 10
What did you think about Phil? Do you think he always knew or felt he was Rosie’s biological father even though it went against what he was told? Or do you think it didn’t matter to him?
Question 11
Which parts of the Father Project did you like the most? The cocktail party? The nursing home? The dinner party? The bathroom escape?
Question 12
Were you surprised by the ending? Was it clear to you?
Weekend Tidbits: Fighting Overwhelm, Getting Outside, and Simplifying
I read The Rosie Project about a year ago (picked it up at Value Village when I needed one more book to get the 5th one free lol). After I read The Rosie Project I came across The Rosie Effect at Value Village (bought it!) and then borrowed The Rosie Effect from my library. All 3 books were a totally enjoyable read, engaging and thought-provoking at the same time. These books present a different, thoughtful take on Asperger’s Syndrome and the whole autism spectrum; they really helped me, as a mother of 3 ADHD adult children, understand the nuances of how people with differently wired brains operate in the world. Don is such a great propagandist! I passed the first 2 books on to a friend, and now I’m searching Value Village again because I want them in my permanent library.
I strongly recommend this book, and also the 2nd and 3rd books in Simpson’s trilogy,