The Art of Travel book club questions

1. 1.

   De Botton argues that we travel without imagining ourselves in the destinations we anticipate. Has that been true of your own experience? What did you expect and what did you actually find?

2. 2.

   The Xavier de Maistre chapter suggests that quality of attention matters more than location. Is there a place in your everyday life you've never really looked at?

3. 3.

   De Botton uses art and literature to frame each destination. How does reading about a place before visiting change how you experience it, if at all?

4. 4.

   Ruskin's argument is that drawing teaches seeing. Have you ever done something — drawing, photography, journaling — that changed what you noticed in a new place?

5. 5.

   The book is often criticized for its solipsism and class assumptions. Does that critique change the value of the philosophical argument for you?

6. 6.

   What's the most disappointing trip you've taken in terms of the gap between expectation and experience? What do you think caused the gap?

7. 7.

   De Botton argues that the sublime temporarily quiets ego. Have you had experiences in nature or elsewhere that fit that description? What made them different from ordinary pleasurable experiences?

8. 8.

   Flaubert was drawn to the exotic as an antidote to bourgeois comfort. Is there a productive version of that dissatisfaction, or does it just produce restlessness?

9. 9.

   De Botton's travel companions in the book are almost invisible. Is that a philosophical choice or just a blind spot? What does it suggest about the kind of attention he's advocating?

10. 10.

    If the quality of attention matters more than the destination, what would you do differently before, during, and after a trip?

11. 11.

    The book was published in 2002, before smartphones and social media changed the visual documentation of travel. Does the argument about attention apply differently in an era when photographing a place is the default mode of engaging with it?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.