1. In the past, the almanac was an indispensable tool for interacting with the practical world. Today it has become more a compendium of minutiae, a source of entertainment. How does Maureen Howard play with these different definitions of the almanac? What does each of these competing conceptions lend to the novel?

2. A surface look at A Lover's Almanac reveals a variety of characters and story lines, some seemingly unrelated to each other, or touching for only brief, glancing moments. Through this, what is Maureen Howard saying about life in the context of our interactions with others? What is Sissy symbolic of? Does her presence confirm the idea of lives interrelated, or question it?

3. How does Louise's vocation as an artist relate to the larger themes of creativity and inspiration that permeate the novel?

4. What does Maureen Howard achieve through her use of historical references in A Lover's Almanac? Considering the point in time at which the story takes place, what is the author saying about the importance of looking back if we hope to move forward? How is this idea, on a personal scale, carried out in the lives of the characters?

5. Is Louise's art show The Progress of Love meant by Maureen Howard to be ironic? In what ways have Louise and Artie progressed through the course of the novel?

6. How does Maureen Howard play with the idea of fate throughout the novel? Do her characters make their own histories, or are they playing into destinies laid out for them?

7. What is the significance of Howard's many evocations of inventors and men of ideas?

8. In what ways do Louise and Artie embody their generation? Are those nearing adulthood late in this century lacking a sense of their place in history? In the culture of 2000, does this matter?